Thursday, September 30, 2010
Seed to Supermarket Questions
Shocking right? Thought soy was really healthy...maybe not when it's being genetically modified by a multi-national corporation. For this week, find some background information on Monsanto. What does their website look like? What do websites opposing Monsanto look like? Write about what you find.
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The pictures on Monsanto's website portray the company to be a great place, that the farmers are happy and doing well, and how they "create" seeds.The things I read on Monsanto's website are pure lies. They say pledge integrity, sharing, honesty, respect, that they create a great place to work, plus more along those lines. Also, they say that the farmers are very important to them, they stated "if there were one thing to say what Monsanto is about, it would have to be farmers."
ReplyDeleteI thought about Food Inc and how Monsanto treats these people, basically stocking them until they mess up and then suing them for all money they have. If people want to save their seeds to plant for the next year, I believe they should be able to go ahead and do that; farmers should plant what they want to plant!
For the websites that oppose Monsanto, I found one called Combat Monsanto, they write about their court cases and how unfair the whole situation is for the farmers. Also, there is information about Monsanto's history, their Roundup product, and things such as growth hormone. This website shows the truth behind Monsanto's lies.
The following qoute appears on the front page of the site: "If there were one word to explain what Monsanto is about, it would have to be farmers." Monsanto's website seems to revolve around this phrase. But after viewing the Food Inc. chapter on Monsanto, this seems to be a lie, a tactice simply used for advertising. They seemed to function soley on profit in the video and had no problem filing a law suit toward a farmer. How is does this portray them as farmer oreintated when these law suits essentialy can destry a farm and the families life! The three main goals of the company are to: produce more, conserve more and improving lives. The goal of conservation makes me think about the contamination of Monsanto seed fields with other fields. That is not conservation of the non monsanto seeds. Geneticly modified crops are not natural and with Monsanto owning most of the world seeds, the natural seeds are rare or in a way lost. The website also states "We are honored millions of farmers and their families decide to put their trust in us and buy our products." Comparing this to the video when it was said that Monsanto owens 90% of the seeds, farmers really have no choice but to go through their comapny. They are then forced to continue buying them as they are not allowed to save seeds from year to year.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking for websites against Monsanto I found a Facebook group called "Millions against Monsanto." The website talks about how unfair it is for Monsanto to charge families for contaminated fields due to pollen from a monsanto field spreading to a non monsanto field. Some websites talked about diffrent projects Monsanto has enginerred and the cases againt these products. There are also websites in diffrent langauges showing how this company has spead world wide.
The very first thing I noticed when looking at the Monsanto website was how much they advertise how important they are and how hard life would be without them. The say that they will be in charge of feeding and clothing and providing fuel for the growing population. This makes them sound very important to the American people. I also really like the first display picture it says "If there were one word to explain what Monsanto is about, it would have to be farmers." I almost laughed out loud after reading that. After watching the video Food.Inc in class this obviously shows otherwise. If Farmers are what makes their business they shouldn't be pushing them around and making sure they follow the line of the Monsanto Company. The Monsanto Company should be taking care of the farmers making sure they are happy with the product so they will continue growing it for them. The farmers shouldn't be afraid to get sued if they do one thing wrong. The website generally makes them look like a prosperous great company that the world could not live without, which may be true but only to a certain extent.
ReplyDeleteNow when looking at opposing website that are against Monsanto they mostly say how bad genetically modified food is. And that food should be natural. Most of the websites also gives examples on how Monsanto hasn't been honest about their products. Like Monsanto convinced that Indian farmers need their new modified cotton seed for a higher yield and better cotton. But they were wrong the crop yield was five times less and the cotton was 7 times less conventional.
If there are so many websites out there that oppose just one company there must be some flaws in the system. But that is never going to be info to shut down a business like Monsanto. They are just trying to make food like technology, easier to use and more convenient for the maker and the consumer.
