{"id":55178,"date":"2015-03-16T12:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=55178"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:25:58","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:25:58","slug":"monsantos-deep-legacy-of-corruption-and-cover-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/03\/monsantos-deep-legacy-of-corruption-and-cover-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Monsanto\u2019s Deep Legacy of Corruption and Cover-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

The History of a Chemical Company<\/em><\/p>\n

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6 Mar 2015 – Monsanto is now instantly recognized as the company dominating the global food supply with its more than\u00a07000\u00a0\u00a0current worldwide<\/a>\u00a0patents. But today\u2019s Monsanto is not a corporate newcomer. Although its\u00a0literature\u00a0heralds\u00a0the company as having<\/a>\u00a0a clear and principled code of conduct and a pledge to demonstrate integrity, respect, ethical behavior, and honesty in everything they do,\u00a0the truth is that this company has a legacy of contamination and cover-up that dates back more than a century.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Rise of one of \u2018The Worst Corporations in the World\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the turn of the 19th century,\u00a0John Queeny\u00a0founded Monsanto Chemical Works<\/a>\u00a0to produce such nefarious products as saccharin, synthetic vanillin, and laxative and sedative drugs. The company was well positioned as a leading force in the dawning American\u00a0chemical industry<\/em>.<\/p>\n

From the 1920\u2019s until the late 1960\u2019s, Queeny\u2019s son, Edgar Monsanto Queeny, expanded the company into a global franchise, and changed its name to Monsanto Chemical Company in 1933. He added\u00a0sulfuric acid, PCBs, DDT, synthetic fibers, and an array of plastics that included polystyrene to the product line.<\/p>\n

During this time, Monsanto also\u00a0created Agent Orange<\/a>,\u00a0one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.<\/p>\n

Agent Orange was a combination of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. The 2,4,5-T used to produce Agent Orange threw off dioxin as a byproduct, a compound the\u00a0World Health Organization\u00a0classes as highly toxic<\/a>. Dioxin can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, hormone disruption, and the initiation of cancer. Dioxin persists in the environment and accumulates in the body, even at minimal exposure.<\/p>\n

In areas where Agent Orange was used, the concentration of dioxin was hundreds of times greater than the levels considered safe by the Environmental Protective Agency (EPA). This resulted in a host of terrible health consequences for anyone exposed. and led to decades of litigation during which Monsanto fought tooth and nail to avoid paying for the horrific damage military personnel suffered from. The class action case that followed was\u00a0settled\u00a0out of court<\/a>\u00a0in 1984 for $180 million, reportedly the latest settlement of its kind at the time.<\/p>\n

More than 60 years of Contamination and Cover Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dioxin Leak at Nitro \u2013 $93 Million Settlement<\/em><\/p>\n

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From 1929 until 1995, Monsanto operated a chemical plant in the small town of Nitro, West Virginia,\u00a0where it manufactured Agent Orange<\/strong>.\u00a0In 1949,\u00a0a pressure valve blew on a tank of the herbicide, sending plumes of smoke and vapors containing dioxin throughout the town, coating residents and the homes they lived in with powdery residue.<\/p>\n

In a short time, some people developed skin eruptions and were diagnosed with an enduring and disfiguring condition known as chloracne. Others had prolonged pain extending from their chest to their feet. According to a medical report\u00a0following the explosion<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cIt caused a systemic intoxication in the workers involving most major organ systems.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Monsanto\u2019s\u00a0reaction? The company down-played it, claiming the chemical was slow-acting and just a minor irritant.<\/p>\n

To get rid of the dioxin, the company dumped it into storm drains, streams and sewers, and stored it in landfills. Dioxin persisted in waterways and in the fish that lived in them. When residents sued for damages, they were told by Monsanto that their allegations had no merit and that the company would defend itself vigorously.<\/p>\n

The residents of Nitro or their descendants finally\u00a0received\u00a0$93 million<\/a>\u00a0from Monsanto in 2012.<\/p>\n

PCBs Contaminate the Town of Anniston, Alabama<\/strong><\/p>\n

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are used in many industries as hydraulic fluids, sealants, and lubricants.\u00a0These chemicals\u00a0have been demonstrated to<\/a>\u00a0cause cancer, as well as a variety of other adverse health effects on the immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems.<\/p>\n

Monsanto\u2019s plant in Anniston, Alabama produced PCBs from 1929 to 1971. Since then, tons of contaminated soil have been hauled away from the plant, but the site continues to be one of the most highly polluted areas in the country.<\/p>\n

Why was it such a mess? During its production years, waste PCBs were\u00a0dumped\u00a0\u00a0into a nearby open landfill, poured into a creek that ran alongside the plant,\u00a0 or just allowed to run off the property during storms. During those years, the townspeople drank from their wells, ate fish they caught, and swam in the creeks, oblivious of the PCBs. When\u00a0public awareness began to mount<\/a>, authorities found high levels of PCBs all over the place, and in the bodies of those people, where it will remain forever.<\/p>\n

