Browsing the Internet for organic, non-GMO seeds for my garden this year, I came across dozens of mentions of the company Monsanto. I had heard the name before in passing, but I had no idea who they were or what they did. However, advocates of organic and non-GMO agriculture portray Monsanto as the symbolic corporate Hitler of the agriculture world, and I was determined to find out why so many organizations are urging consumers to boycott Monsanto seeds, foods, and products.
What Does Monsanto Do?
In short, Monsanto is the company responsible for around 80% of the country's GMO consumption, if not the world's. They sell their genetically-modified seeds and chemical-based pesticides and herbicides to large companies and small farmers alike, and their "technology" has found its way onto the shelves of just about every garden center and farming supply store you could walk into. Even the organically grown zuchinni that your neighbor shares generously with you could easily have come from a Monsanto seed.
Interestingly, their website promotes a green and low-impact point of view:
"We are focused on empowering farmers--large and small--to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natrual resources such as water and energy. We do this with our leading seed brands in crops like corn, cotton, oilseeds and fruits and vegetables. We also produce leading in-the-seed trait technologies for farmers, which are aimed at protecting their yield, supporting their on-farm efficiency and reducing their on-farm costs."
And yes, the typo in that paragraph is Monsanto's, not mine (natrual, rather than natural). Check it out in the Who We Are section.
What are They Really After?
It would be nice to think that the company really does have the greater good at heart, even if they are going about it the wrong way. But when so many consumers are protesting the monopoly in numbers that are growing every day, and Monsanto still refuses to acknowledge even the potential for danger that GMOs could cause, even the most forgiving among us has to concede that they must have an ulterior motive.
And a simple glance at their website can tell us what that motive might be. Just today, the topics that Monsanto finds news-worthy include "Monsanto Board Approves Dividend of 49 Cents Per Share" and "Monsanto Shareowners Reelect Board Members at the Company’s Annual Meeting". In fact, the only headline that had to do with "helping" agriculture was this one: "Monsanto Showcases Ag Innovations to Support the Demands of a Growing Population". The rest were about money, or ways to make it.
With a market cap of $59 billion (basically, the value of all the company shares) and sales exceeding $15 billion in 2014 alone, Monsanto is in the business of making money. The company ranks number 334 on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a pretty impressive number.
What Can We Do?
As consumers who have to feed our families and can't spend a fortune doing it, how can we possibly get away from a company that has its fingers in almost every agricultural product we can find in stores today? Boycotting Monsanto is the only way to make a difference, but it isn't always easy. The best way to start is to grow your own vegetables from seeds that are not affiliated with Monsanto in any way.
A great list of Monsanto-free companies can be found here. They may be more expensive than the seed packets you can buy at Wal-Mart or Lowe's, but you could end up saving hundreds in food depending on the size of your garden and you will know that you are eating fresh produce that is entirely natural and good for you. When you buy heirloom plants, you can even collect the seeds and keep your crops going the next year without having to buy more. The Seed Savers Exchange can tell you everything you need to know about collecting and saving seeds.
The more active we become about getting GMOs off our shelves, the healthier our nation will become as a whole. Since the consumption of GMOs is possibly linked to all sorts of things, from birth defects to gluten intolerance to - you guessed it - cancer, nothing good can come of eating them. Every little action you take against GMOs and companies like Monsanto can make a difference.
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