Monsanto has come to dominate the American food chain with its genetically modified (GM) seeds. They have also moved into the production of milk with it artificial growth hormones. But these are relatively new areas for the company; it has a decades long history of scorched earth and toxic contamination.
Monsanto was founded in 1901 to manufacture the artificial sweetener saccharin. In the 1920’s, Monsanto grew into a global powerhouse, extending into the production of plastic, rubber and vinyl goods, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. In the 1970’s, Monsanto moved into biotechnology becoming the first to genetically modify a plant cell in the 1980’s.
Monsanto may be responsible for more than 50 Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites. And for many years, Monsanto produced two of the most toxic substances ever known -- polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs, and dioxin. Several court proceedings regarding these substances remain unresolved.
In 1949, a blown pressure valve at a Monsanto plant released a plume of vapor and white smoke that drifted out over the town. Within days, workers experienced skin eruptions, and others felt intense pains in their chest, legs and trunk. Monsanto downplayed the incident. The plant continued to produce herbicides, and in the 1960’s it manufactured Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide used by the U.S. military to defoliate jungles during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange became the focus of lawsuits by veterans contending they had been harmed by exposure to the chemical.
Dioxin waste from the plant went into landfills, storm drains, streams, and sewers. Residents have sued Monsanto, but Monsanto claims “the allegations are without merit”.
From 1929 to 1971, another Monsanto plant produced PCBs as industrial coolants and insulating fluids. PCBs have been linked to damage in the liver and nervous system, as well as immune, endocrine and reproductive disorders. Today, the area around the old plant continues to be one of the most polluted spots in the U.S. While the plant was in production, excess PCBs were dumped in a nearby open-pit landfill or allowed to flow off the property with storm water.
Information from court records indicates Monsanto knew quite a lot about the potential dangers of the chemicals it manufactured. An internal memo entitled “Confidential -- F.Y.I. and Destroy” reviewed steps to limit disclosure of the information.