The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

scientists suppressed 167of these magical GMOs that had been announced back in the 1980s. Exceptfor plants resistant to herbicides or producing insecticides, we haveseen nothing.)“With all that biotechnology has to offer, it is nothing if it’s not accepted,”Glickman went on in his speech, before speaking the words that so infuriatedhis colleagues in foreign trade and likely Monsanto. “This boils downto a matter of trust, trust in the science behind the process, but particularlytrust in the regulatory process that ...must stay at arm’s length fromany entity that has a vested interest in the outcome. At the end of the daymany observers, including me, believe some type of informational labeling islikely to happen.” 29The words were cautious, but they were the ones picked up by the pressthe next day. His conclusion was a real shot across Monsanto’s bow: “Industryneeds to be guided by a broader map and not just a compass pointingtoward the bottom line. Companies need to continue to monitor products,after they’ve gone to market, for potential danger to the environment andmaintain open and comprehensive disclosure of their findings. ...We don’tknow what biotechnology has in store for us in the future, good and bad,but...we’re going to make sure that biotechnology serves society, not theother way around.”Glickman says today that he would not change a word of his 1999 speech.“The Congress never really got into it too much.”“Why?”“Well, first of all, it’s complicated, okay? Any issue that is technical andcomplicated is very hard for a legislative body to get into. After all, like in Europe,in the United States most members of Congress are not scientists.”Scientists under the InfluenceThe point may seem simplistic, but I am convinced that it explains in partpoliticians’ lack of interest in the issues raised by biotechnology. For my part,it took me months of intense work before I could claim to have come to areasoned and reasonable opinion about genetic manipulation. I would evensay that Monsanto has been able to gain acceptance for its products so easilyprecisely because it was able to take advantage of the fact that it was a