The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

292 the world according to monsantoficial victims of the transgenic saga. “Pesticides act on the nervous system—first they have convulsions, then the chemicals start eroding the stomach,and bleeding in the stomach begins, then there is aspiration pneumonia—they have difficulty in breathing—then they suffer from cardiac arrest.” 2Anil Kondba Shend, the husband of the young widow, was thirty-five, andcultivated about three-and-a-half acres. In 2006, he had decided to tryMonsanto’s Bt cotton seeds, known as “Bollgard,” which had been heavilypromoted by the company’s television advertising. In those ads, plump caterpillarswere overcome by transgenic cotton plants: “Bollgard protects you!Less spraying, more profit! Bollgard cotton seeds: the power to conquer insects!”The peasant had had to borrow to buy the precious seeds, whichwere four times more expensive than conventional seeds. And he had had toplant three times, his widow recalled, “because each time he planted theseeds, they didn’t resist the rain. I think he owed the dealers 60,000 rupees.*I never really knew, because in the weeks before his death he stoppedtalking. He was obsessed by his debt.”“Who are the dealers?” I asked.“The ones who sell transgenic seeds,” Tiwari answered. “They also supplyfertilizer and pesticides, and lend money at usurious rates. Farmers arechained by debt to Monsanto’s dealers.”“It’s a vicious circle,” Kate added, “a human disaster. The problem is thatGMOs are not at all adapted to our soil, which is saturated with water assoon as the monsoon comes. In addition, the seeds make the peasants completelydependent on market forces: not only do they have to pay much morefor their seeds, but they also have to buy fertilizer or else the crop will fail,and pesticides, because Bollgard is supposed to protect against infestationsby the cotton bollworm but not against other sucking insects. If you addthat, contrary to what the advertising claims, Bollgard is not enough to driveoff the bollworms, then you have a catastrophe, because you also have to useinsecticides.”“Monsanto says that GMOs are suitable for small farmers: what do youthink?” I asked, thinking of the firm’s claims in its 2006 Pledge Report.“Our experience proves that’s a lie.” said the agronomist. “In the best case,they may be suitable for large farmers who own the best land and have the*About $1,200 ($1 equals about 50 rupees). There is no minimum wage in India, but most workersearned less than 6,000 rupees a month in 2006.