Monsanto: 117 Years of a Dark Development History—Truly Horrifying!

Afraid of being collectively beaten up by subordinates at any moment, Even the CEO’s own father shook his head repeatedly at his son’s decision: “Monsanto? Isn’t that the world’s most evil company? I used to think you were someone with dreams— never imagined you’d turn out like this!” Just what kind of company is Monsanto, that even other corporations feel deeply ashamed at the mere thought of selling themselves to it? It is the pioneer of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and its reputation stinks. Yet its foul odor does not stem from GMOs per se— on the contrary, it is Monsanto that made GMOs stink. In 1901, Monsanto Company was founded by John Francis Queeny. The company was named “Monsanto” rather than “Queeny” because the founder had no capital of his own and relied almost entirely on financial support from his wife. As the saying goes: “If you eat someone’s food, your mouth grows short; if you take their money, your hand grows short.” Having taken his wife’s money, the company had to adopt her family name. This wife had hoped her husband would carry forward her family name and bring honor to their lineage— but instead, he succeeded in saddling the innocent surname “Monsanto” with all manner of heavy accusations and infamy. At first, the company hadn’t decided precisely what business to pursue. But Queeny noticed that saccharin sold extremely well on the market. Yes—that artificial sweetener with virtually no nutritional value, yet intensely sweet. In fact, the patent for saccharin belonged to Germany, and everyone bought saccharin by importing it properly from Germany. Queny, however, paid no heed to such patent restrictions. He reasoned: “If saccharin is so profitable, I absolutely must get involved!” So Queeny began manufacturing saccharin. Since patent law was still underdeveloped at the time, Queny stuck firmly to one principle: flat-out denial. His face was so thick that even the famously upright Germans were utterly powerless against him. Moreover, he secured an excellent buyer for his saccharin: Coca-Cola. After all, as a domestic U.S. enterprise, Coca-Cola naturally prioritized supporting its homegrown brothers. Thanks to years of cooperation with Coca-Cola, Monsanto prospered and grew wealthy. During World War I, supply channels for industrial raw materials from Europe were severed, and the U.S. could no longer import food additives from Europe. Seizing this opportunity, Monsanto steadily expanded its reach into other food additives, and its sales continued rising, gradually cementing its position as the undisputed leader of America’s chemical industry. Once flush with cash, Monsanto poured huge sums into scientific research— but its investment criteria remained unchanged: “Whatever makes money, we’ll do it.” Monsanto’s flagship product entering the chemical market was polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)— an artificially synthesized organic compound widely used in industry as heat-transfer fluids, insulating oils, lubricants, and as additives in numerous industrial products. Given such broad applications, Monsanto immediately concluded: “This substance sells well—we’ll produce it!” And indeed, it excelled: At one point, 99% of PCBs sold on the U.S. market came from Monsanto. PCBs sold briskly—but Monsanto, as the producer, was fully aware of their toxicity. According to declassified internal Monsanto documents, as early as 1937 they knew exposure to PCBs caused systemic toxic reactions, including skin rashes and acne. In 1961, their scientists placed fish into drainage ditches in Anniston, Alabama— and every single fish died within three and a half minutes. The facts were glaringly clear: Monsanto had long known exactly what PCBs meant. Yet they chose to conceal the truth. It wasn’t until 1961, when Japan experienced the “Yusho” rice oil poisoning incident— in which victims fell ill after consuming rice bran oil contaminated with PCBs— that the public learned of the dangers. Victims’ fingernails turned black, and their skin developed hyperpigmentation.

The World’s 'Most Evil' Company: Monsanto

‘Environmental protection’ is relative—but the long-term use of pesticides and herbicides inevitably depletes soil fertility and reduces crop yields. That much is absolute. To address such problems, most companies would seek to improve their herbicides. But Monsanto is no ordinary company: its solution was to modify crops instead—to make them adapt to herbicides. Thus, the world’s most controversial ‘conspiracy footnote,’ genetically modified (GM) soybeans, burst onto the scene. Just as the emergence of cloning technology triggered widespread political, economic, social, and cultural controversies and upheavals, the commercial rollout of GM crops likewise ignited fierce disputes and globally resonant impacts among diverse social groups, interest groups, and nations. One major controversy concerns the impact of GM technology on human health. Although, to date, GM foods have not been scientifically proven harmful in principle, neither is there evidence confirming their safety over decades of consumption. Beyond that, growing numbers of people fear Monsanto intends to monopolize crop seeds through this technology—and thereby control global food production. In fact, GM technology itself isn’t inherently ‘notorious.’ On the contrary, it offers certain advantages traditional crops lack—such as higher agricultural productivity, expanded applications in pharmaceuticals, and superior resilience against natural disasters. Some even believe GM technology is vital for coping with today’s explosive population growth. Yet precisely because of these advantages, many countries have grown dependent on GM crops. Events in Argentina, in particular, have intensified global concerns about Monsanto and GM technology. △ A poster created by Monsanto’s opponents In 1996, Monsanto successfully entered the Argentine market through a series of preferential policies—only to later abruptly reverse course, demanding previously waived ‘patent fees.’ This move sharply raised Argentine soybean farmers’ production costs, ultimately inflicting massive losses. Today, GM corn accounts for 40% of Mexico’s total corn output; similar patterns have recurred repeatedly in Brazil, India, Uruguay, and elsewhere. It is no longer a joke to say that when Monsanto sneezes, the global grain market trembles. But Europe and North America differ from Latin America and India. Having witnessed the ‘mad cow disease’ crisis, Europeans remain deeply skeptical of GM products. Consequently, Monsanto’s offerings have suffered steady setbacks amid opposition from European environmentalists. By early 1999, the wildfire of opposition—not only to GM crops but to Monsanto as a whole—had already spread to the United States. This eruption wasn’t strategically engineered by anti-GM activists, but sparked purely by a scientific experiment: the ‘Monarch Butterfly Incident.’ The ensuing campaign swept across the nation, even prompting major food industry giants to publicly announce they would discontinue using ingredients derived from genetic engineering. Monsanto’s commercial prospects nearly collapsed overnight. Finally, in October of that year, Monsanto’s CEO Robert Shapiro accepted an invitation from Greenpeace to speak, admitting he had placed excessive faith in the value of his company’s technology—so much so that he had “forgotten to listen.” He stepped down that same year. Monsanto then merged with Sweden’s Pharmacia & Upjohn, becoming a subsidiary effectively dominated by Swedes. In 2018, Bayer AG successfully acquired Monsanto.

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