Monsanto Under Fire 

The almost three-week old hunger strike outside the office of the agriculture department in Quezon City has put the issue of Bt corn genetic engineering into the limelight. It has also highlighted the role of  the U.S.-based Monsanto, one of the world’s leading herbicidal companies, in genetic engineering which is also under fire in many other countries.

By Alexander Martin Remollino

Bulatlat.com 

When a group of nine environmentalists and farmer leaders held a hunger strike last April 22 to protest the commercial distribution of Bt corn in the Philippines, for which the Bureau of Plant Industries issued a permit to Monsanto (the corporation that introduced the said corn variety in the Philippines in 1997) last December, they seemed to be fighting a lonely battle. Very few people outside their respective circles knew what they were doing and what they were doing it for.

But as the days pass, it looks more and more like it is Monsanto which is quite alone in this fight.

“Defy state policy”

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP – Peasant Movement in the Philippines) was one of the first groups to protest against the use of Bt corn in the Philippines. It was a vehement opponent of Monsanto even while the American corporation was still field-testing Bt corn.

Now in a statement on May 7, the KMP reiterated its stand against Bt corn. It urged Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, Jr. to defy the policy of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration on the commercialization of Bt corn and other genetically engineered seeds and modern biotechnology.

KMP chair Rafael Mariano said: “Agrochemical transnational corporations, like Monsanto, put profits above the life and health of the people to the extent of inflicting permanent damage to the environment and thereby affecting the biodiversity of life, survival, food security and livelihoods of over a billion people worldwide.”

KMP, Mariano said, stands by its call to peasants to boycott Monsanto products, particularly YieldGard Insect-Protected Corn Family. YieldGard is the brand name of Monsanto’s Bt corn.

Monsanto wheat in Canada

In Canada, Monsanto recently filed applications with the government for the environmental use and commercial distribution of genetically-engineered wheat. The wheat variety that Monsanto plans to introduce in Canada is designed to resist herbicides.

The Canadian chapter of the environmental group Greenpeace International has not taken this sitting down. On Feb. 15, the group posted on its website a petition requesting the Canadian Parliament to immediately ban the environmental and commercial use of genetically engineered wheat.

Greenpeace argues that genetic engineering of wheat can cause gene flow to related wild plants. This, in turn, may lead to the emergence of troublesome weeds that could damage the ecosystem.

The international environmental group also points out that genetic modification of wheat may make it difficult for farmers to control what is called “volunteer wheat.”

Wheat crops may shed some of their seeds before and during harvest. If these seeds remain in the soil, germinate, and emerge in the next season’s crops, they become “volunteer weeds.”

Volunteer wheat has been known to carry viral and fungal diseases over long periods of time. Greenpeace argues that if volunteer wheat is herbicide-tolerant, it would become more difficult for farmers to control them. This, the environmental group says, would make it harder to prevent the spread of diseases.

As of May 9, the Greenpeace petition has gathered nearly 3,000 signatures.

The company

The company profile on Monsanto’s website describes it as “a leading provider of agricultural products and integrated solutions for farmers.”

Monsanto is based in St. Louis, Missouri. It has branches in 50 other countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa.

The company has a wide range of products: herbicides, animal agricultural products, and seeds.

Its Roundup herbicide and other glyphosate-based products “offer effective non-selective weed control.”

It also produces “selective herbicides,” used to control specific weeds in rice, corn, and wheat. Among its selective herbicides are Harness Xtra, Machete, and Maverick.

Its animal agricultural products are intended to “improve” milk production in cows and the genetic structure of swine. They go by the names Posilac and Monsanto Choice Genetics.

Monsanto is perhaps best known for its Roundup Ready Soybeans and YieldGard Corn. It also has other seed products such as Dekalb and Asgrow.

At the strikers’ camp

Meanwhile, the ranks of the anti-Bt corn hunger strikers and support for them have grown.

Roberto “Obet” Verzola, Luisita Esmao, Arma Bertuso, and Mark Cervantes were recently joined by a second batch of hunger strikers. Among the second batch are Ann Laracas—one of the original nine—and “Running Priest” Fr. Robert Reyes. Laracas said, “We are not leaving this pavement until the DA signs the moratorium banning Bt corn from our farms and our tables.”

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo has expressed support for the hunger strikers. Former Sen. Wigberto Tañada, President of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, visited them last May 7 to express solidarity. Bulatlat.com

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