Chapter 263: Monsanto
Monsanto is a multinational agricultural biotechnology company. Its flagship product, Roundup, is a globally renowned glyphosate herbicide. The company is also a leading producer of genetically modified seeds, the company's research and development of genetically modified rice has been planted in a large area in Guangxi, China, genetically modified soybeans and genetically modified edible oil in China's famous shopping malls have been everywhere, and has the ambition to monopolize the traditional seed market in China, the company will also control China's main crops rice and corn in the next few decades, according to the analysis of relevant foreign sources, according to the company's biotechnology research and development direction, Monsanto is planning a "biological war". The intention is to use genetically modified technology to alter the original genetic inheritance of humans.
Monsanto was founded by John Quinn, a 30-year veteran of pharmaceutical experience. With his own funds and the capital of a soft drink distributor, he founded the company in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901. The company was named after his wife's maiden name, and in fact Quinnyi's father-in-law, Manuel Monsanto, was a financier of a sugar mill based on St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies, which was primarily active in Puerto Rico. As a result, the company's first product, which was a natural substitute for sugar, produced artificial sweeteners (saccharin) and became a supplier to Coca-Cola.
Monsanto's predecessor was not an agricultural company, in fact, it was one of the largest chemical companies established in the 20th century, and the company's slogan at the time was: "Chemistry works for you, and at the same time, Monsanto may work for you, and Monsanto has creative chemical technology to create miracles for you." Its famous products include Agent Orange, saccharin aspartame and bovine growth hormone, polychlorinated biphenyls used in various electrical appliances, such as refrigerant liquid, lubricating oil and many other products that are harmful to the human body.
In 1919, Monsanto expanded its operations to Europe, partnering with a chemical plant in Wales to produce artificial vanilla scents, salicylic acid and, later, compounds used to treat rubber. Monsanto's former bridgehead in Europe was forced to sell due to European boycotts and closed in 2010.
Monsanto entered the 1920s and became involved in the production of essential industrial chemicals, such as sulfuric acid. In 1928, Quinnyi's son, Edgar, took over the company, and he expanded the company's business to make fertilizer, plutonium for the nuclear weapons of the mold country, and also to manufacture light-emitting diodes and silicon wafers. During the Vietnam War, it was also a major producer of Agent Orange, and during the Vietnam War, the Moldy Army used a large number of biological and chemical weapons "Agent Orange", also known as "defoliant", in Vietnam to deal with resistance fighters in the jungle. Agent Orange contains the highly toxic ingredient "Dioxin", which not only still causes harm to the Vietnamese people, but also causes severe damage to some of the soldiers of the mold country who participated in the Vietnam War, and this agent orange is produced by Monsanto.
According to some historical facts and documentaries, it has been revealed that Monsanto has long concealed the fact that its products cause cancer, and colluded with the government of the mold country to evade its own responsibilities, including evading the treatment and compensation of the victimized mold soldiers. In addition to exposing Monsanto's scam promoting Roundup herbicides as "environmentally friendly" products, it also exposed Monsanto's sinister intentions in importing genetically modified staple foods to China.
Roundup is Monsanto's brand name for its product "glyphosate", which is called a "non-selective" and "comprehensive" herbicide because it destroys all plants. Since entering the market in 1974, Monsanto has achieved high sales in countries around the world because Monsanto guarantees that Roundup is a "biodegradable" and "environmentally friendly" product. Its advertisement claims that "Roundup" is the world's first, biodegradable herbicide that destroys weeds from the inside to the roots of the grass, but does not contaminate the soil and the bones buried in the dog's soil. Is this the case?
Monsanto was punished twice by a judge for false advertising, first in New York in 1966 and twice in France in 2007, for using fraudulent terms such as "biodegradable", "keep soil clean and unpolluted" and "respect for the environment" in Monsanto's advertising. In addition, Monsanto's report shows that after 28 days of using Roundup, only 2% of pesticides in the soil are degraded. As a result, Monsanto eventually removed the word "biodegradable" from the bottle.
PCBs are a Monsanto initiative and have been the ideal raw material for lubricants, plasticizers, biocides, heat carriers and transformer oils for decades. Monsanto factories in many parts of the country produce this chemical product, and residents around these factories have had surprisingly high rates of cancer and diabetes for decades. A canal next to Monsanto's factory was discharging sewage containing PCBs to the outside, but there was no warning sign saying "this water is toxic."
