Bayer-Monsanto
Greenwashing
Bayer-Monsanto is a major participant in the USDA's greenwashing Climate-Smart Commodities program.
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture and food giants such as Land O’Lakes, Corteva, Bayer, and Cargill are paying farmers millions of dollars to sow rye, clover, radishes or other crops after, or even before, they harvest their corn and soybeans."[1]
Bayer's own info on its "Carbon Initiative" can be found here: <https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/carbon-program-united-states> <https://www.bayer.com/en/us/bayer-carbon-program-a-new-revenue-stream-for-farmers> <https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/article/carbon-zero-future-for-agriculture> <https://www.bayer.com/en/us/enhanced-carbon-program>
Ka Pae Aina
Mokulele farm
Bayer-Monsanto's Mokulele farm on Ka Pae Aina tests new strains of genetically modified corn seed and sprays pesticides/ insecticides on the crops.[2]
2014 Lawsuit
"In a plea agreement submitted to the Honolulu district court on November 21 [2019], Monsanto-Bayer pleaded guilty to illegally spraying one of the world’s most toxic pesticides, Methyl Parathion, in Maui in 2014, six months after the US Environmental Protection Agency banned it. In addition, the company admitted to using the pesticide in a manner that endangered the lives of the field workers who did the spraying. It was also found guilty of illegally storing, transporting and disposing of the chemical after the ban."[3]
As a result of the guilty plea Monsanto-Bayer was ordered to pay 6.2 million dollars in criminal fines and an additional 4 million in community service payments. "The proposal, however, did not impose personal fines or prison sentences on any Monsanto employees."[4]
2020 Lawsuit
Monsanto was charged with 30 environmental crimes after letting workers go into corn crops that had been sprayed with a chemical named Forfeit 280 and for illegally storing certain agriculture chemicals on Maui and Molokai. Federal law states 6 days must passed after spraying the chemical before anyone is allowed to enter the area.[5]
Sources
- ↑ https://thefern.org/2022/12/a-pillar-of-the-climate-smart-agriculture-movement-is-on-shaky-ground/
- ↑ https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/toxic-drift/
- ↑ https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/monsanto-guilty-of-spraying-banned-pesticide-on-maui-fields/
- ↑ https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/monsanto-guilty-of-spraying-banned-pesticide-on-maui-fields/
- ↑ https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-and-nature-crime-hawaii-honolulu-ed13f915250b1e1fbb4ffb7ed2e5ab71