Monsanto and GMOs

Introduction Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is a growing problem especially with advances via the Monsanto lobby in Congress. There are several avenues Monsanto can take to generate an environment in the United States that supports GMO crops and GMO ingredients. They can alter the GMO food labeling bill and pressure farmers to adopt use of their patented seeds, among other actions. To thwart these efforts, the American public must act quickly.

They must lobby the government against Monsanto and use the evidence from countries like India and Argentina where GMO crops grow, to demonstrate the deleterious effects of GMO. Viable Solution The first problem that must be solved is GMO and labeling. The GMO food labeling bill must allow clear labeling of GMO foods instead of the QR codes. A second problem is Monsanto itself. Monsanto’s power regarding seed patenting must be eliminated.

India ruled Monsanto cannot patent cotton seeds and thus the company may leave India because of the ruling. The final problem to tackle to remove GMO from the United States is food quality. The United States needs to introduce higher food quality standards that will enable better health among its citizens and remove the grip Monsanto has on farmers through government subsidies and seed patents. First Advantage The GMO food labeling bill is a real step for the American government to combat GMO foods in the country.

However, it is an uphill battle. “Many states have considered their own GMO regulation, with GM food labeling laws a particular focus. But, agribusinesses fought against mandatory labeling laws for GM foods-though 64 other countries around the world and 89 percent of American voters support it” (Walker, 2017, p. 93). Agribusinesses like Monsanto understand the power of an educated consumer and thus have attempted to thwart labeling efforts in the country. However, the American public can fight this through education and understanding the use of GMO food labeling in other countries.

The GMO food labeling bill is like what many countries already have in place. If the American public wishes to convince Congress to keep the bill free from QR codes and instead have clear labeling, Americans must lobby and demonstrate the legislation passed in other countries like Austria and France.

The fight for GMO food labeling must be presented with evidence from other countries to have any effect on changing the minds of Congress amidst powerful lobby groups and lobbyists like Monsanto’s various hires: Monsanto runs a well-greased lobbying shop. At a cost of $1.21 million last quarter, the effort is not lacking in people power for its work in the nation’s capital.

In addition to seven registered staff lobbyists, Monsanto, on contract, is ready to deploy: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the nation’s top lobbying firm. It has a contract valued at $50,000 per quarter with Monsanto for the services of registered lobbyist Brian Pomper, a foreign trade expert (Flynn, 2012). Second Advantage Other countries have fought and banned outright, the use of GMO foods and the growing of GM crops. As mentioned earlier, Austria is a big proponent of maintaining GMO foods out of the country along with France (Newton, 2014).

As early as 2003, Austria and France joined a network to maintain GMOs out of their respective countries. “Ten European regions organize to form a network of GMO-free jurisdictions. They include France, Upper Austria, Italy, and Wales” (Newton, 2014, p. 65). They fought hard to maintain regions where no GMO foods would be grown or sold. This demonstrates the potentially damaging effects of GMO cultivation and GMO products.

Another important piece of evidence that can greatly help the cause is India’s ruling of Monsanto’s patented GMO cotton seeds. Monsanto is trying desperately to claim a patent on their GMO cotton seeds, so they can establish dominance over cotton farming in India. The Indian government however, decided such patenting will not be recognized.

“The Delhi High Court last month concurred with Indian seed company Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, which argued that India's Patent Act does not allow Monsanto any patent cover for its genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds” (Reuters, 2018). While Monsanto will be appealing over the summer of 2018, this is a precedent that can potentially give weight to the removal of patents for Monsanto’s seeds in the United States. Third Advantage Food quality is so important in the fight against GMO.

GMO is associated with low quality and low cost. By saturating the American public with high quality food at a reasonable cost, GMO foods will face stiffer competition and Monsanto may lose its profits. While Russia still does not provide organic food to its people for an affordable price, its greenhouse initiative has improved the country’s food quality thus diminishing its need for imported produce.

“The federal government supports and promotes greenhouse production from large farm enterprises as part of its import substation policy” (Wegren, Nikulin, & Trot?s?uk, 2018, p. 221). Proposed Solution and its Advantages The GMO problem can be fixed. Other countries like Austria, France, and now India, are or have taken steps to keep GMO out. This includes GMO food labeling and now thanks to India’s recent ruling, a removal of patent rights for Monsanto’s GMO cotton seeds.

But the American public must lobby and fight to show Congress they do not want GMO in their stores. How can this be done? One major action is improving food quality. Removing the need to import produce may provide the American public and the American government with a more affordable option, decreasing Monsanto’s and GMO’s grip on the American diet. Pathos The state of the United States is dire.

People are suffering needlessly due to being malnourished from consuming processed junk food because they cannot afford any better. GMO seems like a good solution on the surface. It provides cheap food and cheap ingredients for clothing and processed foods. However, the price to pay for such cheap products is too much to bare. The United States obesity epidemic is growing and a large part of that is due to the American public’s dependence on processed food. “A nation-wide analysis of U.S.

grocery purchases reveals that highly processed foods make up more than 60 percent of the calories in food we buy, and these items tend to have more fat, sugar and salt than less-processed foods” (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2015). If the United States government wishes to help its citizens, it must do by improving food quality. That means eliminating GMOs and the power of the company that propels them to the forefront,.