Later, according to the declassified (note, declassified) internal Monsanto top-secret information, Monsanto's internal scientists have done many pathogenic facts related to PCBs. For example, they threw some fish into the ditch that drained the factory's sewage, and all of them died within a third and a half minutes. There is also some information that shows that Monsanto is very aware of the great toxicity of PCBs, such as that as one of the most dangerous carcinogenic factors in existence, it has spread from those few mold factories to the world, and almost all people, animals and plants have PCB residues to a greater or lesser extent. The declassified report also mentions that one year, two workers developed symptoms of hepatitis while repairing a leaking PCB transmission pipeline. These facts about the toxicity of PCBs are recorded in Monsanto's top-secret archives. The reason why they are reluctant to make it public is because to avoid losing business, as long as they sell more than one day of chlorinated biphenyls, Monsanto will have a huge income one day.
Later, the country law ruled that Monsanto would pay $700 million in compensation to more than 10,000 people infected with PCBs. Many local people have 200-500 times more PCBs than the average person, but the saddest thing is that the company's top brass has not been affected. Soon, Monsanto transformed itself into a biotechnology company and launched its flagship product, Roundup, which eventually gained a huge market share.
The success of "Roundup", in addition to its obvious medicinal effect, can effectively remove weeds, so that farmers can focus more on improving crop yields, there is another important point, the previous "Roundup" packaging, there is a big word "biodegradable" at the bottom, which means "biodegradable", in other words, "Roundup" should be environmentally friendly, almost no harm and toxicity to organisms. In one advertisement, a puppy holds a "Roundup" herbicide, gets rid of weeds, digs up the soil, and nibbles the bones underneath to show that the herbicide is safe and harmless to living things. But in reality? According to Monsanto's own internal practices, only 2% of Roundup is able to decompose in 28 days. The most terrible thing is that scientists have found that "Roundup" itself is highly toxic, and even the composition of this herbicide has been confirmed, interfering with the normal division of the animal's fertilized eggs, so to speak, "'Roundup' stimulates the first stage of cell carcinogenesis." Although we can't say that cancer has already occurred at this time, because it will take 30-40 years for the cancer to manifest itself. ”
In recent years, Monsanto's trade with China has increased. In 1986, Huaxia Jingshan Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. and Huaxia Technology Import and Export Co., Ltd. signed contracts with Monsanto and Lummus to introduce two sets of 60,000 tons/year styrene plants, using the catalytic dehydrogenation to styrene process of these two companies, and built Jingshan Petrochemical Company in Beijing and Luqi Petrochemical Company in Qilu respectively. In 1987, Kilkelite Petrochemical Company introduced 50,000 tons/year ethylbenzene technology from Monsanto and Rumus.
Monsanto also works with Kilgour Petrochemical to produce ABs engineering plastics. In September 1989, Monsanto set up its first office in mainland China - Monsanto Far East Co., Ltd. Maritime Representative Office, located on the fourth floor of the Shanghai Mall, and then set up offices in Beijing and Nanyang, and set up Huaxia Business Department in Haihai Baodong. Monsanto also actively cooperates with the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Patent Office, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Monsanto's genetically modified technology can greatly increase the yield of crops. But if you leave the seeds behind and are ready to plant them again the next year, you will not be as good as the next. Monsanto can even keep crops from seeding, or kill the germ itself. As a result, farmers have to pay for seeds every year. Moreover, through guò "bundling", if you want to buy its seeds, you must buy its herbicides in order to consolidate the monopoly position.
A researcher from the Crop Science Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences spoke at the "Symposium on Genetically Modified and National Security": "The multinational group led by Monsanto has completed the layout of genetically modified in China. In the eyes of the bosses of multinational corporations, Huaxia is not only a huge seed market, but also an unparalleled agricultural base. Multinational corporations have incorporated China's seed industry into the globalization strategic system, which has become an important link in the global competition to win the overall victory. ”
The dangers of genetically modified rice can be summed up in five points: 1: Genetically modified food has changed the natural properties of the food we eat, and the biological substances it uses are not part of human food safety, and human safety tests have not been carried out for a long time, which will pose a great health risk to the human body. 2: Genetically modified foods produce unforeseen biological mutations that produce higher levels and new toxins in foods. 3: Allergies or allergies: Genetic technology can produce unforeseen and unknown allergens in food. 4: Genetically modified foods reduce the nutritional value of food or degrade important ingredients in food. 5: In 2007, French scientists confirmed that a genetically modified rice produced by Monsanto was toxic to the human liver and kidneys.