Vandana Shiva | Monsanto in India
Monsanto: Donald Trump of the Biotech World Moderator’s Note: Our colleague, Dr. Vandana Shiva, offers this detailed report on how the Monsanto Corporation invaded India, largely by undermining democratic processes and policies. This is without a doubt the most detailed and carefully documented history of Monsanto’s invasion of India; a case of colonialism redux. Shiva emphasizes two issues: (1) the illegal nature of the patenting regime that corporations like Monsanto have used to invade countries and unleashed GMO technologies. As Shiva herself states: Monsanto should be tried for its smuggling of a controlled substance into India and allowing genetically modified cottonseed oil into the premium vegetable oils of India, a country where GM is not allowed in the food system…. India’s laws do not permit patents on seeds and in agriculture. But that hasn’t stopped Monsanto from collecting close to USD 900 million from small farmers in India, pushing them into crushing debt. And (2...