/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Monsanto is a chemical company that was started in the year 1901. They created DDT and Agent Orange. Many people aren’t even aware of their existence and that needs to change ASAP. They’re absolutely huge and own a majority of all agricultural production WORLDWIDE (India currently having many legal issues with them). (See link-http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/make-monsanto-pay-for-swindling-farmers-in-india).). I’m sure many of you have heard of GMO… guess who made those? MONSANTO. They are the ones who directly poison our food and encourage the use of chemicals in/on our food.
More than just health effects, (see link by New York Times about lawsuits against them) [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/business/monsanto-could-benefit-from-a-chemical-safety-bill.html] this company bullies and threatens farmers into producing their GMO crops. It’s important to note that GMO crop are to be made on a mass production scale and require heavy and expensive machinery (in order to keep up production) that poor farmers- especially 3rd world farmers- cannot afford. Unlike normal, natural plants, GMO crops (seeds) do not come back every year and must be repurchased from Monsanto with money that farmers do not have! There was a mass suicide among farmers in India over a ten year span that started in 2005 simply because they, as poor, 3rd world farmers, could not meet Monsanto’s requirements and fell into financial ruin! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers'_suicides_in_India).). The farmers that produce food don’t even have enough to eat themselves- this is so sad!
To make things worse, Monsanto has sued farmers and have won in court! Monsanto has patented (copyrighted) GMO seeds, making them illegal to use/ sell unless paid for. Many crops, such as corn, are wind pollinated and can easily contaminate a neighbouring farmer’s organic crop (via wind).