Looking at the home page of Monsanto's website, the first thought in my mind was, "Wow, they seem to support the farmer, consumers, and basically anyone." It appears Monsanto cares about who and how they impact. Interestingly, in the section, "Our Pledge" it states, "It is a declaration that compels us to listen more, to consider our actions and their impact broadly..." Not quite, filing law suits against 'the farmer' (who they seem to care so much about) because he/she is recycling seed from his/her crops does not seem to "... consider [their] actions and their impact.." My father also is a seed salesman and he receives a list from his company of people he cannot sell to for suspected or violated rights with Monsanto.Moreover, each sale my dad makes, the customer must sign a contract stating he will not save seed. Once again, this does not seem to abide with Monsanto's pledge. Here's another interesting point, under a tab titled "Issues & Answers" Monsanto claims to, "...provid[e] full transparency about [its] company..." Oh, really? Who denied an interview for the Food, Inc. movie? Furthermore, they claim to strive to provide positive, ethical, and transparent business conduct. Yea right! Once a farmer buys seed, it is his. What he does with it after that is NOT Monsanto's problem. Also, their website has a section naming farmers who have fought Monsanto legally. Monsanto downplays its actions and create a criminal profile of the the farmers who are recycling seed THEY own or seed that was contaminated by genetic drift (not the farmer's fault). Obviously, Monsanto is biased. Of course, they don't want to admit fault- what company would? However, to create an image that is so centered around the farmer and then stab the farmer in the back is terrible. Appearing cooperative and caring then bullying the world's seed supply is not acceptable.
ReplyDeleteCompared to Monsanto' website, the many groups against Monsanto websites do not look as credible as Monsanto's site. Millions Against Monsanto, Help Stop Monsanto, or Take Action Against Monsanto are among the most common. These sites list lawsuits Monsanto has created, ask for petition signatures, and a common thread between them all, FrankenFoods. This term is used to refer to GMO products. I think that is catchy and if it caught on, a change could be possible. As I said earlier, the against Monsanto sites do not look credible. They look as though a computer smart teen put it together during school. I would not be comfortable donating money or giving contact information to a company/group with a website like any that I visited. However, one did have a PDF file that appeared legit. If a change is desired, a group is going to have to spend quite a bit of time, effort, and money to make a credible attempt to raise awareness and invoke change in this battle against Monsanto.
The Monsanto website makes it seem like they are there to help make the job of a farmer easier which,from watching Food Inc., I know is not true. Monsanto makes their website seem like they are looking out for the good of all people when really what they are doing is morally and ethically wrong in my opinion. The website is very decieving and if I looked at it without having seen the movie, I would have thought that Monsanto was a good company trying to help keep up with the food needs of the growing world. There was a line that said something about one word to describe them is farmers. I don't feel that is true at all. All Monsanto wants is money and anyting the farmers do that doesn't make the company money isn't allowed in their view. If all they were about was farmers, then why do they send people out to farms to make sure the farmers aren't saving seeds? It just doesn't add up. The website also had many advertisements and pictures of happy farmers. All of this is to get the company more money. That is all they care about in the end. The "Our Pledge" section on the website included many of the companies values and when looking at them at face value, they all looked really good but when I read the descriptions of each with the movie in the back of my mind, I saw the flaws in their values.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking up websites against Monsanto, I wasn't surprised to find many options to choose from. Some websites had very straight forward messages and were clear, unlike Monsanto. OThers had spots for people to comment and many people commented about how Monsanto was evil, the end of the world, and other negative things. These are very stong opinions. Monsanto obviosly has done harm to people in order for them to feel this way.
WELL since my WHOLE blog I just typed up got deleted when it asked me to log in I will try to re-create it. SO, make sure you guys log in BEFORE you start typing or you will want to cry when you have to start over!
ReplyDeleteI googled "Monsanto Products" and here is the kicker - only the first site was positive about Monsanto and it was their homepage, the other ones definitely opposed it. They were titled "Monsanto Products to Avoid Purchasing" and "Millions Against Monsanto - Organic Consumers Association". I looked at Monsanto's website first and it was put together very nicely. Easy to follow and find information on. The first thing I saw was "If there were one word to explain what Monsanto is about, it would have to be farmers." This is very upsetting becasue I know what a lie it is. We watched in the film how Monsanto's company has destroyed farmers lives and put them out of work. I don't really consider that helping farmers. The other thing I saw that was upsetting was "...and to improve lives." Another lie. What makes me so upset is that people that are uneducated (like me before watching the movie) might believe them becasue it looks and sounds legit. I then looked at the "Company Leadership" page and say Hugh Grant, Brett, Carl and all the other employees. They all know what is going on and have the ability to step up and say somthing but choose not to. I wish people could see what they are actually doing which is run a business and make as profit as possible. The sites opposing Monsanto don't look as well put together. They don't contain as much information but they do have some facts about what to stay away from and what Monsanto has done to our farmers. But really, how are these small business supposed to compete with a company like Monsanto? Monsanto probably has a whole team of workers just to fix up their website. The smaller companies maybe don't have those type of resources. If they want to make a change they need support and to get noticed.
