by Eric Blair
October 7, 2015
from ActivistPost Website

Spanish version

 

 

 

 

 

 


It's hard to believe that the once almighty Monsanto is on its knees. But their dirty deeds seem to have finally caught up with them.

Monsanto shares have already dropped 27 percent this year and they just posted fourth quarter losses wider than estimates. They also announced cost-saving measures to counter their plunge; deep cuts to their workforce and exiting the sugarcane business.

 

Bloomberg reports:

Monsanto Co. said it will eliminate 2,600 jobs as part of a cost-savings plan, joining a growing list of major corporations struggling to contain the damage from the decline in world commodities prices.

 

The St. Louis-based agricultural giant announced the reductions - the equivalent of 12 percent of its workforce - as it reported a loss of 19 cents a share in the fiscal fourth quarter and warned profit would remain weak through 2016.

Monsanto enjoys a near monopoly on corn and soybean in North America.

 

They appear to have it all; they own,

  • the farmers

  • the industry

  • the politicians

  • the regulators...

And, yet, they're crashing and burning.

 

Bloomberg cites slumping commodity prices for Monsanto's decline.

"Like DuPont Co. and Glencore Plc, Monsanto, the world's largest seed maker, is taking steps to combat the effects of a commodity slump…"

However, here are 5 real reasons Monsanto is tanking:

 

  1. Consumer activism

    The market doesn't want herbicide-soaked genetically modified food anymore. As people are becoming more health conscious, they prefer to eat organic food. It's really that simple.

     

     

  2. Lawsuits with farmers

    Monsanto spends untold resources suing family farms for patent infringement. Farmers are forbidden from saving patented seeds year to year. Additionally when Monsanto's GMO crops pollute neighboring farms, Monsanto sues those farms too.  Not a great business model when your primary customers are farmers. An organic farmer in Australia is hoping to reverse this revolting practice.

     

     

  3. Funding anti-labeling campaigns in multiple states is draining Monsanto of millions of dollars

    This seems to be the majority of their "marketing" budget. They spent at least $8M in 2012, over $9M in 2013 in Washington State alone, and combined for $8M to defeat just a county initiative in Maui County Hawaii this past year.

     

     

  4. Flagship product causes cancer

    A recent World Health Organization report concluded that the active chemical used in Monsanto's flagship product "Glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans." This unsettling realization hasn't even begun to sink in yet. Although some cancer-stricken farm workers are suing the big "M" over their illness with many more likely to do the same.

     

     

  5. National bans

    An increasing number of countries are banning either GMOs or certain pesticides, or both. At least 15 European Union members move to ban GMO crops. Meanwhile some small nations like Bermuda and Colombia have banned glyphosate.

 

To summarize, when people no longer want a product, market share and regulatory control mean nothing. This a long-term problem for Monsanto that can't be fixed with cost-savings measures.

 

That is why they're doomed...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Monsanto to Cut 2,600 Jobs

...as GMO Seed Sales Fall as Americans (and Europe) reject GMOs
by Anthony Gucciardi
October 8, 2015

from NaturalSociety Website
 

 

 



It's not looking too good for everyone's favorite GMO seed giant.

 

With sales figures crashing down, Monsanto has announced a plan to cut 2,600 jobs in an effort to cut costs - about 11.6% of the workforce.

 

And this isn't the first time Monsanto has experienced a serious slump in sales. Back in February of this year, I told you about the 'beginning of the serious decline' for both Monsanto and McDonald's. It's a notion that would be considered absolutely absurd not too long ago, really.

 

McDonald's and Monsanto were the two 'juggernauts' that everyone loved to hate, but felt powerless against.

 

They were 'too big to fail,' we thought. And perhaps the corporate executives thought so, too. The truth is, however, that both of these companies had decades to actually improve their practices and regain public opinion.

 

Why didn't McDonald's stop using cheap fillers and toxic compounds in favor of something that's at least somewhat higher quality?

 

Monsanto could have actually done something about the numerous reports by mainstream media organizations that detailed Indian farmer suicides as a result of the company's terrible farming contracts.

 

Better yet, maybe Monsanto's deep ties with the US government shouldn't have threatened 'trade wars' with nations that would dare to oppose their GMOs. It's all in The Guardian report about the 2007 WikiLeaks revelations surrounding Monsanto.

 

The U.S. State Department was apparently even paying for Monsanto's marketing material overseas.

 

But back to Monsanto shedding cash...

 

Here's what Reuters had to report:

"Monsanto Co, one of the world's largest seed and agrichemical companies, said on Wednesday that it was slashing 2,600 jobs and restructuring operations to cut costs in a slumping commodity market.

 

Sales of corn seeds and traits, Monsanto's key products, fell 5 percent to $598 million in the quarter. And sales at the company's agricultural productivity unit, which includes Roundup herbicide, dropped 12 percent to $1.1 billion."

Unless Monsanto magically decides to turn around and clean up its act, or manages to buy up Syngenta and enter an entire new world of genetic modification, I expect to see similar headlines in the future.