The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

70 the world according to monsantoits monopoly on the most widely sold herbicide in the world and open thedoor to the production of generic varieties and hence competition. This putMonsanto in a very tight spot, because it was betting its future on the developmentof transgenic crops that it was calling “Roundup-ready” because theyhad been genetically manipulated specifically to withstand being sprayedwith Roundup. In short, the stakes for the multinational were huge, and itwould defend its leading product tooth and nail.Roundup is the trade name Monsanto had given to glyphosate, a herbicidethe company’s chemists had discovered in the late 1960s. The distinctivefeature of this “unselective” weed killer—unlike 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T—isthat it destroys all forms of vegetation because of the way it works: it is absorbedby the plant through the leaves and quickly carried by the sap to theroots and rhizomes. There it inhibits an enzyme essential for the synthesizingof aromatic amino acids, which leads to a decrease in the activity ofchlorophyll as well as of certain enzymes. This causes the necrosis of tissue,leading to the death of the plant.As soon as it was put on the market in 1974, first in the United States andthen in Europe, Roundup had “spectacular success,” in the words of a promotionalWeb site for Monsanto and the Scotts Company, which distributedthe product in France. 1 In fact, while it was entangled in the ecological andhealth scandal of 2,4,5-T, the company was advertising the virtues of this innovationon its packaging: “Respects the environment,” “100% biodegradable,”and “Leaves no residues in the soil.”“The active ingredient in Roundup is inactivated when it touches the soil,which preserves surrounding plants and permits seeding or replanting oneweek after application,” according to the Web site. These enticing promisesexplained why glyphosate became a farmers’ favorite, and they used it inhuge quantities to clear their fields of weeds before sowing their next crops.With its ecological aura, Roundup also became the idol of managers of publicspaces (parks, golf courses, highways, and so on). In spring, techniciansin astronaut suits—airtight clothing covering them from head to toe, alongwith gas masks and protective boots—were commonly seen patrolling thestreets of France with tanks of Roundup on their backs.One day in May 2006, in an area south of Paris, I went along with one ofthese teams charged with eradicating these “adventitious” growths—theterm professionals use to designate weeds. I had been struck by the unappetizinggreenish color of the workers’ boots, and the weeders explained that