The creator of saccharine, Monsanto also invented plastics, polystyrenes and synthetic fibers. Other major products have included the herbicides 2,4,5-T, DDT, PCBs and Agent Orange (Vietnam War defoliant and carcinogenic). Also, Monsanto operated the Dayton Project, and later Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Manhattan Project, the development of the first nuclear weapons and, after 1947, the Atomic Energy Commission. Monsanto scientists first began to genetically modify plant cells in 1982 and the company produced DNA altered crops five years later.
They now control ninety percent of the world’s seed production.
Monsanto first introduced caffeine and vanilla (two products upon which they’ve cornered the market) to Coca-Cola,
and is the primary lobbyist behind the now controversial bill S 5.10 currently before the United States Senate. Seeking to sterilize all seed offered for commercial sale, the bill seeks to sternly regulate backyard gardening, to offer free-hand DNA modification of foodstuffs to manufacturers, and to redefine the term “organic” to include a broader sweep of the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
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