Monsanto And Cargill: The Thugs Of Big Food

The Understory, Mar. 7, 2012

Just days before the massive global day of action to Occupy our Food Supply, I thought I’d take a look at just who some of these agribusiness thugs really are. The deeper you dig the more clear it becomes that two corporate giants are responsible for a large part of the poisoning of our food system: Monsanto and Cargill. It’s time we call out these corporate criminals for trashing our food.

Monsanto’s biotech tentacles are strangling our food system. The despicable behavior of this offensive corporation ranges from suing small family farmers like Percy Schmeiser (and bankrupting many through legal processes) to refusing to compensate veterans and families for exposure to Agent Orange where the chemical is estimated to have killed 400,000, deformed another 500,000, and stricken another 2 million with various diseases.

When Monsanto began selling its genetically modified Roundup Ready soybeans in 1996, only 2% of soybeans in the U.S. contained their patented gene. By 2008, over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. contained Monsanto’s gene and now 80 percent of corn seeds used in the United States are sold by Monsanto. This is especially alarming as soybeans account for the largest source of protein feed and the second largest source of vegetable oil in the world (after palm oil).

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