(Newswire.net — September 14, 2015) –Monsanto if your executives and board members know how to read. The ways in which people think about food are changing. Consumers are more informed than ever, and are capable of making conscious decisions about what types of food they buy and eat, and many are making the switch to organically grown and locally produced food, as opposed to the genetic-engineering and industrial-scale production that have become, unfortunately, the norm. The industry, however, has been resistant to change. The large corporations, such as Monsanto, which control the production of our food, have for too long been engaging in practices detrimental to our health and planet. They are unconcerned, of course, as long as there is no effect on their bottom lines. It is, therefore, up to the consumers to force the necessary change.
The OCA has also organized some of the first Glyphosate testing. The chemical, which is one of the key ingredients in Monstanto’s RoundUp pesticide, has long been considered injurious to health. California is considering putting Glyphosate onto its official state list of known carcinogens. But, nevertheless, Monsanto continues to produce RoundUp and rake in the profits. The OCA hopes that, with its new testing, consumers will become more aware of the levels of the chemical in their bodies, and the potential health-risks will be made more concrete.
Along with Syngenta and Dupont, Monsanto controls more than half of the world’s seeds. They control over 650 seed-patents. They use this control to bully farmers into growing the seeds Monsanto wants them to grow, and paying a hefty price to do it. Monsanto is well-known for the practice of suing farmers for growing seeds to which they hold the patent, even if that farmer never had any intention of doing so. Perhaps the seeds blew over from a neighboring farm; perhaps they were transported by an animal. No matter: Monsanto has made millions from these lawsuits.
The OCA, and other organizations fighting against the corporatization of our foodstuffs, are vitally important – not least of all because they organize us, the consumers, and provide a voice big enough to take on global corporate entities such as Monsanto. Whether they are suing farmers, or continuing to use chemicals even as evidence of their harm mounts, Monsanto shows no will to change for the betterment of our planet. It is up to us, the consumers, to make them.