June, 14 2017, 12:15pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Anna Zuccaro, anna@unbendablemedia.com, (914) 523-9145;
Erin Jensen, ejensen@foe.org, (202) 222-0722
New Poll: Americans Believe Bayer-Monsanto Merger Poses Serious Threats to Jobs, Independent Farmers, and Food Safety
Americans, including Trump voters, want administration to take aggressive stance on corporate monopolies
WASHINGTON
A recently released poll shows that 9 in 10 Americans have serious concerns about the potential merger of major agrochemical companies Bayer AG and Monsanto. In a new Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll of 1,506 registered voters, Americans expressed overwhelmingly negative thoughts about the merger's impacts on jobs, food safety, and independent farmers. The merger of Bayer and Monsanto is currently under review by the U.S. Department of Justice, and is one of three major potential mergers in the agribusiness industry currently under consideration.
According to the poll:
80% of Trump voters believe that the merger of Bayer and Monsanto will result in fewer jobs. History backs up their concerns: the recent merger of DuPont and Dow resulted in the layoff of 1,700 Dow employees in Delaware, and more cuts are expected across the country soon.
90% of Americans, including 92% of Trump voters, believe that the Trump Administration should take a more aggressive stance towards corporate monopolies.
89% of Trump voters are concerned that the Bayer-Monsanto merger will harm independent farmers and farming communities.
85% of Americans are concerned that the Bayer-Monsanto merger will increase chemical contamination of their food. When asked about the merger's impact on their quality of life, chemical contamination of food and farmland were the most serious concerns.
"History shows that Bayer and Monsanto's toxic mega-merger will be devastating for American consumers, farmers, workers and our environment," said Tiffany Finck-Haynes, Food Futures Campaigner with Friends of the Earth. "It's time for Trump to listen to the American people -- including 92 percent of his voters -- and protect our farmers and families instead of his corporate cronies."
"The potential merger between Bayer and Monsanto is a massive threat to food supply and farmers around the world," said Anne Isakowitsch, Campaign Manager at SumOfUs. "Now that Monsanto and Bayer are closer than ever to this potentially disastrous takeover of our global agricultural system, we must all step up our efforts and speak out. The future of farming and food safety depend on it. This deal has the capability to usher in a new era of sterile crops soaked in dangerous pesticides around the world; we cannot not simply allow this to happen."
In a poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth and SumOfUs, PPP surveyed a demographically representative sample of 1,506 registered voters nationwide from June 1-4, 2017. The margin of error is +/- 2.5%. This poll was conducted by automated telephone interviews. Click here to read PPP's memo on the poll.
Friends of the Earth fights to create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, ensuring the food we eat and products we use are safe and sustainable, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.
SumOfUs is a global consumer watchdog. We mobilize consumers, investors, and workers to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our economy.
Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of our economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature.
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