Why is the Gates Foundation investing a whopping $ 23.1 million in Monsanto? Since last August, when the foundation's investment portfolio was published, the Gates Foundation has come under attack from activists for investing its profits this year in the GMO giant even though, on closer inspection, the Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ) has been keeping an eye on the links between Monsanto and the Gates foundation for years now.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Why the Gates Foundation is investing the beauty of 23.1 million of dollars in Monsanto? Since last August, when the foundation's investment portfolio was published, the Gates Foundation has come under attack from activists for investing in the GMO giant its profits this year even if, on closer inspection, the Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ) has been keeping an eye on the links between Monsanto and the Gates foundation for years.
The suspicious relationship between the two seems to be even stronger, despite the recent one bankruptcy of the seeds sold in South Africa by the multinational, where local farmers have lost millions of dollars in potential earnings due to "82 hectares of genetically modified corn that produced nothing," writes Food First. The plants looked healthy but some farms suffered, according to local conservationists crop losses up to 80%.
Monsanto claims this was a laboratory error, therefore not questioning technology in itself, but the specific case. In fact, the accidents are not that rare. But, more importantly, a company shouldn't have the right to experiment and take risks damage the food supply of entire countries. It is even less acceptable than a foundation that is deals with combating hunger in the world subsidizes this type of activity.
CAGJ went deep into the relationship between Monsanto and the Gates Foundation, which admitted last week that it lacks adequate overall transparency. Here are some examples of such links, directly from CAGJ releases:
“Some beneficiaries (in detail about 70% of beneficiaries in Kenya), of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), considered by the Gates foundation its African face, work directly with Monsanto on agricultural development projects. Among other connections, we find senior members of the foundation who were Monsanto senior officials, as Rob Horsch, first vice president of the multinational's International Development Partnerships area and currently Senior Program Officer of the Gates Agricultural Development Program. " Further information from CAGJ, also cited by Food First: "About 79% of funding to Kenya is related to biotechnology, in various ways ”. Furthermore, “so far, we have found more than $ 100 million in grants to organizations related to Monsanto".
The Seattle Times quotes Travis English, of CAGJ's AGRA Watch: “Our biggest concern is that the foundation is investing in Monsanto to make a profit". As far as the multinational is concerned, we had no doubts but, now, we too have the fear of a dangerous agreement between the two.
Ilaria Brambilla
