Bayer and Monsanto: An Unholy Marriage

Bayer has just purchased Monsanto for 62.5 billion dollars, cementing one of the most unholy business marriages of all time. The two companies are equally yoked with a history of evil and self-serving business practices are concerned, and it’s important for the public to know what this massive business merger means.

The Bride

Monsanto is the company that is responsible for creating and marketing products like genetically modified BT corn (corn plants with built-in pesticide genes spliced into their DNA) and “Round-up ready” GMOs—plants that are engineered to resist the herbicide Roundup so that fields can be saturated with chemicals that kill weeds, but not the modified crops. Rather than increase crop yields as promised, GMOs have increased the use of herbicides and caused an alarming outbreak of herbicide-resistant “superweeds”.

Despite claims to the contrary, glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) has been shown to cause cancer and other illnesses. GMO crops in India and Central America have caused a deadly epidemic of kidney disease in those countries, and health in America has plummeted alongside the rise of GMO products.

Monsanto has become well-known as a company that falsifies documents, lies to the public, strong-arms farms and businesses into buying their products, and covers up wrongdoing. They have been sued many times, and are currently facing a very large lawsuit involving thousands of people with claims that they have cancer caused by Monsanto’s “safe” herbicides.

The Groom

Bayer has been a household name for generations, but many people are unaware of its sordid history. This company began in Germany under the name of I.G. Farben. In lawsuits, I.G. Farben has been accused of crimes against humanity during World War II—when the effectiveness of their pharmaceuticals was tested on Jewish people who were kidnapped, enslaved, or purchased to use as “human guinea pigs”.

‍

Bayer admits to using slave labor, although it has done its best to minimalize its connection to I.G. Farben. And it’s no wonder they would rather people be unaware of their roots—I.G. Farben was the company that developed  Zyklon B…the poisonous gas used to kill millions of Jews in gas chambers during WWII.

A Match Made In Hell

Monsanto has its own ugly little toxic secret: Agent Orange. Monsanto created this chemical for use in warfare during the Vietnam war, and it was sprayed in large amounts (some 12 million gallons) to kill foliage in South Vietnam. Although not meant to be a toxin to humans, Monsanto’s product proved to be a powerful teratogen—sickening millions and causing horrific birth defects that continue to be a problem even in the children and grandchildren of those exposed. Many children in Vietnam today lie dying in orphanages due to disabilities caused by the toxin, and in America veterans of the Vietnam war and their descendants suffer from a long list of hundreds of health problems associated with Agent Orange exposure.

These two massive companies deserve to be tried for crimes against humanity, rather than be allowed to team up. By distancing themselves from their histories and covering up their wrongdoing, they have managed to continue to do billions of dollars of business despite the damage they’ve done to society.

Bayer has announced that once the purchase is complete, the name “Monsanto” will disappear. In this way, I.G. Farben and Monsanto will quietly blend into one “family” name…and Bayer will hide two companies with a horrible history. They will continue to benefit from their terrible past, building on a history of building a financial empire by taking advantage of the very people they claim to help—and then refusing to take responsibility for the damages they do.

‍

An Uncertain Future for the Rest of Us

This new union will come with a special bonus: Monsanto is facing a huge number of serious lawsuits in the near future that could do real damage to the company. Now, they will have the added money and corporate backing of Bayer—and, with a name change, the hope that the public will soon forget who is responsible for the tainting of our entire food chain and the epidemic of autoimmune illness that is sickening people at unheard of rates.  

‍

This union will close a perfect vicious cycle that Monsanto alone couldn’t quite complete: Monsanto’s GMOs require Monsanto’s herbicides to grow; Monsanto’s herbicides cause resistant weeds that require more herbicides to eradicate; these herbicides cause diseases in everyone who consumes GMO products. Now, Bayer’s drugs can be prescribed for the ailments that Monsanto’s products cause—keeping the cycle of toxic chemicals and high-priced drugs all in the same family.

The losers in all of this? Clearly, everyone but Monsanto and Bayer.

By allowing this to take place, the Department of Justice has created the world’s largest seed and chemical company—a company that will control 77% of all seed corn and 58-97% of all cotton, soybean, and canola markets. This promises to be more expensive for farmers and to make it much more difficult for the public to have choices as to how their food is grown.

Please, share this article and let others know what is happening. If the public is aware of the merger, they will know to watch Bayer carefully and to take the steps needed to be informed about where their food is coming from and who is benefitting from it.

Best,