(My apolgies if I repeat what was said previously) I looked at background information about Monsanto and it was a company in the 1900s that dealt with caffeeine and eventually turned to chemicals. In 2000 they merged with Pharmacia & Upjohn. The rest is basiclly what we saw in the movie Food Inc. I give kudos to the website where I retrived this information because of how unbias it was, unlike the Monsanto website. As mentioned before their mission statement was about how they put all their energy into farmers. I also saw that they try to emotionally connect to whoever reads the webiste by saying: "...to improve lives". They also mention that they "care" and "listen" to what their famers have to say, but we say that they obviously don't care about the famers- just as lond as they are making a pay check.
ReplyDeleteA website called "millions against monsanto" was drasticlly against any GM or articificially made products. Thay made fun of frosted flakes and had "Top 10 Reasons to Label Genetically Engineered Food" along with multiple articles. It was very informative! I found this website to be more credible because it had a lot more examples and wasn't as vague as the monsanto website.
I looked at the Monsanto's website and read their pledge. It says that " The Monsanto Pledge is our commitment to how we do business. It is a declaration that compels us to listen more, to consider our actions and their impact broadly, and to lead responsibly. It helps us to convert our values into actions, and to make clear who we are and what we champion." They are saying how they are such an honest company and how they make everything better for all the farmers In reality they just look out for themselves and hurt other farmers by patenting their seeds and putting seed cleaners out of business. They made sure that their website broadcasts that they are all about farmers. Since I know that they are lieing about their honesty and integrity, it makes me mad that their website makes their company look so good. They are hypocrites. It also stated on their website, "Integrity includes honesty, decency, consistency, and courage. We are committed to building on those values." This is so wrong.
ReplyDeleteI typed monsanto into google and I found an interesting article about president Obama and monsanto. The Obama Administration put former Monsanto lobbyist Michael Taylor as a senior adviser to the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner on food safety. The article stated that genetically modified foods are not safe. The only reason they’re in our food supply is because the government and the industries that they are associated with deprive consumers of the information they need to make informed choices about whether or not to eat genetically modified foods. The government and big companies like monsanto should be looking out for the best interest of the consumers. From the websites that oppose monsanto and this article, they are obiously not interested in the rights of consumers.
Monsanto's web page looks great, the pictures depict farmers and grain. The colors are "earthy" and they truly cover up their true identity. I read "If there is one word to describe what Monsanto is about, it would be Farmers." This company does a great job of portraying their company as a great company-dedicated to the farmers and making the world a better place. The fail to mention that they would like to manipulate the whole farming industry and control how farms operate. Sites that are against Monsanto have colors most associate with danger including red, black, and yellow. It talked about how the only way to change what Monsanto is doing is a "Massive Public Opposition" because President Obama is not only doing nothing to change what Monsanto is doing, he is encouraging it by apponting people into the USDA who have ties to Monsanto.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was very interesting: when I Googled "Monsanto" the first thing that popped up was the company's website, and beneath the webpage was the statement, "If there's one thing that defines Monsanto, it's our farmers." I thought that was very ironic because during the film it was almost the farmer's who didn't define them. The farmer's didn't respect the company, thus they didn't want to create the products they have been instructed to grow. Also, looking at the searched pages under Google, just below Monsanto's main web page was many activist groups against the company. This shows the impact that Monsanto has on the agricultural world, and the negative effects they have on farmers, the economy, and those who support organic corporations. As a consumer, I don’t feel attracted to what Monsanto sells when on their home page they state that they are the “leading producer of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone.” This does not appeal to me, and makes me wonder how much of their product is actually healthy to buy.
ReplyDeleteMonsanto’s home page depicts a very earthy feel. They have bright colors, and large text to offer when they are selling. To a farmer who knows nothing of their product, this company seems legit in that they are selling as “genetically engineered seed.” They make it clear that they would like to help make the food industry a much better and healthier place, while failing to mention they would eventually like to control the whole farming industry and how farmer’s farm their own crops.
