Nerve 14 - The Terminator

Monsanto Blues

You bribe and bully governments
to back your sinister schemes:
you aim for domination
of farmers’ fields and streams.

You manufacture “Roundup”,
a potent herbicide,
which killed off plants and insects
on which the birds relied.

You make a “Terminator” gene
which sterilises seed,
so struggling farmers have to buy
off you, to feed your greed.

You created Agent Orange,
which was used in Vietnam,
so children are born with missing limbs
in the name of Uncle Sam.

You threatened those who dug up
your genetically modified crop,
with gags and threats of jail
if they didn’t keep quiet and stop.

You’ve poisoned whole communities
with deadly P.C.B.s,
then tried to avoid paying
compensation for disease.

You claim to “end World Hunger”,
but farmers cannot choose
to save their seeds for future crops.
We have the Monsanto Blues!

SH (1999)

The Terminator

By Caroline Seddon

“Monsanto is an agricultural company. We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world produce more while conserving more. We help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, while also reducing agriculture’s impact on our environment.” From Monsanto’s Website.

At this moment in time, there is probably no other company that is more of a threat to the very fabric of life and all it includes than Monsanto. Never heard that name before? However, you will be familiar with their products, specifically their most profitable one, Roundup. But Monsanto like to dip their fingers in many pies, including patents on pig life, developing world water privatisation, Agent Orange, Bovine Growth Hormones (BGHs) Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and possibly their biggest threat of all: “The Terminator Gene”.

Formed over a hundred years ago in 1901, by John F. Queenie in St Louis, Missouri, USA, the company now has revenues of over the $8 Billion mark. This allows them vast amounts of lobbying and influence in the government. So it comes as no surprise that President Barack Obama has appointed Monsanto supporter, Tom Vilsack, as his agriculture secretary.

The “Terminator Gene” is in a seed treated with a chemical which produces a toxin. This kills the embryo that is part of each mature seed, so that when the crops are harvested, all new seeds from these crops are sterile. For farmers, the collecting and replanting of seeds is a crucial part of the agricultural cycle, so having to pay Monsanto every year for new seeds will have a devastating effect. We are seeing a steady increase in what is called “farmer suicides” because of debt. One preferred way being to ingest the very pesticides they use on their crops. Officials put the current figures around 125,000 suicides in India alone, and this does not include women, so the figure is probably much higher. They were taken in by the aggressive advertising of GMOs, and the lies of more profit from their yield. Instead they have had crop failures and the continuous purchase expensive seeds, sending them down a road of spiralling debt which they can see no way out of. However, suppose farmers can afford to buy Monsanto’s seeds when needed, what about the actual quality of the food produced?

Hybrid varieties of our most natural of foods such as fruits and vegetables are developed specifically for pest resistance, fast growth, long distance transportation and refrigeration, then marketed to such a degree that traditional varieties lose popularity and disappear. It’s a fact that in Britain, 90% of vegetable varieties have disappeared over the last century.

Will your grandchildren ever eat the same natural foods that you were fortunate enough to enjoy in your lifetime? The very foundation of our food system is being tampered with and patented, so who knows what the future holds.

As human techniques improve, more people can be fed and cared for. What is needed is the indispensable economic organisation to ensure that this is done in the way we all deserve.

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Comments:

Comment left by Bernice Rice on 4th September, 2009 at 23:09
Interesting article, well written!

Comment left by Ellen Beaver on 7th October, 2009 at 12:42
Very worrying, something needs to be done to stop them soon

Comments are closed on this article