Analysis Of Why Does Everyone Hate Monsanto

Works Cited

Anderson, Lessley. "Why Does Everyone Hate Monsanto?" Modern Farmer. N.p., 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2016. Monsanto has become a “cultural bogeyman.” This is because of their bad environmental record and their work on GMOS. Even though they are not a “costumer facing company,” everyone knows, and has an opinion, about them. Experts believe this all began in the 1990s in Europe when Monsanto sold GMOs to the continent. They gave false information to the farmers and people. Even though they have a lot of money, they are terrible at “spin control” (the activity of trying to control the way something is describe to the public in order to influence what people think about it. –Merriam-Webster). Monsanto used to be a company that made

Their first product was a chemical called saccharin, which is a poisonous artificial sweeter. The government tried to sue them, but lost. During the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, the company continued to produce toxic chemicals and sell them to the public. They researched uranium for the Manhattan Project, which resulted in the first atomic bomb that was deployed in Japan. Many of their toxic products stayed in the market because of political connections the company had. Aspartame, a chemical they make, is addictive and used in sugar free foods. Its side effects are “mania, rage, violence, blindness, joint-pain, fatigue, weight-gain, chest-pain, coma, insomnia, numbness, depression, tinnitus, weakness, spasms, irritability, nausea, deafness, and more. Monsanto banned GMO foods in their cafeteria. Monsanto owns the largest share of the GMO market. The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 “gives the corporate factory farms a virtual monopoly to police and control all foods grown anywhere, including one’s own backyard, and provides harsh penalties and jail sentences for those who do not use chemicals and fertilizers.” The HR 993 Continuing Resolution is a law that states “no matter how harmful Monsanto’s GMO crops are and no matter how much devastation they wreak upon the country, U.S. federal courts cannot stop them from continuing to plant them anywhere they choose.” Many countries have banned the

Scientists in Norway conducted an experiment for 90 days. Test rats were either fed GMO corn or non-GMO corn. The rats with the GMO corn were fatter and had bigger appetites than the rats with the non-GMO corn diet. The scientists then tested rats by feeding them either GMO or non-GMO fish, and the results were the same. Eating meat that is feed with GMO may cause the person to gain weight and become fatter. Animals that were feed GMOs were, “less able to digest protein and had changes in the gut lining not only influences obesity but can also give rise to a slew of health issues such as colitis, diabetes, digestive disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disorders, sexual dysfunction, sterility, asthma and autism, among many others.” About 75 percent of processed food contains GMOs, and 80 percent of food eaten in America is processed. The “Centers for Disease Control 's (CDC) weight gain data shows that obesity has spiked dramatically since the early 1990s -- which just happens to be soon after genetically modified crops were introduced into the food supply.” 68 percent of Americans are overweight and 34 percent are obese. This results in $190 billion each year in medical