Roundup Essay -- Monsanto’s Soya Bean

If you read Wall Streets reports, they dont have words of soya bean as originating in China. They dont talk of soya bean as soya bean. They talk of Monsanto soya. Monsanto soya is protected by a patent. It has a patent number. It is therefore treated as a creation of Monsanto, a product of Monsantos intelligence and innovation. Vandana Shiva (Barsamian, 1997)Introduction Monsanto is a Saint Louis Chemical manufacturer that is a major player in the weed killing business. Monsanto has quite a portentous past. They developed and produced the notorious defoliant actor Orange used in the Vietnam War, they invented the controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), and they were the inventors and worlds main producer of polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs) which are now banned only if still linger in our soil and water (Arax, 1997). Presently, Monsanto is commonly known for its potent herbicide named Roundup. As the biggest-selling weed killer in the world, Roundup accounts for 17 pct of Monsantos total annual sales of $9 billion (Arax, 1997). The main ingredient of Roundup is glyphosate. Glyphosate is the eighth most commonly used herbicide in U.S. market-gardening and the second most commonly used herbicide in nonagricultural settings (Cox, 1995). Its estimated annual use according to the U.S. EPA is between 15 and 20 million pounds in agriculture and between 4 and 6 million pounds elsewhere (Arax, 1997). Monsanto claims that Roundup breaks down quickly in the soil, so that little or no toxic spin-off accumulates in plant or animal tissue - a viewpoint often disputed. Monsantos patent on Roundup will expire in 2 years, and when this happens, countless chemical companies will undoubtedly jump into the mark... ...Susan Benson, and Rachel Burstein. A Growing Concern. Mother Jones January / February 1997 37-43. Barsamian, David. We Cant Afford To Have a Sacred railway car Rather Than a Sacred Cow. The Progressive September 1997 36-39. Bruno, Kenny. Say It Aint Soy, Monsanto. Multinational Monitor January / February 1997 27-30. Cox, C. Glyphosate, Part 1 Toxicology. Journal of Pesticide Reform transcend 1995 Vol. 15, No 3. Cox, C. Glyphosate, Part 2 Human Exposure and Ecological Effects. Journal of Pesticide Reform Winter 1995 Vol. 15, No 4. Perils Amid Promises of Genetically Engineered Foods by Dr. Mea Ho. Biology Department, Open University, U.K. November 1996. WWW.GREENPEACE.ORG/GENENG/INDEX.HTML wherefore Consumers and Farmers Should Avoid Monsantos Genetically Engineered Soybeans A Greenpeace Report. WWW.GREENPEACE.ORG/GENENG/INDEX.HTML