Monsanto’s Dirty Dozen: The 12 Most Awful Products Made By Monsanto

[donnay]

Monsanto’s Dirty Dozen: The 12 Most Awful Products Made By Monsanto

by Mark DeNicola



When it comes to pretty well every health-related alternative media platform, the agricultural mega-giant Monsanto is more than a recurring subject. On Collective Evolution alone you’ll find over 9 pages worth of articles at least loosely addressing the company by simply typing “monsanto” into our embedded search.

The reasoning as to why this multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation is such a hot topic is more than well-documented by this point. It’s so well-documented that an entire global march has been founded in protest to the stance and actions taken by this company, the March Against Monsanto. However the focus of this article is to shed some light on some of the most harmful products that Monsanto has had at least a part in bringing to market, some of which they still stand by to this day.

Originally put together by GMO Awareness, here are the 12 most awful products made by Monsanto:

1. Saccharin

What is it? – Plain and simple saccharin is an artificial sweetener. Around since the 1800′s, saccharin did not become widely popular as an alternative to sugar until the 20th century -thanks in large part to the efforts of Monsanto whose initial intention as a corporation was to produce saccharin for Coca-Cola. (1)(2)

Why is it bad? - Initially praised for its ability to provide sweetness without the calories, saccharin fell under fire in the 1970′s when a study revealed that saccharin caused cancer in test rats and mice -causing it be listed on the NIH’s carcinogen list. However, after mounting pressures, the study was disregarded as flawed in its conclusions, the sweetener was removed from the list and can to this day be found in a lot of what we consume. (1)

Where is it being used? – Drinks, candies, cookies, medicines, gum, fruit spreads, toothpaste and more.

2. PCB’s

What is it? – PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) belong to a family of manmade organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. They were first used by Monsanto in the 1920′s to produce coolant fluids for widely used electric transformers, capacitors and electric motors. They were domestically manufactured from 1929 to 1979 at which point they were banned. (1)(3)

Why is it bad? – PCB’s have been linked to causing cancer as well as contributing to a number of adverse health effects on the human immune systems, reproductive systems, nervous systems and endocrine systems. (3)

Where is it being used? - Banned since 1979, PCB’s are no longer being used, but their damage continues to persist as a 2011 study showed that it is still being found in the blood of pregnant women. (1) Prior to the ban PCB’s were found in widely used items such as, but not limited to: cable insulation, caulking, plastics, adhesives and oil-based paints. (3)

3. Polystyrene

What is it? – Still widely used to this day, polystyrene is a synthetic polymer. Polystyrene production became a focus of Monsanto’s in 1941. (1)

Why is it bad? – Polystyrene is non-biodegradable and is responsible for the most total hazardous waste worldwide. Chronic exposure to it has also been tied to depression, headache, fatigue and weakness. (4)

Where is it being used? – Literally everywhere, but most commonly in food packaging where it is known as styrofoam. It has solidified its place in the market as being more durable than paper products and most cost efficient than plastic (which isn’t much better for the environment).



5. DDT

What is it? – DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was a commonly used pesticide designed to combat malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Monsanto just happened to be one of the first manufacturers of the insecticide that would fall under heavy scrutiny. (1)(6)

Why is it bad? – Banned in 1972, DDT has been linked to damaging the liver, reducing reproductive success and temporary damages to the nervous system amongst others. (6)

Where is it being used? – Unfortunately DDT can often take more than 15 years to break down and is still being found in some soils and many waterways. Our exposure to it would more than likely come through consuming contaminated fish, crops, or through atmospheric deposition. (6)

6. Dioxin

What is it? – Dioxins are a group of chemically-related compounds that some see as amongst the most toxic chemicals known to science. Monsanto found themselves involved in 1945 when they began promoting the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. (1)(7)

Why is it bad? – Dioxins are most notably bad for their ability to accumulate in the food chain, and an EPA report once confirmed dioxins as a cancer hazard to humans. (7)

Where is it being used? – Rather than used, dioxins are primarily being found in meat and dairy products due to how integrated they have become within the food chain. (7)

Continued...

[invisible]

I would have to disagree with #3. Styrofoam is great stuff, and has uses not mentioned in the article such as excellent thermal insulation properties, and it is also an excellent dielectric material for capacitors that aren't subjected to heat stress. It's lightweight, non-damaging, and durable as a packing or packaging material for shipping. It doesn't enter the food chain and causes no ill health effects that I know of (although actually eating it certainly can't be good for you). But as the article points out, it isn't biodegradable, which is part of it's usefulness.

It took some time to figure out that PCB's enter and go right up the food chain, and are bio-accumulative. The big transformers on utility poles all used to use it as a cooling oil, and many of them are still in service. The utility companies don't take them out of service and replace them until / unless they fail. DDT was also claimed to be very safe at first, and also took a while to figure out that it entered and went right up the food chain. This was figured out about the same time as PCB's, but was banned more quickly because DDT the public had more everyday exposure and access to it.

Crap like dioxin and saccharin was known to be toxic, right from the start. These sort of things never should have been produced in the first place, and should be considered as corporate crime or fraud.