When I first go to Monsanto's Home Page and it shows pictures of farmers smiling and holding Monsanto seeds. They have videos of stories telling people how good Monsanto is and how they have helped the farming industry with their seeds. They put news articles on their page of stories of how good Monsanto is and all the hard work they do for people. They talk about the hope Monsanto brings for the future. Everything on the home page shows a bright and happy place, some place it looks like someone would be happy to work for or be producing. It even shows the stock price to show how well they are doing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I google Monsanto the first thing that comes up is their home page but right below is Monsanto evil. When I hit enter on that I get a whole page listing bad Monsanto is and the fact that it's everywhere. They give you listings of how much money Monsanto makes by suing farmers which is millions upon millions of dollars they have gained by doing so. There are activist groups working to show how bad Monsanto is but still it sneaks behind the radar. I even found a link to a 10th grader who did an entire project on showing how bad Monsanto is. It amazes me that a company that seems so good on the outside is so horrid on the inside and people are recognizing it but not to the extent that is should be. It is a hidden sneaky corporation that has a lot of power.
As I type in Monsanto into my google.com search engine, I quickly find out that the Monsanto home page is the fist link available. As I look further into the website I came across their pledge as a company this contains all the promises that their company makes. The first heading: Integrity: "integrity is the foundation for all that we do. Integrity includes honesty, decency, consistency, and courage". This seems like a legitamate company that cares for their farmers and their customers. Another heading that was bolded was Respect: "The safety of our employees, the communities where we operate, our customers, consumers, and the environment will be our highest priority." If I had not seen the Food Inc. film I would have thought this was a reliable company that takes care of their employees and consumers. However, since I do know what actually occurs it is easy to see where the frustration comes from with the people opposed to Monsanto, they seem like they are doing nothing wrong.
ReplyDeleteOnce I made my way back to google.com I found the other anti-Monsanto websites trying to provide information to correctly show Monsanto and their true colors. I don't think it's right that Monsanto can post any information they want on their website even though what they say is completely false. There should be rules against what companies can post about their company.
The monsanto web page shows happy farmers and clean seeds. It also shows how many people need to be fed in the future and how they can make that reality. It is a really positive message shown. The competitors however show overly huge foods and also other genetically modified animals, as well as bottles of round up. They also show top stories about monsanto suing small farmers and in general putting them out of business. They also contain bold headings talking about polution, toxins, and being corrupt. Clearly monsanto has hired advertisers to make them look good, but iou just google monsanto there are a lot more negative pages than positive pages about it. I also believe that monsanto might be paying google to list their web page first when people google it but I'm not sure. Monsanto clearly has WAY to much power and is very corrupt. If we had a choice we probably would try to boycott monsanto, but I really don't see a way to get around eating soy for the rest of my life, and if theres soy in a commercial product, its monsanto, or it will be soon.
ReplyDeleteWell to start things off, the Monsanto website took a very long time to load...to the point when I tried different browsers and eventually gave up trying to open it. So that part of my discussion will be based a bit off of what other people said, and what the Google blurb said.
ReplyDeleteThe way Monsanto is portrayed is that they are all for the farmer. They say they want to make being a farmer easier, but what they are really doing is just making it harder for them...they are so quick to pick up lawsuits against those who have the misfortune of having their non-Monsanto fields contaminated by their Monsanto-planting neighbors. Monsanto is a large company who could be doing a lot to *really* help the farmers, but instead they are making it harder for them. The fact that they refused to be interviewed for Food, Inc., seems like grounds to be cautious about them.
I found many websites opposed to Monsanto, and all of them were collaborations supporting the farmers' case against Monsanto. Countless people believe that Monsanto is being unfair...believing that Monsanto should quit being so strict about their seeds, allowing them to be saved, and bringing lawsuits against those who have the misfortune of having their fields contaminated.
Monsanto's website portrays the company as a great company. Multiple pictures and videos and posted on the website to get people to believe they are a trustworthy company. When I typed in "Monsanto" into google
ReplyDeletethe first thing that popped up was the company's website, and beneath the webpage was the statement, "If there's one thing that defines Monsanto, it's our farmers." After watching Food Inc. I personally know this statement is false. The website also included a pledge from the company which includes promises the company makes. From my knowledge now I know the majority of these are FALSE!! I don't understand how Monsanto can get away with writing false information on their website. If I had not watched Food Inc I would believe everything on their website and believe they are a trustworthy company to do business with.
