The invention that I believe that has had the most negative impact on our world is Monsanto’s Roundup herbicides and their Roundup Ready genetically modified crops. Ever since it’s introduction, it has been slowly killing our planet and economy in more ways than one. These crops have proven so deadly that they have been heavily restricted and even banned in the European Union and many other countries. One would think that if this way of producing a large part of the world’s food supply has been proven over and over again to be detrimental to human health and the environment, that the corporation making it would go out of business, but Monsanto has evaded this by claiming a monopoly over the seed and food industry and paying off courts. Monsanto
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This is achieved by the glyphosate interrupting the production of essential amino acids that are needed for the plant to survive. In Roundup Ready seeds, the DNA is altered in a way as to protect itself from the glyphosate and become sterile after the first crop yield, making it impossible for farmers to reuse seeds. This forces farmers all over the world to buy more seeds every year which forces them into an ocean of debt. This even affects those who don 't use Monsanto’s seeds because if the gene spreads to their non GM crop through cross breeding or pollination, then this allows Monsanto to sue the farmer for infringing on their patent. One of the most infamous cases is the Schmeisers’ of Saskatchewan, Canada. Mr. Percy Schmeiser, who is currently 84, began growing non GM canola seeds in the early 1990’s, and continued while many of his neighbors switched over to the Roundup Ready brand. Because of basic biology and bees, the glyphosate resistant gene found its way into Schmeisser 's canola crops, resulting in a lawsuit from Monsanto in 1998. The case moved up through Canada’s court system all the way to their Supreme Court. It ruled that Schmeiser did in fact infringe on Monsanto’s patent, but that he did not owe anything to them because he did not knowingly do so. This has not only happened to farmers in Canada; over 90 farmers in America have received a lawsuit from Monsanto. In France, a court found Monsanto guilty of lying to consumers by falsely advertising its Roundup as biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and that it leaves soil clean. French environmental groups brought the case to court because the European Union recognizes glyphosate as “dangerous for the environment”. All of these things that involve Monsanto prove that they know what they are producing is bad for the world, but they don’t
This is achieved by the glyphosate interrupting the production of essential amino acids that are needed for the plant to survive. In Roundup Ready seeds, the DNA is altered in a way as to protect itself from the glyphosate and become sterile after the first crop yield, making it impossible for farmers to reuse seeds. This forces farmers all over the world to buy more seeds every year which forces them into an ocean of debt. This even affects those who don 't use Monsanto’s seeds because if the gene spreads to their non GM crop through cross breeding or pollination, then this allows Monsanto to sue the farmer for infringing on their patent. One of the most infamous cases is the Schmeisers’ of Saskatchewan, Canada. Mr. Percy Schmeiser, who is currently 84, began growing non GM canola seeds in the early 1990’s, and continued while many of his neighbors switched over to the Roundup Ready brand. Because of basic biology and bees, the glyphosate resistant gene found its way into Schmeisser 's canola crops, resulting in a lawsuit from Monsanto in 1998. The case moved up through Canada’s court system all the way to their Supreme Court. It ruled that Schmeiser did in fact infringe on Monsanto’s patent, but that he did not owe anything to them because he did not knowingly do so. This has not only happened to farmers in Canada; over 90 farmers in America have received a lawsuit from Monsanto. In France, a court found Monsanto guilty of lying to consumers by falsely advertising its Roundup as biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and that it leaves soil clean. French environmental groups brought the case to court because the European Union recognizes glyphosate as “dangerous for the environment”. All of these things that involve Monsanto prove that they know what they are producing is bad for the world, but they don’t