Photo by Nick Cobbing.

News and other Busyness

Monsanto

Some bullshit about Monsanto

Squall 16, Summer 1998, pg. 13.

SHAG Poo Poo Monsanto

A tell-tale smell wafted from a London PR company on the closing date for the US department of Agriculture's controversial proposals for organic standards.

Masked activists, angry at the real threat that genetically engineered food could soon be classified as organic, descended on the offices being used by the 'life sciences' company.

Super Heroes against Genetics, or SHAG, climbed up to the first floor window to remind the company of how much their corporate assault on organic agriculture stinks.

A similar pile of poo was smelt outside Monsanto's High Wycombe HQ later that same day.

Weeding Out Bad Genes

Monsanto breaks genetic rules

Agricultural giant Monsanto was forced to destroy 950 square metres of genetically engineered crops at a UK site after safety experts found it broke government rules.

Three other companies and two research organisations were also found to be in breach of strict rules designed to prevent the creation of 'super weeds' or plant mutations.

The companies, named by the Advisory Committee for Releases into the Environment, were Nickerson Biochem, AgrEvo and Plant Genetic Systems of Belgium. The National Institute of Agricultural Botany and the Scottish Crop Research Institute were also found to be in breach of rules. Health and Safety Inspectors visited a total of 70 sites last year.