The Monsanto Company is a multinational corporation that was founded as a chemical company in 1901 by John F. Queeny (“Company History”). The company has its headquarter in Missouri, United States and has multiple locations around the world in North/Central America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia/Pacific, and Africa (“Company History”). Monsanto had been known in the past for manufacturing former controversial products such as: PCBs, Agent Orange, and rBGH (Tokar 254). PCBs are chemicals used in the production of industrial lubricants, oils, coatings, and sealants that were banned in the United States due to extreme toxicity for the environment (Tokar 254). Agent Orange is an herbicide used in the Vietnam War to defoliate fields in order to disclose the enemy (Tokar 254). This chemical proved to cause serious health problems to the soldiers who were in a mission in the sprayed areas (Tokar 254). rBGH is a bovine growth hormone developed by Monsanto that produced an increased milk outcome in injected cows (Tokar 254). The researchers’ data documented that cows injected with rBGH had a high rate of udder infection and deformed offspring (Tokar 254).
At present, Monsanto is only producing GM seeds, named also transgenic seeds, and herbicides, marketed under Roundup brand (“Monsanto”). GMO, genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals whose DNA is combined with genes from DNA of other organisms, such as viruses, bacteria, plants, and animals. The genetically modified organisms pass the gene information to the future generations and cannot form in natural conditions of crossbreeding. In the last decade, the company business extended. Monsato acquisitioned several seeds companies such as Agracetus and Calgene Roundu...
... middle of paper ...
...News
Meghani, Zahra, and Jennifer Kuzma. “The 'Revolving Door' Between Regulatory Agencies And Industry: A Problem That Requires Reconceptualizing Objectivity.” Journal Of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics 24.6 (2011): 575-599. Business Source Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. Academic Journal
Nandula, Vijay K. Glyphosate Resistance In Crops And Weeds [Electronic Resource] : History, Development, And Management / Edited By Vijay K. Nandula. 297-298. n.p.: Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley, c2010., 2010. CTC Library Catalog. Web. 6 Apr. 2014. Book
Tokar, Brian. "Monsanto: A Checkered History." Ecologist 28.5 (1998): 254. Professional Development Collection. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Periodical
Wohlers, Anton E. “Labeling Of Genetically Modified Food.” Politics & The Life Sciences 32.1 (2013): 73-84. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. Academic Journal
A substantial percentage of the work on the ethics of genetically modified food has primarily centralized on its potentially nocuous effects on human health and on the rights to label
Monsanto employs over 20,000 employees dispersed throughout their facilities within 69 countries. John F. Queeny, founder of Monsanto, started the company in 1901, which at first manufactured saccharine. Later, John son Edward directed the companies into the agriculture industry. The company is best known producing Round up, an herbicide, and for developing genetically modified (GM) through biotechnology. “Monsanto developed G.M. seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup, offering farmers a convenient way to spray fields with weed killer without affecting crops” (Barlett, D. L. & Steele, J. B, 2008). Since the start up the company has encounter several lawsuits, patent issues and critics. The company also faces many concerns about the
Monsanto is the world 's leader on bio-technology and was found in St. Louis Missouri. Monsanto was not known as an agriculture company at first as it is now rather a chemical company of the 20th century. They are also responsible for growing 90 percent of the world 's GMO’s. On Monsanto’s website it states their goal is to help farmers around the world to produce healthier foods, conserving more, and better animal feeds while reducing impact on our environment. Monsanto 's GMO has been effecting our environment for years but have not yet brought to justice according to this video. The question is why? According to this documentary Monsanto created many hazardous chemicals for example PCBs, Agent Orange and recombinant
Between 1961 and 1971, Monsanto, along with Dow Chemical and other chemical companies, provided herbicides and defoliants, including Agent Orange, to the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. As a consequence of the exposure to dioxins contained in the defoliant, the military personnel in Vietnam suffered of injuries, such as Chloracne, heart disease, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, etc. (“Veterans' Diseases Associated with Agent Orange”) In 1980, a class-action lawsuit concerning Agent Orange was filed against Monsanto, Dow Chemical and other chemical companies, but these companies denied that Agent Orange was linked to the veterans’ medical problems. In 1984, seven of the chemical companies involved decided to settle the class-action
GMO stands for a ‘genetically modified organism’. A GMO is artificially developed by scientists to produce specific results such as sustain life through a drought or produce a greater quantity of fruit per plant (Monsanto Corporation:1999). This practice began centuries ago when plants and animals were selectively bred and microorganisms were us...
Challenges facing the Monsanto Company have been many. This company has been engaged in unscrupulous undertakings that have resulted in innumerable lawsuits against the company. In many countries, Monsanto Company’s products continue to be banned while others face law suits on their viability and safety of the public.
One of the most prominent crops in the GMO industry is Bt corn. The Bt pesticide stands for Bacillus Thuringiensis. Scientists transferred the Bt gene into the corn to create a crop that produces its own pesticides. As the corn matures, it grows stronger poi...
Monsanto is a multinational agricultural and agrochemical biotechnology corporation based in America and is the largest producer of genetically engineered seeds. Monsanto argues that using science and newfound research to create genetically modified food is necessary in order to save our world from starvation. Eduardo Blumwald, a professor of cell biology and employee for Monsanto, says that genetically modified food could be “the only viable solution we have for our future” (Ostrander 24) where it is predicted that the temperature and population will soar. Blumwald argues that without genetically engineering food to produce under high temperatures with little water, the world could potentially starve in this predicted future. Yet regardless of “biotech industry promises, none of the GMO traits currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit” (“GMO Facts”). Instead, Monsanto genetically modifies food to resist RoundUp, a pesticide the company has created to kill any plants or bugs other than the genetically engineered crop. According to the World Health Organization, this pesticide “is a probable human carcinogen” (“GMOs”) due to glyphosate, a
...t: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "GMO-Crop Crisis a Rapidly Growing Concern." Santa Fe New Mexican 21 Oct. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
Barlett and Steele’s “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear” interpretation of Monsanto Company’s affect on the agricultural industry, its communities, and on consumers in the course of its aggressive expansion is both aggressive and unfair. Through the use of narratives and evidence, they reiterate and reinforce aliases composed by affected communities
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserting it into another plant. The new genetically modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
Although Monsanto Company took some social implications like charitable programs, it failed to uphold ethical culture many times over the years. Some of unethical practices the company had done so far were bribery, anticompetitive activities and harassing behavior towards infringer of patent. Notably, during the Vietnam War, Monsanto had been strongly criticized by producing toxic chemical named Agent Orange which had detrimental effects on not only human-beings but also the environment. Nowadays, genetically modified (GM) seeds produced by Monsanto remain controversial. Because of GM seeds’ unknown influences, it is
n.d. 10 April 2014. Monsanto. The. Organic and Conventional Farming. n.d. 10 April 2014. Qaim, Matin.
The Web. The Web. 16 Dec. 2009. http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/12/monsanto_uses_patent_law_to_co.html>. The "Artificial Hormones" Sustainable Table.