April, 23 2009, 12:45pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Margaret Swink, Rainforest Action Network, 415-659-0541
Nick Berning, Friends of the Earth, 202-222-0748
Monsanto CEO Voted Country's Biggest 'Biofool'
Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant has been named the country's biggest
"biofool" after online voting in an April Fools Day competition
sponsored by Friends of the Earth and the Rainforest Action Network
came to a close yesterday.
"It was a landslide. Nearly one third of all voters chose Grant,"
said Kate McMahon of Friends of the Earth. "This result stresses the
need for Monsanto to stop promoting biofuels in the face of
overwhelming evidence that biofuels are bad for the environment and bad
for people."
WASHINGTON
Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant has been named the country's biggest
"biofool" after online voting in an April Fools Day competition
sponsored by Friends of the Earth and the Rainforest Action Network
came to a close yesterday.
"It was a landslide. Nearly one third of all voters chose Grant,"
said Kate McMahon of Friends of the Earth. "This result stresses the
need for Monsanto to stop promoting biofuels in the face of
overwhelming evidence that biofuels are bad for the environment and bad
for people."
The global biofuels rush has provided a lucrative new market for
Monsanto's genetically modified plants, a key ingredient of biofuel
feedstocks such as soy and corn. Despite overwhelming evidence to the
contrary, Grant has dismissed claims that biofuels are harmful for the
environment and evidence that they are connected to global food price
spikes and shortages.
"It's clear that Grant has been fooled or thinks he can fool the
rest of us. Biofuels cause environmental destruction in the U.S. and
around the world," said Rainforest Action Network's Andrea Samulon.
"Agriculture and land use change account for nearly a quarter of all
greenhouse gas emissions globally. Isn't it foolish to promote
something that is playing such a huge role in cooking our climate?"
Despite growing scientific evidence that they contribute to air
pollution, deforestation and climate change, industrialized biofuels
are being promoted by government and agribusiness as a "clean" solution
to climate change and to our nation's fossil fuel addiction. Replacing
just 10 percent of world demand for diesel for road transport with
biodiesel would require 75 percent of the world's existing soy, oil
palm and rapeseed crops. The ability to meet even the current levels of
biofuel demand mandated by our government will require an increase in
our use of genetically modified organisms, which pose significant risks
to biodiversity and human health.
Vote results:
Biofool Nominee -- Percent of Vote
Hugh Grant, CEO, Monsanto -- 31%
Patricia Woertz, CEO, Archer Daniels Midland -- 20%
Linda Cook, Executive Director, Shell Oil -- 18%
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) -- 12%
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) -- 12%
Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) -- 7%
For more information on the nominees, please visit www.biofoolsday.org.
Friends of the Earth Action provides extra political muscle on legislative battles here in the U.S. to our sister organization, Friends of the Earth, which is part of a network of affiliates in 76 nations around the world. Friends of the Earth Action and its affiliated PAC make thoughtful political endorsements, provide direct support to candidates and place environmentalists in the field on critical campaigns.
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