Bayer Buys Monsanto — More To This Merger Than Meets The Eye

By Janet Phelan

The chemical giant Bayer has just purchased the agricultural biotechnology company Monsanto for $66 billion. This union is redolent of marriages between members of medieval royalty, accomplished not out of love but out of a desire to keep the goodies in the family while expanding the reach and control of the royals.

And in this case, the real nature of the goodies requires special scrutiny.

Monsanto is hardly an unknown quantity. The global company specializes in herbicides and genetically engineered seeds, most notably Roundup herbicide and the genetically modified Roundup Ready seed. The impact of Roundup has raised levels of alarm, as it is thought to contribute to the worldwide spike in autism, heart disease and other illnesses. Genetically engineered seeds have also engendered concerns and have been connected with an increased risk of certain types of cancer.

Bayer is a global German-based behemoth, producing both chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Unknown to many, however, is that its reach extends into water, as well.

Like food, even perhaps surpassing food, water is also life. Bayer was founded in 1863 and later became part of IG Farben, which manufactured Zyklon B used to gas Jews, Gypsies, political dissidents, homosexuals and others during the Hitler years. Following the war, IG Farben was broken up into a number of smaller companies, including AGFA, BASF, Sanofi and Bayer.

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