Monsanto the Monster

Food Inc. really made me think about the power that big business has in this country.  Monsanto's desire for control has taken over any social empathy they pretended to have.  The company's insistence on ruining the lives of farmers that pose a minor threat shows that they don't care about this country.  The problem is, however, the fact that these sleezy bastards have taken office in the places that should be their opposition.  The movie showed that high-level employees from Monsanto have gone on to executive positions in the FDA and even to the Supreme Court.

Monsanto in 1998, when they first genetically modified soy beans, had control of only 2% of all of America's soy beans.  Now, the same company responsible for Agent Orange, has 90% of the nation's soy beans in patent-protected custody.  They have found a way to monopolize a crop in a country that produces close to 1/3 of the world's soy beans.  The shady business that Monsanto has been involved in is only possible with the fact that their transgressions have yet to be punished.  This disgusting company has infiltrated the American government and uses their political prowess to mold the legislative climate to their liking.

Agent Orange, a pesticide used as agricultural warfare during Vietnam, is a Monsanto product.  This pesticide was used in Operation Ranch Hand as a way to destroy the guerillas' crops.  The pesticide not only destroyed the crops, it sabatoged an entire generation.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently did a seven page analysis of the horrible effects that this poison has had on all those who had contact with it.  Generations of Americans and Vietnamese have Monsanto to blame for the horrible side effects of contact with Agent Orange.

Monsanto has admitted to cooking their books with false entries (same thing that went wrong with Enron), yet they hardly got a slap on the wrist.  They have been sued by foreign companies that claim they are monopolizing the marketplace.  Even with all of this negativity directed towards them, these punks still have the audacity to sue over 150 farmers just for using the seeds that grew from last year's crops instead of buying a new batch from Monsanto.

It's severely depressing to me that this company can destroy the lives of innocent people, foreign and domestic, and not face the consequences.