#6: Monsanto

Monsanto may portray itself as a company that wants to help the local farm industry but the reality is far from it. Monsanto is an American leader in the genetically modified seed and food industry. In addition to the modified seeds they have also created a pesticide that protects the genetically modified seed from insects. So in a nutshell Monsanto does not sound all that bad. What is very disturbing about this whole process is the fact that Monsanto has started to patent all of these genetically altered seeds. This means that everyday farmers cannot use and sell their produce without a license directly from Monsanto.

            The company Monsanto has gone on to sue farmers who have been found with their seeds on their farm. They send workers out to collect and test the farmer’s seeds without their consent. If they find that the seeds have traces of the Monsanto genetically altered seeds they now have the right to sue the farmers and this often causes the farmers to go bankrupt and they can no longer sell their crops. Farmers do not even have to intentionally buy Monsanto seeds to pesticides to be sued. In one case a Canadian man Percy Schmeiser proved that he had not bought the Monsanto seeds and that the seeds were possibly carried from another farmer’s crop or even blown off of a truck carrying the Monsanto seeds.

            Monsanto is creating a monopoly of our food supply, shutting down farms that bring us organically non-altered grown food. I find this to be a huge problem; this company is putting many farmers out of business so that their industry can grow. This could also possibly mean making them our only source for food and this food could be altered in a way that everyone could have a bad reaction to. Once they gain a full monopoly they could do anything they wanted to food and we might have to eat it because it is the only source.