Evidence of Monsanto’s Retreat Around the World

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Monsanto is finally succumbing to the peaceful, world-wide revolt against its Malthusian plans to control every last seed we plant. Monsanto paints itself simply as an agricultural company, yet its acts of war are too numerous to name.

We were supposed to believe the company’s tag line:

“Producing more, Conserving more, Improving farmers lives.”

Instead, slowly, but surely, the planet has protested, voted with their dollars, and when necessary, physically stood in the path of construction for yet another Monsanto seed plant, in order to stop them. The quintessential David and Goliath story reverberates through Mexico, India, Africa, and elsewhere around the globe.

Why is the company finally retreating after spending billions trying to poison the planet?

• Mexico’s Supreme Court blocked the company by disallowing the cultivation of GMO soy in the Mexican states of Campeche and Yucatan.

• Thousands of Africans have risen up to oust Monsanto from their continent. Though Monsanto currently dominates the GM maize market there, even GM food aid has been refused by Burkina Faso, and other countries. Only recently it was reported that Monsanto may temporarily suspend its operations in Burkina Faso after the West African country’s government moved to stop production of genetically modified cotton.

• Six NGOs (Global 2000, PAN Europe, PAN UK, Generations Futures, Nature et Progrès Belgique and Wemove.EU) from 5 European countries have filed a formal legal complaint against those responsible for the assessment of glyphosate in Europe, for denying the cancer-causing effects of glyphosate and getting its European market license renewed. This is Monsanto’s flagship product, but its sales are slipping. The EU continues to fight over whether or not to renew Monsanto’s license to continue selling the herbicide.

• The main ingredient in Monsanto’s Round Up, glyphosate, has now been found in childhood vaccines. How long do you think it will take for people to get savvy to the damage that has caused?

• Though the company wrote, and then broke laws to enter the seed market in India, the Indian government has now cut Monsanto’s seed royalties by 70%, and refuses to allow them to continue planting GM seed.

• Monsanto had to abandon the creation of one of the biggest factories in the world for producing transgenic seed that was to be constructed in Córdoba, Argentina, in the municipality of Malvinas Argentinas. A popular local resistance used the government, as well as planned occupation to keep the company’s billion-dollar plant from being built.

• Since the late 1990’s Monsanto has had to spend millions on legal fees to fight a minimum of 9 lawsuits a year from US farmers who suffered crop contamination due to their GM seeds. Though not a single lawsuit was ever won by a farmer in America, considerable resources continue to be spent to try to sway courts in their favor.

• The vultures are swooping in to try to ‘save’ Monsanto’s business for themselves. Bayer AG just upped their offer price to buy out the company for $65 billion. Numerous companies, including Monsanto have been suffering from dropping seed prices. If they’re smart, they’ll take the deal. They’ve already had to cut jobs repeatedly, and halt construction of new seed manufacturing plants.

• Monsanto has been banned around the world. 38 countries have banned Monsanto from exporting, growing, cultivating or testing GM seed within their borders.

• Millions of consumers are refusing to buy GM products. Though Monsanto and its cutouts continue to try to force GM food on the world through the TPP, and by ‘buying’ favor with University professors, millions of people are refusing to eat what they grow. Organic product sales just broke a record with $43.3 billion spent in 2015. $39.7 billion of that was on organic food. Not only that, but major food retailers are switching to organic even though they spent millions through the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association to try to defeat GM labeling bills. Kellogg’s and General Mills are now paying farmers to go organic.

You could say these were all our collective ‘acts of war’ against Monsanto, but they were effective, and non-violent. The enemy is now in retreat.

photo credit: airtreeswateranimals.blogspot.co