http://www.globalresearch.ca/from-agent-orange-to-pesticides-and-genetically-engineered-crops-why-not-to-trust-monsanto/5336444
he Monsanto Corporation is among the largest pesticide and biotechnical corporations in the world today.
Their products are used in most sectors of agriculture, public
land upkeep, landscaping/gardening and can be found in most markets
across the United States. Monsanto is a multi-billion dollar company
with a diverse product base and is among the largest producers of
genetically engineered crops.
As a company, Monsanto promises to be the creator of new, safer,
pesticides as well as stronger bio-engineered crops. Unfortunately, the
reality of what Monsanto will deliver to the world is likely very
different from what they promise, or what we, as a society, desire.
Monsanto has produced many products, from new types of pesticide to
genetically engineered crops, and has been the center of several severe
controversies. In numerous cases, the Monsanto Corporation produced and
marketed products which they knew to be potentially toxic, yet they
still sold them in order to reap a profit. While not illegal, largely
due to Monsanto’s massive lobbying efforts aimed at reducing safety
standards (Monsanto Spent $6.3 million dollars in lobbying during the
2011 fiscal year alone – Follow this link for more information on Monsanto’s lobbying),
the sale of toxic chemicals for a corporate profit is both highly
immoral and very relevant to those in society who wish to assess the use
of Monsanto products. Put plainly: Monsanto’s history of selling
poison, labeled as a useful product, casts doubt on whether any product
that they sell should be trusted.
During its early years, Monsanto produced PCBs (Polychlorinated
biphenyl) to be used in various industrial applications. PCBs, while
very stable and good at acting as a liquid insulator, are extremely
toxic to virtually all forms of life – they are carcinogenic, highly
toxic, and corrosive upon contact with skin or mucus membranes. Even as
evidence mounted of the toxicity of PCBs, Monsanto continued to produce
them until they were forced to stop when the government banned all
domestic production of PCBs in 1977.
The Monsanto Corporation has a long and sometimes unfortunate history
of creating new and powerful pesticides. The infamous “Agent Orange”,
used in Vietnam to destroy jungles, and the powerful pesticide DDT were
two of the primary pesticides produced by Monsanto during its early
years. While Agent Orange and DDT are now outlawed due to the massive damage they cause human life
as well as the environment, Monsanto continued producing them for as
long as the law allowed. The gigantic costs to human health and to the
environment caused by the sale of Monsanto pesticides, even once they
were deemed too dangerous to use, resulted in many ruined lives and
destroyed ecosystems for society, but huge profits for Monsanto.
READ MORE: http://www.globalresearch.ca/from-agent-orange-to-pesticides-and-genetically-engineered-crops-why-not-to-trust-monsanto/5336444
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