Monsanto in the Sustainability Business

Did I mention that I went surfing in Maui with two women who work for Monsanto (a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation)? I did! It was over Thanksgiving. I went to a group lesson – we introduced each other, exchanged pleasantries, and I asked why they were living in Maui. The women said they had been moved by the agricultural company they worked for… agriculture?! Me too! “I work for a sustainable agriculture organization” I said. She responded, “Oh, then you probably know our company, Monsanto.” Oh.

My surfing lesson was awesome, and it was probably just my imagination, but I think one of them tried to cut me off!

We didn’t get into a conversation about work after that, but I kept wondering why someone would work for Monsanto (besides the fact that they will move you to Hawaii). I realized that Monsanto works hard and spends lots of money to keep up their image of concern and scientific know-how to fix a world in distress. They say they are going to make farmers prosperous and fix the world’s hunger problems in the process. They even have their own Monsanto YouTube channel with their newest video, Monsanto’s Sustainable Yield Initiative, describing all of the good they are doing for a world that is going to need to feed an unimaginable number of new mouths in the next 50 years. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that Monsanto was the cure to all of our problems.

I also happen to be reading Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved right now, and it paints a different picture about Monsanto and the destructive path they have carved through the history of agriculture. Monsanto, Mr. Patel says (along with many others), has created problems and suffering around the world for farmers and the people who need the food the farmers are growing. The patented seeds and pesticides, which Monsanto swears will solve our hunger problems, are actually causing the problems. Some countries are fighting to keep Monsanto seeds out of their land.

How does a person decipher this information? Two completely different opinions on the same company. Two completely different opinions about how to rebound from the current state of agriculture around the world. Everyone has their own opinion about what is actually going help, what is right and what is wrong. Everyone needs to educate themselves about industrial agriculture and sustainable agriculture and hopefully the solution will seem evident (obviously I’ve made up my mind!).

Read about the issues surrounding industrial agriculture and its problems in our issues pages and share your knowledge! Learn what you can do to make a difference by supporting sustainable agriculture on our site.