Some good-ish news from the world of agribusiness. Monsanto has reported that it's leaving the recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone business. The Ethicurean asks whether Monsanto's exit from the market might be because people are worried about the toxic effects of rBGH in their milk. Monsanto, however, insists that "This is really a great product… Business has been strong. Sales have been strong." So that's all cleared up then.

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Posted on 18 August, 2008 - 16:35

We recently stumped up not-very-much money to subscribe to Vanity Fair, and it's a subscription we're likely to keep, especially now that we're practiced in ignoring the large wodge of adverts for cosmetics and high fashion that fill out the space between articles.

This month's issue is "The Green Issue". Again, ignoring Madonna on the front cover, there's some fine journalism to be found. In particular, there's a very good exposé of Monsanto's seedy practices. (An unintentional pun but worth keeping, I feel.)

Check it out here. ... read more »

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Posted on 5 April, 2008 - 13:17

This splendid article has been sent in by a number of you. It's a fine joining-the-dots piece, linking together farmer suicides with the dirty politics of market-making - and it's a link that binds the fates of farmers in India with those in Iraq. Tremendously well written too.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/62273/
Why Iraqi Farmers Might Prefer Death to Paul Bremer's Order 81
By Nancy Scola
AlterNet
Wednesday 19 September 2007

Anyone hearing about central India's ongoing epidemic of farmer suicides, where growers are killing themselves at a terrifying clip, has to be horrified. But among the more disturbed must be the once-grand poobah of post-invasion Iraq, U.S. diplomat L. Paul Bremer. ... read more »

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Posted on 2 October, 2007 - 22:50

The despair and suicide of indebted farmers are tragic and recurring themes. In India, their epicenter lies in Vidarbha, in Maharashtra, where farmers grow genetically modified cotton. The tragedy, for the families and communities left behind, has been caught by photographer Johann Rousselot, at Oeil Public. He shows the body of Praveen Vijay Bhakamwar, whose accumulated debts of Rs 40,000 - less than US$ 900 - pushed him to suicide. Bhakamwar leaves behind three daughters and a son. ... read more »

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Posted on 15 January, 2007 - 20:14

What do you get when you put together Fox News, the titan of mass media mendacity, with Monsanto’s truth-bending talent?

Here's a clip from the award-winning documentary by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan - The Corporation. It's a worrying tale of the suppression of information around Monsanto's hormone products, most commonly found in US milk. ... read more »

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Posted on 30 November, 2006 - 02:06