Community | September 04, 2009 | 28 comments

Monsanto? Sustainable? More like a water bully

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/sep/03/monsanto-water-greenwash

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JanforGore
The agricultural giant Monsanto may well still be the world's most hated company. The company that brought the world Agent Orange, the defoliant of choice in the Vietnam War, followed up a decade ago with a strident push to flood the world with genetically modified crops. It alienated millions – and even its friends and rivals among GM supporters blamed Monsanto's belligerence for putting back the cause by many years. But I'm going to ignore GMs and talk about water. And belligerence.

In part, no doubt, to help salvage its GM-tarnished reputation, Monsanto now makes great play of its efforts to help engineer a second green revolution built around "sustainability".

Sustainability is a much-abused term and it infiltrates almost every corner of the company's website. But to be fair they do try and define what the word means for its business. The company promises that its "sustainable yield initiative" will "reduce by one-third per unit produced the aggregate amount of key resources such as land, water and energy, required to grow crops by 2030."

Many analysts now see water, rather than land, as the key limitation on growing food to feed a future world population of nine billion in the coming decades. So a third more crop for the same amount of water is a valuable goal. The company trumpets especially its work to engineer more water-efficient maize.

Of course, despite the company's public pledge to "share knowledge and technology" the company's corporate aim is to make sure that farmers buy Monsanto-patented water-efficient seeds by the trillion.

But you would expect Monsanto to be especially sensitive about how it manages water in its own farming operations, and particularly to show concern for how neighbouring farmers are facing up to water shortages. Wouldn't you?

The scene shifts to the Hawaiian island of Molokai. This is an old stomping ground of Monsanto's. It is the largest employer and the island is sometimes known as "the birthplace of biotechnology" and "the Silicon valley of the seed corn industry".

This is where Monsanto does a lot of its research into GM crops such as maize, and where it grows many of the seeds it sells to farmers round the world.

Nature on Molokai has suffered badly from the invasion of Monsanto and other big-farm companies. In recompense, Monsanto puts money into a Nature Conservancy programme on the island to "preserve biodiversity and protect water sources".

The company has nonetheless gained a bad reputation there as a water bully. As a local journalist wrote there last year in the Molokai Dispatch, "Monsanto's thirst for more water" threatens its future on the island. "Like most large corporations, Monsanto's number one priority is to maximise profits. In this case it means planting as many acres as possible, and using a lot of water," wrote Todd Yamashita.

Recently, during a drought that emptied reservoirs and forced the local irrigation company to demand 20% water cutbacks from local farmers, Monsanto insisted on the right to take more water and lobbied for a new aquifer to be tapped.

In law, two-thirds of the water from the Molokai irrigation system should go to homestead farmers. In practice big landowners, especially Monsanto, take 84% of the irrigation system's water consumption. Monsanto alone, according to Yamashita, takes almost twice as much water as all 200 homesteaders.

So I think I have this right. In the cause of developing crops that will allow the world's farmers to use less water, Monsanto is so overusing the water in its own backyard that local farmers are have resorted to legal action to get their water back. As the Molokai Dispatch's headline has it: "Monsanto could be its own worst enemy."

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28 comments // Monsanto? Sustainable? More like a water bully

  • artemis6
  • csmonut
    • +1
      csmonut  

    • In fact, maybe the Native Americans could sue Monsanto for taking away a corn they took generations to perfect!
      If only.....

    • 2 years ago
  • csmonut
    • +1
      csmonut  

    • Wait a minute...didn't Native Americans have/had a type of corn that grows and produces well in hot arid climates with little water?
      YES!
      Why does corn now have to be manufactured?
      Freakin' Monsanto and their franken foods!

      Jan, thanks again.

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
  • SeaJade
    • 0
      SeaJade  
    • Image

    • From Credo: Petition at link above:
      "Tell Obama's Antitrust Czar: Investigate Monsanto

      Massive seed corporation Monsanto -- through acquisitions and cut-throat business practices -- has cornered 90% of the soy, 65% of the corn, and 70% of the cotton market, and has a rapidly growing presence in the fruit and vegetable market, all without government anti-trust officials raising an eyebrow.

      Not only that, but in order to be productive, the entire line of Monsanto's seeds all but require the use of Roundup herbicide, trapping all of their customers into buying it. And who owns Roundup? You guessed it, Monsanto.

      Monsanto has, it seems, cornered the market on abusive monopolistic practices as well. In the middle of a recession, while farmers' incomes are dropping, Monsanto recently announced a 42% price hike on its most popular genetically modified seeds. When in many areas of the country distributors carry nothing but these seeds, this sure looks like evidence of a monopolist abusing its market position.

      President Obama's antitrust chief Christine Varney has promised rigorous enforcement of antitrust law with a special focus on the agricultural sector. She should start with the worst of the worst, Monsanto. Sign the petition to demand that Varney immediately open an investigation into Monsanto and its abusive business practices."

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  

    • On the stock ownership as a means to change the agenda idea here is a link to Monsanto's website outlining stock ownership:

      http://www.monsanto.com/investors/stock_performance/ownership_profile.asp

      Unfortunately, 73% of the common voting shares are owned by institutional investors and mutual funds. Therefore, one could not acquire enough shares to really impact change.

      Mutual fund owners can check the list at the link above and at least pressure their fund managers to dump Monsanto or buy another fund.

