Bayer and Monsanto: a Marriage Made in Hell

[Judi Lynn]

May 27, 2016
Bayer and Monsanto: a Marriage Made in Hell

by Martha Rosenberg – Ronnie Cummins

The two multinationals that teamed up during the Vietnam War to poison millions of people with its Agent Orange herbicide—St. Louis, Mo.-based Monsanto and Germany’s Bayer AG—are looking to become one.

Bayer has announced a bid to buy Monsanto in a deal that would expand Bayer’s GMO and pesticide holdings and add drugs to Monsanto’s global portfolio. Monsanto has rejected the latest bid, but the two are still in talks.

If Monsanto, perhaps the most hated GMO company in the world, joins hands with Bayer, one of the most hated Big Pharma corporations on Earth (whose evil deeds date back to World War I and the Nazi era), the newly formed seed-pesticide-drug behemoth would have combined annual sales of $67 billion.

That’s a staggering figure. But here’s another, even more alarming: Combined, the new mega-chemical/seed company would control 29 percent of the world’s seed market and 24 percent of the pesticide market.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/27/bayer-and-monsanto-a-marriage-made-in-hell/

[elleng]

1. Exactly,

killing us all.

[Todays_Illusion]

2. My first thoughts, will Monsanto continue to receive tax support from the U.S. Government and will

they continue to have access to the government for influencing policy.

Their tax support comes in many frms, from that Farm Bill Ag insurance plan, to tax funded research contracts, to contracts for this and that along with the, tax support for low paying workers called E.I.T.C., and STAMP.
Of course they benefit from the Trade Agreements, enforced and supported with tax money, and the defense and intelligence costs that protect their global investments and enforce patents.

[Archae]

3. And people wonder why I put "Counterpunch" in the same category as "WND..."

[HuckleB]

4. You expect accuracy in reporting?

How quaint.

[Archae]

5. How about that, both authors are "organic" shills.

From Counterpunch's own pages...

Martha Rosenberg – Ronnie Cummins

Martha Rosenberg is a contributing writer to Organic Consumers Association. Ronnie Cummins is international director of the Organic Consumers Association.

[HuckleB]

6. Nice catch. Organic industry shills are typically the authors of such propaganda.

Last edited Sat May 28, 2016, 03:58 AM - Edit history (1)

It's truly sad to see it posted at DU. It's the opposite of progressive.

[proverbialwisdom]

7. Try this.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-24/quicktake-q-a-bayer-and-monsanto-both-carry-weight-of-history

QuickTake
Q&A: Bayer and Monsanto Both Carry Weight of History

by Laurence Arnold
May 24, 2016 — 9:23 AM PDT

As with any celebrity coupling, the proposed marriage of Bayer and Monsanto would combine two intriguing life stories, each with its share of unflattering chapters.

1. What is Bayer’s baggage?

Founded in 1863 by two friends who made dyes from coal-tar derivatives, Bayer introduced heroin as a cough remedy in 1896 and aspirin in 1899. (The company’s online history mentions aspirin but not heroin.) In 1925, Bayer was folded into IG Farben, the German chemical conglomerate now remembered for its collaboration with Adolf Hitler during World War II. Bayer became independent again after the war. Its chief executive officer, Werner Baumann, says the Bayer name stands for "science, innovation and an utmost level of responsibility for societal needs."

2. What is Monsanto’s baggage?

Founded in 1901, it first produced food additives including the artificial sweetener saccharin. It was among the companies that manufactured Agent Orange, used as a defoliant by the U.S. in the Vietnam War, and until the late 1970s produced highly toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Now the world’s largest producer of genetically modified crops, the company is a lightning rod for activists who say the technology carries potential health risks. In its online history, Monsanto calls itself "a relatively new company" that shares "the name and history of a company that was founded in 1901" but today "is focused on agriculture and supporting farmers around the world."

<>

[progressoid]

8. I don't get the need to reference Nazis and Agent Orange.

Pretty sure they don't do that anymore.

I used to drive a Ford. I didn't think, "gosh I hate driving this because Henry Ford was an anti-Semite".

[DetlefK]

9. Wait... Disney was a fan of the Nazis... and Disney-Corp has bought Marvel Studios and Star Wars...

[progressoid]

10. Oh. Emm. Gee. Perhaps I was too hasty in my dismissal of the Nazi connection.

This could be bigger than I could have imagined.