Why Does Monsanto Hate Kermit ?  

Monsanto are in the news a bit lately, for all the usual reasons. First up, a report on the decimation of the amphibian population (pesky critters that they are) by Monsanto's highly profitable "Roundup" pesticide. Its not quite as profitable in Australian and Europe as we apparently frown on amphibian slaughter (well, unless its cane toads we're talking about) and direct that a different compound be used in its makeup.

Worldwide, amphibians are dying. And University of Pittsburgh ecologist Rick Relyea said he knows one way to kill them: Spray them with a little Roundup, the best-selling weed killer from St. Louis-based Monsanto.

In a new study from Relyea, published in this month's issue of the journal Ecological Applications, Roundup killed 98 percent of tadpoles during a three-week test in simulated shallow ponds. In a separate dry experiment, Roundup killed 79 percent of young frogs and toads after just one day. "It's much deadlier than we thought," Relyea said.

Monsanto says that Roundup isn't meant to be used near water and that its directions clearly say so. But many amphibians live in shallow puddles, Relyea said. He said he worries that wetlands within fields and forests are accidentally being sprayed.

Something clearly is killing amphibians. They have declined drastically since the 1970s, biologists say. Nearly a third of the world's amphibians are threatened, according to a global survey last year by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Roundup is a product name for a herbicide, one of many in a general class that use the chemical glyphosate, which Monsanto pioneered. Glyphosate is now the top agricultural pesticide in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In 1993, the EPA renewed its permit for Roundup. It noted that glyphosate itself is not toxic to aquatic life. The problem was with one of its common surfactants, which is toxic. A surfactant is a soapy additive used so glyphosate can stick to and penetrate plants. In Australia and Europe, Monsanto sells Roundup Biactive, a version with a different surfactant that doesn't harm amphibians.

MonkeyGrinder has also commented on the Missouri Menace and their attempt to patent the humble pig. Just think - in a few years time every time you cook up some bacon and eggs on your solar oven you'll have the pleasure of donating a chunk of money to the masters of those diligent scientists working away creating genetically modified everything.

Finally, an article describing the relationship between "Order 81" in Iraq and Monsanto's quest to dominate world agriculture (which includes a reference to the Percy Schmeieser case, which I've always found horrifying).