After exploring the Monsanto website I went back to google and found multiple pages that talked about the "real" Monsanto, lawsuits that had been filed, and support groups for farmers. It is unreal how many products soy is in. Monsanto is definitely hurting our famers and agriculture world. Actions need to be taken again Monsanto immediately.
When I was looking up Monsanto's website I had to refresh my computer multiple times because it took a long time to load.On the Monsanto's home website there is a slide show. On one of the slides there is a quote that says " Better seed for a Brighter future." Then on the next slide there is a picture of a farmer smiling. When I clicked on the link on the website Monsanto at a Glance it said that Monsanto's purpose was to help farmers grow more and help farmers out. It also said that its purpose is to improve lives. After I was finished looking at Monsanto's website, I went to another website that opposed Monsanto. I noticed when I looked up opposing websites that there was a lot of them. Most of them talked about how they supported farmers that are against Monsanto. They talked about how many products are made from Monsanto's soy bean, and it was a lot of different foods. After viewing all of the anti- Monsanto websites it's really hard to believe how many different foods Monsanto has control over, and after seeing the Food Inc. video I think that Monsanto is really not trying to help farmers out at all which doesn't really stick with the message that is on there website. It is hard to trust a company that says one thing and does another, especially when all those farmers on the Food Inc video want to do is just make a living for themselves.
ReplyDeleteWell I don't have much to add with all that has been shared already. Monsanto does provide themselves with a "cover" of altruistic character. They have pictures of smiling CEO's, employees, and farmers with their families. I did find their website to be rather dull compared to those against Monsanto. It was done in good taste, but it lacked color and pizazz. They had a running slide show of some of their main events and opportunities. They really focused on the fact that they are/will be huge contributors to feeding and fueling the population. "By 2050...9 Billion people...farmers will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than they have in the past 10,000 years combined."
ReplyDeleteMonsanto simply gives themselves a decent mask to wear over the ugly truth behind their business. I think they have grown to fit the mask and don't even know who they truly are themselves.
When I searched Monsanto, I had to filter through NUMEROUS "Anti-Monsanto" sites to find their home page. The anti-websites are much more appealing to the eyes (colorful, moving images, flashy headlines, etc.) and I also found that they are more to the point...you simply get more info in fewer words! The anti-websites were strongly focused on the Monsanto company but they were also focused on the negative of GMO's...neither were supported.
Late post again, my bad. It wont happen again! When I googled Monsanto I came across the first website posted. When you first look at it, it looks very clean cut and to the point. It looks natural, clean and healthy. Then I read the Who We Are ( at a glance) tab and I thought it was odd that it was very short and sweet. Pretty much stating they NEED to produce MORE, and FAST. After looking at multiple tabs everything was so short! It defiantly seems like they are either hiding something or not telling the truth. Looks like a load of crap to me!
ReplyDeleteAt first glance of Monsanto's webpage, it looks like they are a very cleancut organization, but that's the point. They want to make themselves look good, so that consumers continue to buy their goods. They also said that they are all for their farmers who produce the soy for them. That also is very deceiving. Producing more foods with fewer resources, is what they say when they talk about their farmers.
ReplyDeleteThe page where it talks about Monsanto at a glance, they admit to using chemicals on their plants, and using biotechnology to produce the "very best soy" that they can. All of their pages are very short. I would not trust them with my soy.
I thought this was really very interesting. On Monsanto's offical page, one of the first things I saw was that if there was one word to discribe what Monsanto is about it would have to be farmers because they are all about helping farmers. That is definitely not the impression I got from the movie we watched in class. It even has a section where you can "meet America's farm families". It makes them seem very family oriented and friendly.
ReplyDeleteOn the opposing side, there are websites that call Mansanto "the evil corporation in your refrigerator". I found many websites about how "evil" Mansanto is.
I'm pretty sure that they know that some of the things they've done to their farmers and such has made them look pretty bad so they want to make themselves look as good as possible on their website. They look very helpful and wanting to help the feed the world's growing population, but as we all saw in the movie they just want to stay ahead and make money.