    • 2 years ago
  • futuregen
    • 0
      futuregen  

    • Words and music by freddie mercury and brian may

      Just look at all those hungry mouths we have to feed
      Take a look at all the suffering we breed
      So many lonely faces scattered all around
      Searching for what they need

      Is this the world we created?
      What did we do it for?
      Is this the world we invaded
      Against the law?
      So it seems in the end
      Is this what were all living for today?
      The world that we created

      You know that every day a helpless child is born
      Who needs some loving care inside a happy home
      Somewhere a wealthy man is sitting on his throne
      Waiting for life to go by

      Is this the world we created?
      We made it on our own
      Is this the world we devastated
      Right to the bone?
      If theres a God in the sky looking down
      What can he think of what weve done
      To the world that he created?

    • 2 years ago
  • besic
    • 0
      besic  

    • I have only recently started to learn about the horrors of this company (I am not originally from the U.S. and never heard of how terrible Genetically Modified Foods are.) But that has changed. Please go to Institute for Responsible Technology website and there you can find a grocery list of what to look for in order to avoid buying products that contain GMO's and if we can build a large enough force of consumers who are willing to stop buying the brand names that contain GM maybe we can achieve our goal of shutting down these big 4 companies including Monsanto. You can also sign a petition to start labeling these foods, and this is a great source if you want to educate yourself further on this pressing issue. These companies can not profit if you are not buying what they are selling. It is hard to avoid all of the products but lets at least try to cut back on the brand names so that these corporations stop merging and monopolizing on our food industry. One step at a time. Please pass on the information. http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/Home/index.cfm

    • 2 years ago
  • SeaJade
    • 0
      SeaJade  

    • In a perfect Frank Capra-esque world, we would all politely call, fax, and email in to Monsanto's offices all around the world and tie up their communication lines for months on end , and the people who feel "obliged" to buy their rotten seeds full of pesticides and bacteria would find themselves strangely overcoming their fear and limitations and simply stop buying anything and everything from companies like this (Monsanto is not the only one, but a great place to start).... The people would feel their invisible chains loosen, the perfect cleansing rains would come followed by rainbows, and people would feel joy and hope for the first time in a long time.... Finally, oh no, once again, the people would feel a new found freedom - they could feed and heal themselves with fresh, clean, unadulterated food and water...

      Meanwhile, the employees of these vast monopolies/corporations, would start to see and feel the freedom and joy farmers and gardeners were experiencing, something stirring deep inside of them also, something familiar and yet strange, but so powerful a force inside they simply had to quit their jobs, unafraid and confident that all would be well in the end... they too went out into the streets and danced in the rain and decided to grow their own pure unadulterated food as well...

      Politicians and mainstream media were lost and confounded by this gentle and uplifting revolution, they gave up their "careers" and went out into the world, barefooted with only their toothbrush in hand (the plastic made from hemp not petroleum), to assist and support as many people as possible, no matter what country they had to swim to....

      My dream of course.... but.....

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Unfortunately, in reality important factors would need to be considered, such as SEC violations which I don't know if any would come into play regarding such a move. Believe me, I think it is part of what they deserve, but sometimes plans sound better in theory than in practice. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to own a share of their demon stock like this unless I knew it was going to make a huge difference in getting them out. But how do you guarantee that?

      Boycotting seems to be the best method right now as it has already brought shares of Round Up down. And also, less farmers planting their fake seeds and less people spraying their poison would go a long way to slowing it down. But again, those actions only come about by spreading awareness.

    • 2 years ago
  • biggranny
  • samthesixth
  • besic
  • jakewhitcomb
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • samthesixth:

      True. Common stock holders have control by electing a board of directors and can vote on corporate policy. Not outright ownership, but at least influence. But I guess the question remains, could the people ever exert that much influence on a company that huge through the ownership of common stock to actually change its policies?

    • 2 years ago
  • jakewhitcomb
  • JanforGore
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  
    • JanforGore:

      During the antiapartheid days the tactic was used to bring attention to issues and highlight corporate involvement.

      I don't think it has ever been used on the level it would need to be in order to bring about the kind of change we are interested in.

      But it certainly can't hurt!

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Monsanto's expanding monopolies from seeds to water.
      Dr. Vandana Shiva on Monsanto's plans to take advantage of water in countries with water shortages. Ethical? Sustainable? I think not.

    • 2 years ago
  • samthesixth
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • So true cyn_cyn. Just throwing it out there. I know we would need a very rich benefactor who would be willing to do it and it would no doubt be very ugly, perhaps even dangerous to do so. But we can dream. Here's to then hoping more awareness of their total lack of morals and principles and their fake science brings more of a boycott which will lead to them imploding. To work to take seeds and livelihoods from farmers is low enough. But to also work to control the very water we cannot grow without is downright evil. And of course, even if they did implode it would be like a terrorist network.There will always be one to take its place as it is already out there. Knowledge is really the greatest weapon we have right now.

    • 2 years ago
  • cyn_cyn
    • 0
      cyn_cyn  

    • Just a constructive reply to the idea of buying shares in Monsanto....

      Unfortunately, we "common people" could only buy a level of stock called "COMMON STOCK". That means in the end, we would have no voting/leverage power within the company.... and will only be supporting the problem in the end. It is POSSIBLE to get a vote if we had a silent investor who held clout within the company, but how would one ever get to play with the "big boys" in the end??

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
  • ras_menelik
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • I'll be getting back with more on their tactics concerning water in Mexico and India as well. And you know, people ask how we can beat them. The only way I see it is if we all took a collection up and bought 51 % of the shares in their company and started over. Perhaps the time has come to take this fight where it needs to be taken... to the board rooms and stockholder meetings.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
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