c. ethical responsibilities - Monsanto has established a code of ethics for its employees and
c. ethical responsibilities - Monsanto has established a code of ethics for its employees and
I believe it’s safe to say Monsanto has not adhered to any basic moral standard when it comes to the safety of their products and the people consuming them. Since its inception in 1901, the company has had a penchant for substituting real food for artificial substitutes, which were often cheaper to manufacture. Their degradation of human society didn’t stop there, of course. By the 1920s, Monsanto was partnering with other large chemical companies around the world, producing industrial chemicals like PCBs, a chlorine compound used as a coolant. Unfortunately, there is a substantial health risk to handling PCBs, not to mention the damage it has already caused to the environment. Many major countries have had what we would consider pretty significant…
Interest groups are defined as an “organized group of people that makes policy-related appeals” and they can have a profound effect on our government and society (Ginsberg, Lowi, and Weir 419).These groups represent their interests in the political arena in a variety of ways; they can get government officials appointed to government positions, lobby government officials, and fund media to advertise their message to mobilize public opinion and sway voters. Businesses interest groups in particular utilize these strategies, because there is an economic incentive in passing favorable laws and conveying a good image to government and the public. One business interest currently benefiting from their interaction with the Obama administration is Monsanto. Monsanto is a billion dollar company responsible for genetically modified seeds, the chemical Roundup and its associated Roundup ready crops, the toxic chemical substance Agent Orange, bovine growth hormones (rBGH), and the synthetic sugar substitute known as aspartame—to name a few. As a business interest group, it has been a terrific success in using government to push its agenda, much to the dismay of environmental activists, scientists, and concerned citizens who want their government to regulate businesses and protect the public. This paper will examine how business interest groups like Monsanto have been able to further their agenda under the Obama administration through the appointment of employees to federal positions, lobbying, and use of media to mobilize public opinion.…
As a producer of genetically modified seeds that lead to larger crop yields and eventually larger profits for farmers, Monsanto has a moral obligation to farmers who have grown crops and saved seeds for the next crop for hundreds of years before Monsanto began changing the genetic makeup of the seed. Farmers should not feel obligated to Monsanto as they have manipulated the future of farming through patent protection of intellectual property. Some thoughts should be discussed regarding Monsanto’s position; the comparison of seed manipulation as a form of technology, the use of patent protection, and the bullying of farmers through investigations of farmers reusing seeds from a previous harvest.…
Monsanto’s practices both in the courtroom and on the farm have made the company increasingly the target of criticism in recent years, and a series of affairs in Washington has done little to weaken the opposition. But what can you expect from a multi-billion dollar corporation. Hopefully someday corporations will make better choices in order to help society and not their ambitious…
This article is simply critical. Although over a hundred years old, Monsanto has become a broad name amongst college campuses and online forums of the younger generation as of recent years. Even marches in large cities and college campuses have been walked, March Against Monsanto. With the evolving and more common use of technology…
The most infamous GMO based company is Monsanto. For those who haven’t seen Food Inc. Monsanto is a company that specializes in GMOs and their applications and the patents that insure lots of money. Monsanto forces farmers into their agreements of use and if they should deny and end up using Monsanto’s patented seeds they find themselves with an excessive lawsuit so unreasonable it is impossible for the farmers to have any other option but agree to their terms. Yves Bertheau and John Davison wrote a case study called Genetically Modified and non-Genetically Modified Food Supply Chains examines the interaction between these seeds, “the simulation model presented...permits an analysis of mechanisms for detecting adventitious transfer of GM material…
Monsanto positions itself as a relatively new agricultural company having formed in 2002, and focused on supporting local farmers around the world. They also promote themselves as a guardian of the environment with a mission “to produce more food while conserving more” (Monsanto.com). Today’s Monsanto conglomerate also promotes itself as the “New Merchants,” a leading research company in the field of agriculture-crop production, as well as a strong supporter of public and private research through its grant, donations and University scholarship programs.…
Indictment: Production and man-hours are two major parameters which all corporations are trying to enhance. Monsanto was no different, they were keen in enhancing production but failed to think about the cows, people, society and environment. The Milk that they produced is being consumed by almost one fourth of the American population.…
Being a multinational supplier of genetically modified seeds, Monsanto posses severe economic impacts in the international marketplace. Originally, the Bt Cotton seeds should have produced positive externalities upon the Indian economy, however, the enforcement of the biological patent disables the economy from reaching the potential positive effects. Initially, the purpose of the genetically modified cotton seeds were to substantially increase the production of cotton. Higher crop yields would have resulted in cheaper prices for consumerism, as economies of scale would have taken effect. However, as the revenue generated by farmers cannot cover variable costs, a shut down point will be reached within the industry. Farming revenue is irregular…
While there are questions of Monsanto’s ethical practices, the success of producing genetically modified seeds is irrefutable. While GM seeds are profitable, the disputes that these seeds have the potential to harm plants and animals are ongoing. As previously stated Monsanto’s seeds are resistant to its own herbicide, Roundup. With this in mind, the seed’s composition includes the chemical glyphosate, an ingredient of Roundup. According to Scientific American (2009), glyphosate “amplifies the toxic effect on human cells—even at concentrations more much diluted than those used on farms and lawns”, and that other ingredients in Roundup may negatively impact pregnant women and their fetuses(Gammon). On the other hand, Monsanto contest the findings,…
What would you do if you knew a company you loved and adored, had horrible and atrocious ethics? Many people don’t realize how many businesses practice poor ethics and get away with unethical behavior. One of the most unethical businesses in the world is Monsanto. Most people would agree that Monsanto has been through hell and back because of their Ethics.…
As the production of agriculture evolves, so does the research of developing genetic engineered foods, which are funded and created by large corporations. A prominent example of a corporation that supports and emanates a large amount of funds towards genetically modified foods, is Monsanto. Monsanto uses their funds towards biotechnology, which is the abuse of biological processes, for industrial use like genetic engineering. In this process, genetic engineers are able to produce the seeds that Monsanto sells to farmers. Which grow their genetically engineered experiments. The seeds then grow into genetically modified foods that are put into the market, unlabeled, for consumers. Genetically modified foods (GMFs) are foods that have been genetically…
Problems that occur from Monsanto's unethical implementation are the destruction of farming culture and their public relations. The number of groups and documentaries against Monsanto are growing and gaining popularity. Eventually, Monsanto will pay for its wrongdoing but until then, it's the farmers and customers feeling the pain. From a business perspective, Monsanto has generated a highly intelligent plan to monopolizing a market. Ethically, Monsanto is the epitome of an unprincipled…
In this day and age many countries are trying to find a way to create crops that would grow faster and produce a greater yield in hopes to make more money. This has lead to many countries starting to use GMO crops to boost the production in their countries. One of the problems with using GMO crops is if it is ethically right or wrong. I believe that it is not ethically right because it is destroying the environment, shifting the animal population and negatively impacting the people in those countries. I will argue my stance on using GMO crops with John Rawls and focusing on three different events that happened in India and Mexico.…
One can argue that, stockholder’s drove the company to expand to different parts of the world for more profits. The company also thought that the resulting profits would benefit shareholders through appreciation in the company’s stock price, as well as employees, who would have more secure employment. However, Monsanto failed to anticipate the adverse reaction from another important stakeholder group: the general public. Monsanto’s introduction of genetically modified crops has met stiff resistance from the general public in both Europe and Latin…