Monsanto is a very powerful company, and tries to conceal the fact that it practices in various unscrupulous ways. The ad shown depicts them having support for local American farmers, when in reality they have been suing and bankrupting farmers for years. They want the citizens to associate the Monsanto company with hard working small business farmers in collusion with the All-American ideal, which couldn't be further from the truth. They want to appear organic and less of a corporation. They have been involved in numerous court cases concerning patents that they have on herbicides and other products, both as plaintiffs and defendants. These cases have resulted in millions of dollars in fines and damages, sometimes because of the heath issues their products pose to the environment.
They are responsible for the development of Agent Orange, which is a herbicide that was used during the Vietnam War in Vietnam and caused thousands of death and later was a factor in thousands of people being born with various bith defects.
Monsanto also developed rBGH, which is recombinant bovine growth hormone. Cows are injected with this hormone and it causes their milk production to increase. Many consumers do not approve of this method of hyper production. They have also been criticized for their product saccharin for having health complicaions. Their product "Roundup" has been said to cause harm to animals and fish etc. and has been the subject of debate amongst environmentalists and court systems.
They practice astro turfing, which is being paid for statements that they make to the media and public. This process gives credibiliy to independent entities, but in fact they withhold information concerning these statements and the actual sources of the statements and claims that are made.
In conclusion, Monsanto may try to mask the facts of its history and what it has done to the environment and citizens but the truth is that they are a dirty low down business and cannot be trusted to put the truth out to the media and public regarding just about anything.
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