After much hemming, hawing, and Hulking, some crack reporters have solved the case of the Monsanto rider, the new law that gives GMO crops legal immunity.
It was Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) in the boardroom with the inappropriate relationships with Big Ag lobbyists!
Politico first broke the Blunt story, but Tom Philpott at Mother Jones highlights just how cozy the Missouri senator is with the GMO giant, who he “worked with” to write and pass the rider.
“If Sen. Blunt plans to continue carrying Monsanto’s water in the Senate, the company will have gained the allegiance of a wily and proven political operator,” he writes. More from MoJo:
The admission shines a light on Blunt’s ties to Monsanto, whose office is located in the senator’s home state. According to OpenSecrets, Monsanto first started contributing to Blunt back in 2008, when it handed him $10,000. At that point, Blunt was serving in the House of Representatives. In 2010, when Blunt successfully ran for the Senate, Monsanto upped its contribution to $44,250. And in 2012, the GMO seed/pesticide giant enriched Blunt’s campaign war chest by $64,250.
This is all so obvious that even Monsanto “appears a touch embarrassed,” according to The Guardian.
In a statement, [Monsanto] says: “As a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO), we were pleased to join major grower groups in supporting the Farmer Assurance Provision, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Seed Trade Association, the American Soybean Association, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Cotton Council, and several others.”
The good news? Well, at least the “Monsanto Protection Act” expires on Sept. 30 along with the underlying spending bill onto which it was tacked. The Hulk may be a genetically modified beast, but he’s not all-powerful. Now someone please get me Thor’s hammer.
