The Nation: Mitt Romney, Monsanto Man
Posted: September 12th, 2012 | Filed under: Press | Tags: A.G. Kawamura, Abigail Blunt, Agent Orange, alfalfa, American Soybean Association, Arthur Fitzgerald, Bain Capital, Bernie Sanders, Bill Bain, Bill Northey, bovine growth hormone, Chris Policinski, Chuck Conner, Corn, Covalence, CropLife America, Dan Quinn, Dr. Earl Beaver, Earle Harbison, Eastman Chemical, FDA, flax, Frank Lucas, Frank Reining, George Bush, gmo, GMO Food, Howard Schneiderman, Institute for Sustainability, IUD, Jack Kingston, Jay Vroom, Jerry Crawford, Jim Talent, John Block, John Qualls, John W. Hanley, Katie Smith, Kelli Powers, Kraft Foods, Land O' Lakes, Matt Blunt, Michelle Obama, Mike Johanns, Mitt Romney, Monsanto, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Pork Producers Council, NutraSweet, Osborn & Barr, Patrick Graham, PCBs, Ralph Willard, Randy Russell, rice, Richard Mahoney, RoundUp, Roundup Ready, Roy Blunt, Shawn McCoy, Solamere Capital, Solutia, soybean, Starbucks, Steve Troxler, Tom Nassif, Tom Vilsack, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Fresh Produce Association, United Nations, USDA, Walmart, Wayne Barrett, Western Growers Association, Wheat |
Mitt Romney, Monsanto Man
by Wayne Barrett, September 12, 2012
This article was reported in collaboration with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, where Barrett is a reporting fellow.
Though Mitt Romney has been campaigning for president since 2006, it’s alarming how little is known about critical chapters of his business biography. Nothing spells that out more clearly than his ties to Monsanto—the current target of a mid-September Occupy nationwide action—whose dark history features scandals involving PCBs, Agent Orange, bovine growth hormone, NutraSweet, IUD, genetically modified (GM) seed and herbicides, reaching back to the 1970s and ’80s. That’s when Monsanto was the largest consulting client of Romney’s employer, Bain & Company, and when Romney helped move Monsanto from chemical colossus to genetic giant, trading one set of environmental controversies for another.
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