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In reply to the discussion: No more GMO: Monsanto drops bid to approve new crops in Europe [View all]proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)47. FYI, claims of altruistic and humanitarian motives are explored in investigative reports here.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/14/850321/romney-monsanto/?mobile=nc
Romney And Bain Boosted Agriculture Giant Monsanto In Spite Of Toxic Past
By Aviva Shen on Sep 14, 2012 at 11:37 am
Biotechnology firm Monsanto Company, which currently owns most of the patents for Americas staple crops, is already cozy with American lawmakers. A new Nation report, however, indicates that a very old friend in a very high place may usher in the corporations most prosperous years yet.
The Nations investigative report ( http://www.thenation.com/article/169885/mitt-romney-monsanto-man# ) has uncovered how Mitt Romney personally helped Monsanto shed its string of toxic chemical-related scandals and reinvent itself to dominate American agriculture. Monsanto, an early Bain & Company client, was so impressed with Romney that they started bypassing his superiors to deal with him directly. Romneys close relationship with then CEO John Hanley prompted his boss to create Bain Capital to keep Romney from leaving and taking their largest consulting client with him.
From 1977 to 1985, Romney helped navigate Monsanto through very rocky waters. The agribusiness was flooded with lawsuits after Congress banned the toxic coolant PCBs, a Monsanto product that has been linked to cancer and neurological disorders. At the same time, Monsantos Agent Orange toxin, used to defoliate jungles in the Vietnam War, was linked to the contamination of millions of Vietnamese and American soldiers and had been dubbed the largest chemical warfare operation in human history.
Tom Philpott at Mother Jones dug up a 2002 article ( http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/09/romney-monsanto-bain ) describing Monsantos attempts to hide its toxic waste disposal even after managers discovered fish spurting blood and shedding skin within 10 seconds of the PCB dump:
Faced with costly litigation, Monsanto relied on Romney to create their new public image one that did not involve poisoning soldiers or dumping chemicals in rivers:
<...>
Romney And Bain Boosted Agriculture Giant Monsanto In Spite Of Toxic Past
By Aviva Shen on Sep 14, 2012 at 11:37 am
Biotechnology firm Monsanto Company, which currently owns most of the patents for Americas staple crops, is already cozy with American lawmakers. A new Nation report, however, indicates that a very old friend in a very high place may usher in the corporations most prosperous years yet.
The Nations investigative report ( http://www.thenation.com/article/169885/mitt-romney-monsanto-man# ) has uncovered how Mitt Romney personally helped Monsanto shed its string of toxic chemical-related scandals and reinvent itself to dominate American agriculture. Monsanto, an early Bain & Company client, was so impressed with Romney that they started bypassing his superiors to deal with him directly. Romneys close relationship with then CEO John Hanley prompted his boss to create Bain Capital to keep Romney from leaving and taking their largest consulting client with him.
From 1977 to 1985, Romney helped navigate Monsanto through very rocky waters. The agribusiness was flooded with lawsuits after Congress banned the toxic coolant PCBs, a Monsanto product that has been linked to cancer and neurological disorders. At the same time, Monsantos Agent Orange toxin, used to defoliate jungles in the Vietnam War, was linked to the contamination of millions of Vietnamese and American soldiers and had been dubbed the largest chemical warfare operation in human history.
Tom Philpott at Mother Jones dug up a 2002 article ( http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/09/romney-monsanto-bain ) describing Monsantos attempts to hide its toxic waste disposal even after managers discovered fish spurting blood and shedding skin within 10 seconds of the PCB dump:
Monsanto Co. routinely discharged toxic waste into a west Anniston creek and dumped millions of pounds of PCBs into oozing open-pit landfills. And thousands of pages of Monsanto documentsmany emblazoned with warnings such as CONFIDENTIAL: Read and Destroyshow that for decades, the corporate giant concealed what it did and what it knew.
Faced with costly litigation, Monsanto relied on Romney to create their new public image one that did not involve poisoning soldiers or dumping chemicals in rivers:
Dr. Earl Beaver, who was Monsantos waste director during the Bain period, says that Bain was certainly aware of the PCB and dioxin scandals because they created a negative public perception that was costing the company money. So Bain recommended focusing on the businesses that didnt have those perceptions, Beaver recalls, starting with life science products that were biologically based, including genetically engineered crops, as well as Roundup, the hugely profitable weed-killer. These were the products that Bain gave their go-ahead to, Beaver contends, noting that Romney was a key player, reviewing the data collected by other people and developing alternatives, talking mostly to the higher muckety-mucks.
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Forget Seralini; try 118 articles on glyphosate from 'US National Library of Medicine' publications.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#41
Fraudulent science, how about sick kids? These findings give support to The Precautionary Principle
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#33
"Because while our children may only represent 30% of the population, they are 100% of our future."
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#42
Pusztai? Embarrassing. That the antis have nothing but bad science should tell you something
roseBudd
Jul 2013
#57
ABSOLUTELY FALSE -"Peer review tells us that...Pusztai performed shoddy research."
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#65
Ironic you'd mention risk factors. Here's a 2009 Press Release from Breast Cancer Action about rBGH.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#49
Courtesy Michael Hansen, PhD Senior Scientist, Consumer Reports: Monsanto, GM foods & Health Risks.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#46
FALSE - "The vast majority of scientists agree that biotech food is safe. " The field is evolving.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#64
I imagine it's easier to trivialize and minimize the person than it is to take valid exception
LanternWaste
Jul 2013
#53
Oh, it's just a single case history, but wait for the GMO labeling laws to be implemented.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#74
FYI, claims of altruistic and humanitarian motives are explored in investigative reports here.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#47
IAASTD examined global agriculture on scale comparable to Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#48
Al Gore: The challenges raised by human biotechnologies on par with those of global climate change.
proverbialwisdom
Jul 2013
#50