Fall

08
Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption

Big Agriculture, GMOs, and Mass

Production and Consumption
Harry Cook
St. Johns River State College

Freelance
No man can hold me down
Id like to thank the Academy for whatever
reason
harebare1023@gmail.com
Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption 2

Abstract

This paper aims to delve into the world of mass production and how genetically

modified foods are used, marketed, and sold, how the fast food industry is using these

mass produced GMOs, and how they are affecting the population and their view on the

subject. I will be using three articles/essays to discuss the topic; David Zinczenkos

Dont Blame the Eater; Donald Bartlett and James Steeles Monsantos Harvest of

Fear; and Mary Clare Jalonicks Long silent to criticism, agribusiness reaches out:

Industry delivers its message with social-media sites. Zinczenko argues that fast food

restaurants (FFR) should be held more accountable for the growing rate of obesity in the

United States. Jalonicks article is meant to report on how farmers in the agribusiness

(Big Ag) are attempting to reach out to the public to change the perception of genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) and seeds, along with how they actually do their jobs.

Finally, Bartlett and Steele investigate how Big Ag companies, particularly Monsanto,

fiercely protect their patents, to an almost fanatical nature.

Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption 3

Big Agriculture, GMOs, and Mass Production and Consumption

Every time I play monopoly, I either turn into a Wall Street big wig, strutting

around the board in my battleship while staying in all the finest luxury resorts, or turn

into a penniless debtor, who still cant figure out how rent works. I have come close to

ruining friendships and home interiors when I lose monopoly, because it is a slow process

played out in front of your very eyes, and the only thing you can do to stop it is hope for

the best. That is just a game. Now imagine if that were played out on a global scale, with

one or a few select companies holding all the property and means of production, or at

least having control over it. That is what Monsanto is trying to do in the agrochemical

business; buy or invent all the technology you can, and do what you can to keep the

competition down. They have already found a way to do it in a somewhat discreet

fashion; they find a way to shift all the hate and backlash they would normally receive

onto farmers and the genetically modified seeds they use to mass produce food for

companies such as Monsanto.

The public has a sour taste in its mouth, and it isnt from McDonalds

Mulan Szechuan sauce (sadly, it has been discontinued since 1998). Its from the amount

of GMOs theyre eating everyday. People are flocking to places such as Trader Joes to

find foods that have that magical label on the packaging that says Non-GMO because

they believe that GMOs are equivalent to poison. While the fear isnt unwarranted, it is

misplaced. The GMOs arent the problem; its the amount you put into your body. Most

people dont know this, but all corn (yes all corn) is genetically modified, but not via

chemicals. GMO doesnt necessarily mean chemically induced, it means that humans

have changed the genetic make up of the organism in a way that maximizes a certain
Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption 4

gene. Until recently, GMOs were created through selective breeding and artificial

selection. This is what Jalonick is trying to convey in her article for the AP. She asserts

that there is little scientific proof that GMOs are actually harmful to people, and that the

myth that they do is propagated by social media. So, with that large following already

against them, the farmers have decided to get the word out on how they do their jobs.

Jalonick goes on to explain how the farmers have been using social media outlets such as

Facebook and Twitter to spread the word. One of the farmers wives that Jalonick

interviewed, Chris Chinn, discusses how she will spend around twenty minutes a day

online, responding to questions and unfounded claims, writing blog posts, and tweeting

facts out about her familys farm. The farmers and their methods arent the ones to blame;

theyre just trying to feed their own families and make a living for themselves. So why

are people still weary about GMOs?

A common and somewhat lazy joke on the Internet these days is the idea that

Americans are fat, lazy, and love McDonalds. While this is a farcical caricature that is

meant to portray the worst of American culture, it isnt entirely untrue. The obesity and

diabetes rate have risen sharply since the 1980s, especially in children. Zinczenko points

this out in his essay Dont Blame the Eater. In this essay, he asserts that these high rates

are more on the FFRs than most people believe. While he does admit people should know

better than to eat fast food all the time, he points out how the FFRs arent entirely

innocent when it comes to their advertising of their product, especially with their calorie

counting. He uses the example of a FFRs chicken salad, where the supposed calorie

count is 150. Sounds pretty tame, right? Well that isnt counting the almonds and noodles

that are served with it, which account for 190 calories. It also forgets to mention the 280-
Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption 5

calorie dressing that comes with it as well. So, according to Zinczenkos math, the 150

calorie chicken salad actually is 620 calories. But wait, theres more! Thats per serving.

When you get the chicken salad, they give you 2.5 servings, which turns that 620 into

1,040 calories, which is, as pointed out by Zinczenko, half of the recommended daily

calorie intake. So these FFR are buying these GMOs from companies such as Monsanto

so they can make as much cheap, delicious food they can, in order to maximize profit.

This has led to a large distrust in the way the food is produced, particularly GMOs.

Throughout modern history, a common way of enforcing laws that people

were likely to break was the use of a secret police. Oppressive governments have made

use of secret police forces, such as the KGB in the Soviet Union, Tsar Nicholas Is Third

Section in response to the Decembrist Uprising in Imperial Russia, and the Nazis Gestapo

are only a few examples of Big Brother keeping its subjects in line. So when the term

secret police is used to describe how a large agrochemical company operates, it seems

almost comical. But the reality is just that. Monsanto, a large patent holding

Agrochemical Company has used tactics comparable to those used by secret police forces

to protect their patents, striking fear into the fields and hearts of farmers throughout

Middle America. The fierce protection of the patents held by the company causes people

to wonder why they are so protective of what they claim to be their intellectual property.

It has a lot to do with the globalized industry that is mass production. The agrochemical

company employs farmers to harvest their GMOs, the farmers sell their product to large

food distributers such as McDonalds, and McDonalds sells their product on a massive

scale. This cycle that is used throughout the world, plus Monsantos ruthless pursuit of

protecting their patents, shows that Monsanto is trying for a total market domination of
Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption 6

their products, thus being able to control profits and supply. The profits are as large as the

farms they reap them from. They do have good reason to watch over their patents with

the vigor they exhibit, though; their client list includes, but isnt limited to, Kellogg, Dow

Chemical, and the DuPont company (SpiderBook). Those are companies that expect

massive profit, and any infraction onto their profit or property, to them, should be met

with an appropriate response. While it makes sense to protect their own interests, the way

they go about it is highly unethical, from the aforementioned secret police, to what

Bartlett and Steele call the scorched earth tactic. This describes the intense amount of

legal pressure that Monsanto uses to intimidate farmers it believes is using its patented

seeds. The fear of the exorbitant amount of money, time, and stress a lengthy court case

against a large global corporation often buckles the knees of the small farmers, causing

them to settle out of court. But why would they go to such invasive and hostile tactics?

I love McGriddles. They are easily the best thing on the McDonalds menu, and

with the introduction of all day breakfast, I have easer access to them than I could have

ever imagined. I say this because, despite the blatant attempt at taking over the world

through jacked up soybeans, Monsanto is not going to. People are starting to see what

they are doing and will begin to either protest them, deviate from their products, or both.

If people are stubborn enough to make non GMO foods based on an Internet myth, they

would probably respond accordingly to things such as this.

Big Ag, GMOs, and Mass Consumption 7

References

Zinczenko, David., (2002). Dont Blame the Eater. They Say, I Say, 3E, 241-243.

Bartlett, D. L., Steele, J.B., (2008). Monsantos Harvest of Fear. Everyones an

Author, 2E, 817-839

Jalonick, M. C., (2014). Long silent to criticisms, agribusiness reaches out.

Industry delivers its message with social media sites. Durango Hearld