In 1966,\u00a0a Monsanto biologist testing waterways near the Anniston plant found that when live fish were added to the water, \u201cAll 25 fish lost equilibrium and turned on their sides in 10 seconds and all were dead in 3 1\/2 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1970, the FDA found high levels of PCBs in fish near the Anniston plant, and Monsanto jumped into cover-up mode. A leaked internal memo from a company official outlined steps for the company to take to limit disclosure. The strategy\u00a0called for engaging<\/a>\u00a0public officials to fight the battle for them.\u00a0\u201cJoe Crockett, Secretary of the Alabama Water Improvement Commission will try to handle the problem quietly without release of the information to the public at this time,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0the memo promised.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0statement\u00a0eventually released from Monsanto\u2019s world headquarters in St. Louis stated,\u00a0\u201cQuoting both plant management and the Alabama Water Improvement Commission, the PCB problem was relatively new, was being solved by Monsanto and, at this point, was no cause for public alarm.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The class action suit for Anniston was finally\u00a0settled\u00a0\u00a0in 2003<\/a>, when Monsanto was forced to pay $700 million.<\/p>\n

More PCBs Dumped into the Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1977, Monsanto closed its PCB plant in Whales, but not before dumping thousands of tons of waste into the quarry of the town of Groesfaen. Authorities there say the site is still one of the most contaminated in Britain.<\/p>\n

Internal papers indicate that Monsanto knew about the PCB dangers as early as 1953, when toxicity tests on the effects of PCBs killed more than 50% of the lab rats subjected to them. In 2011,\u00a0Monsanto reluctantly agreed<\/a>\u00a0to help in the clean up after an environmental agency found 67 chemicals at the quarry site that were exclusively manufactured by Monsanto. Yet that effort remained underfunded and the quarry remains contaminated.<\/p>\n

The Guardian reported that Monsanto\u00a0wrote an\u00a0abatement<\/a>\u00a0plan in 1969 which admitted\u00a0\u201cthe problem involves the entire United States, Canada, and sections of Europe, especially the UK and Sweden.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Navy\u00a0Rejects Monsanto Product Because it was \u2018Too Toxic\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monsanto tried to sell its hydraulic fluid, known as Pydraul 150, to the navy in 1956, and supplied test results in their sales pitch. But the navy decided to do its own testing, and the company was informed that there would be no sale because the product proved to be too toxic. In an internal memo divulged during a court proceeding, Monsanto\u2019s medical director stated that\u201cno matter how we discussed the situation, it was impossible to change their thinking that Pydraul 150 is just too toxic for use in submarines.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Monsanto Moves into Food, Biotechnology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monsanto\u2019s move into biotech began in the 1970\u2019s, and in 1983 the first genetic modification of a plant cell had been achieved. Synthetic bovine growth hormone (rBST) was on the horizon. Monsanto\u2019s public relations department portrayed GM seeds as a panacea for alleviating poverty and feeding the hungry. In 1985, the company\u00a0bought\u00a0NutraSweet<\/a>\u00a0artificial sweetener, a branded version of aspartame\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the compound\u00a0responsible for<\/a>\u00a075% of the complaints reported to the FDA\u2019s adverse reaction monitoring system.<\/p>\n

Monsanto Seeks Clean Image, Creates Solutia<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the late 1990\u2019s, Monsanto created a new company known as Solutia, and off-loaded its chemical and fiber businesses. L. Bartlett and James B. Steele, chronicling the rise of Monsanto for\u00a0Vanity Fair<\/em>\u00a0magazine, noted the reason for the spinoff was to channel the bulk of Monsanto\u2019s mounting chemical lawsuits and liabilities into the spun-off company, thereby creating a clean image for Monsanto. Solutia became Monsanto\u2019s solution!<\/p>\n

As the company, now known simply as Monsanto, moves through the 21st century, it has a \u2018new cleaned-up image,\u2019 and a fine sounding\u00a0mission statement<\/a>. It refers to itself as a relatively new company that promotes sustainable agriculture and delivering products that support farmers around the world.<\/p>\n

Except\u00a0Monsanto is the 3rd most hated<\/a>\u00a0company in the world.<\/p>\n

Monsanto\u2019s legacy of contamination and cover-up should be a wake up call for you to run from the GMOs they have spawned. Remember the old adage that says leopards can\u2019t change their spots?<\/p>\n

Read:<\/strong>\u00a0Sorry Monsanto \u2013 Organic Food Demand is Exploding<\/a><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 naturalsociety.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 Mar 2015 – The History of a Chemical Company – Monsanto is now instantly recognized as the company dominating the global food supply with its more than 7000 current worldwide patents. But today\u2019s Monsanto is not a corporate newcomer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-organic-gmo-genetic-engineering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}