TLDR;
This video investigates Monsanto's history, from its early herbicide development to its dominance in the agricultural industry and the controversies surrounding Roundup. It explores the health and environmental impacts of Monsanto's products, the company's aggressive business practices, and the legal battles over glyphosate's safety.
- The video uncovers Monsanto's knowledge of dioxin contamination in its herbicides and its suppression of this information.
- It details the rise of Roundup and Roundup Ready crops, leading to a near-monopoly for Monsanto.
- The video examines the lawsuits against Monsanto, revealing evidence of manipulated science and collusion with regulatory bodies.
An Unusual Enemy [0:00]
In 1942, chemist Franklin D. Jones sought to eliminate poison ivy, experimenting with hormones on the plant. He discovered that 2,4-D, a synthetic growth hormone, could kill broad-leaved weeds while leaving grasses unaffected. Jones patented 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T in 1945, leading to the creation of modern selective herbicides like Weedone and Weed-A-Bomb. These chemicals replaced manual weeding, transforming lawns and agriculture. By the late 1940s, the herbicide business became a $10 million industry, attracting companies like Monsanto.
Monsanto’s Secret Poison Problem [5:18]
Monsanto's herbicide factory in Nitro, West Virginia, produced almost a ton of 2,4,5-T daily. In 1949, an explosion at the plant exposed workers to a black, stinking powder, causing severe skin lesions and other health issues. Doctors suspected a foreign chemical was being excreted through their skin, but the company didn't know what it was. Monsanto continued production, offering workers the choice to keep working with 2,4,5-T or leave. In 1957, German dermatologist Karl Schulz identified dioxin as the contaminant causing the skin disorders. Schulz discovered that dioxin formed when tetrachlorobenzene was heated at temperatures slightly above 170 degrees Celsius during the production of 2,4,5-T. He warned Monsanto and Dow about the dangers of dioxin contamination, but Monsanto denied receiving the letters, and Dow claimed they were misfiled.
Vietnam and Agent Orange [11:17]
During the Vietnam War, the US used Agent Orange, a 50/50 mix of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, to destroy jungles and crops. Monsanto was the largest supplier of Agent Orange. Despite knowing about the dangers of dioxin contamination, Monsanto and Dow did not warn the US government. The US sprayed 72 million litres of Agent Orange in South Vietnam, causing skin diseases, cancer, and birth defects in civilians and soldiers. By some estimates, as many as three million people suffered from the effects of Agent Orange. In 1967, 5,000 scientists petitioned the president to condemn the use of herbicides.
Roundup [14:08]
In the late 1960s, Monsanto sought a safer herbicide to replace 2,4,5-T. In 1970, scientist John E. Franz discovered glyphosate, which proved to be a potent herbicide. Glyphosate works by blocking the EPSPS enzyme in plants, disrupting the Shikimate pathway, which is essential for amino acid production. This pathway is unique to plants, bacteria, and fungi, making glyphosate seemingly safe for humans and animals. In 1974, Monsanto launched Roundup, marketed as safe and biodegradable.
The Roundup Ready Monopoly [19:31]
Roundup became popular among farmers because it killed all weeds, enabling no-till farming. By the late 1980s, Monsanto was making a billion dollars annually from Roundup sales. To maintain its monopoly, Monsanto patented glyphosate, as its molecular structure was difficult to modify without losing its herbicidal properties. To expand its market, Monsanto developed Roundup Ready crops, genetically modified to resist glyphosate. In 1985, Calgene published a paper showing that they made tobacco slightly resistant to glyphosate. Monsanto scientists isolated a strain of salmonella that was resistant to glyphosate. They used a gene gun to insert the salmonella DNA into plant cells, creating glyphosate-resistant crops. By 1998, Monsanto had patents for Roundup Ready canola, corn, and cotton. By 2001, over 70% of soybeans grown in the US were Monsanto's, generating over $2.5 billion annually.
The Seed Police [26:06]
Farmers using Roundup Ready seeds had to sign Monsanto's Technology Use Agreement, which prohibited saving or sharing seeds. Monsanto enforced these agreements aggressively, hiring private investigators and using surveillance to detect patent infringement. They even had a hotline, 1-800-ROUNDUP, for farmers to report on their neighbours. By 2013, Monsanto had sued over 400 farmers, earning over $20 million. This created a culture of fear and mistrust in farming communities.
The Monsanto Papers [31:10]
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans." This contradicted claims by other organisations like the EPA and WHO. Lawyer Brent Wisner investigated Monsanto after reports of Roundup users developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Wisner and other lawyers sued Monsanto, gaining access to internal documents known as the Monsanto Papers. These documents revealed that Monsanto had manipulated data, colluded with corrupt EPA officials, and ghost-written safety studies. In 1983, Monsanto submitted a glyphosate toxicology study to the EPA, but the data was showing that mice receiving higher doses of glyphosate were developing rare kidney tumors. The EPA was worried with this, and they wanted to classify glyphosate as a possible human carcinogen. Monsanto wouldn't comply, and they pushed back against the EPA until 1989, when the EPA suddenly changed its mind. The 2000 paper by Williams, Kroes, and Munro, which concluded that Roundup was safe, was found to have been ghostwritten by Monsanto. Monsanto also employed a "Let Nothing Go" strategy to discredit anyone opposing their views.
How dangerous is Roundup really? [41:18]
By 2018, over 11,000 plaintiffs had filed lawsuits against Monsanto. To avoid the fallout, Monsanto signed an acquisition deal with Bayer. In 2018, the first case against Monsanto-Bayer went to trial, with the jury siding with the plaintiff, Dewayne Lee Johnson, who had developed NHL after using Roundup. By 2025, Bayer had settled over a hundred thousand cancer lawsuits for over $10 billion. IARC has raised concerns about glyphosate's genotoxicity and its potential to disrupt the gut microbiome. While the EPA and other organisations disagree with IARC's classification, courts have criticised the EPA's analysis. Today, Bayer still denies that glyphosate is a carcinogen but has removed it from some commercial products due to public backlash and weed resistance. Many weed species have become resistant to glyphosate, leading to the reintroduction of older herbicides like 2,4-D.