Monsanto Takeover Would Be "Disaster for Global Food System"

Responding to the news that Monsanto had accepted a takeover offer from Bayer, and would potentially create the world's biggest seed and pesticide company, Aisha Dodwell, a food campaigner from Global Justice Now said:

"Today's announcement of Bayer's takeover of Monsanto is a disaster for the world's food system. The creation of this mega-argibusiness would mean that a single terrifying corporate behemoth is now the world's biggest company for both seeds and pesticides, putting them firmly in control of the world's farming inputs.

"In an industry that was already dominated by only six big agribusinesses, this latest news will lead to even further market concentration as more mergers and takeovers will now become inevitable. We're speeding towards a situation where our global food system is controlled by a very few giant corporate entities who will have complete control of our food - what we eat and how it is grown.

"This is extremely bad news for farmers and consumers across the globe. We already know that these agri-businesses use aggressive techniques to further their market share and increase profit margins and do not act in the best interests of small-scale farmers, public health or the environment. The fight to regain control of our food system, and push for alternatives such as food sovereignty, is now more important than ever.

"We call on anti-competition regulators to recognise that this takeover would present a serious threat to public interest and must step in and prevent it from taking place."

Monsanto is facing a 'people's tribunal' in The Hague in October, and a speaker tour and photo exhibition about the impacts of Monsanto is taking place across the UK.