FARMER TO FARMER CAMPAIGN ON GENETIC ENGINEERING ACTION ALERT!
Contact Congress to Oppose the Proposed Merger of Monsanto and Delta & Pines Land
On August 15, 2006, Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, announced its intent to purchase Delta & Pine Land, the world’s leading cotton seed company. We are asking people to contact their elected officials requesting that they intervene with the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to oppose the pending merger.
According to 2004 seed sales data, Monsanto biotech seeds/traits accounted for 88% of the total genetically modified (GM) crop area worldwide. With the acquisition of Seminis in 2004, Monsanto became the largest seed company in the world with annual sales exceeding $2.8 billion. Through the purchase of Seminis, Monsanto assumed a leading global market share in vegetable and fruit seed sales through the acquisition of 3500 seed varieties sold by Seminis.
In 2005, Monsanto laid the groundwork for taking control of the cotton seed industry with the purchase of Emergent Genetics. Monsanto’s merger with Delta & Pines Land will further concentrate seed industry power. Monsanto and Delta & Pines Land account for 59% of the U.S. cotton seed market. Delta & Pines Land has subsidiaries in 13 countries, which would put Monsanto in a dominant position in one of the world’s dominant agricultural trade commodities and put farmers under increasing pressure to accept GM cottonseed.
Delta and Pines Land is also one of the first innovators of “Terminator Technology.” The company claims that GM cotton and tobacco containing this technology are currently being grown in company greenhouses. The merger with Monsanto, the largest purveyor of GM crops worldwide, could well initiate the commercialization of terminator technology throughout the seed industry. More than 500 organizations worldwide have call for a ban on this technology and in March of 2006 the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity reaffirmed and strengthened the international moratorium on field testing and commercialization of terminator seeds.
What can you do?
Take Action Today!
Please call and/or fax your elected officials to ask them to intervene with US Dept. of Justice and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to oppose the proposed merger of Monsanto and Delta & Pines Land.
Congressional Switchboard: 1-202-224-3121
In Wisconsin, please contact:
Senator Kohl Tel: 202-224-5653 Fax: 202-224-9787
Senator Feingold Tel. 202-224-5323 Fax. 202-224-2725
Representative Sensenbrenner Tel. 202-225-5101 Fax. 202-225-3190
Representative Baldwin Tel. 202-225-2906 Fax. 202-225-6942
Representative Kind Tel. 202-225-5506 Fax. 202-225-5739
Important points to mention when you call and/or fax:
1.) Increasing control of seeds and agricultural research in fewer hands increases the vulnerability of the world’s food supply to the whims of market maneuvers by those controlling the seeds,
2.) Increasing concentration in the seed industry means fewer seed choices for farmers and undermines food sovereignty
3.) Increased concentration in the seed industry has resulted in less innovation, not more (USDA/ERS, 2004)
4.) Commercialization of terminator technology, which is inevitable through the proposed merger, is unacceptable.
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact:
Bill Wenzel, Farmer to Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering
P.O. Box 272 – Stoughton, WI 53589
T: 877-968-3276 F: 608-873-1190
Email: bwenzel2@aol.com
