Monsanto Admittedly Influences Colorado GMO Ban, Launches Phony ‘GMO Co-Existence’ Protests

Bloated biotech giant Monsanto has admitted to using their influence to block an initiative introduced by Boulder, Colorado to ban the growing of genetically modified crops on county soil. While county officials and farmers claimed that Monsanto influence had nothing to do with the blocking of the health conscious legislation, the company itself has admitted to being involved.

Furthermore, Monsanto may have actually setup phony ‘GMO co-existence’ protests in order to voice phony public support against the bill. After the admitted involvement of Monsanto and the curious protests, the county commissioners changed their formerly anti-GMO tune.

Instead of banning GMO crops, the Boulder County commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow for the growing of some GMO crops on county-owned open land.

Pro-Monsanto Farmers Deny Admitted Monsanto Involvement, Pushed for GMO Crops

Paul Schlagel was one of the farmers who originally pushed for GMO sugar beets in Boulder, Colorado. That year Schlagel wrote a letter to the Parks and Open Space Department, asking for permission to plant crops resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide that has been known to cause cancer and pollute local water supplies. Citing claims fabricated by Monsanto that have proven to be false in the past such as a decrease in pesticide use, Schlagel urged country officials to allow for the planting of GMO crops.

Around this time, Monsanto was launching a major initiative to capture the sugar beet market, with 95% of sugar beets ultimately becoming Roundup Ready by the year 2009. Monsanto got their wish, thanks to pro-Monsanto farmers like Schlagel, and now Schlagel is denying any involvement with Monsanto or other biotech corporations in regards to the blocked GMO ban despite Monsanto actually admitting to influencing the decision.

Schlagel even responds to the accusations that Monsanto voiced by not only denying the claims, but also by issuing a strong response that would seem quite anti-Monsanto if you did not know the full story. “Monsanto doesn’t own me,” Schlagel said in a statement to the press. Meanwhile, Thomas Helscher, the company’s director of corporate affairs, has stated their direct involvement through e-mail reported on by the Boulder, Colorado press.

“Monsanto is a stakeholder in these proceedings as our company name and our innovations have been repeatedly named in the public discussions, and the safety and benefits of those innovations has been questioned,” wrote Helscher. Therefore, we submitted official comments to the Commissioners and also testified at the Dec. 8 hearing. We also have answered questions asked of us by our Boulder County farmer customers during this public and open process.”

Is Monsanto Funding Phony ‘GMO Co-Existence Protests’?

As anti-GMO activists rage over the event, many informed Colorado individuals are questioning the peculiar ‘GMO co-existence’ protests that sprung up in Boulder, Colorado. Wearing hats with the slogan FAIR and parading around support for Monsanto, the group was well-organized and seemed to appear out of thin air. Even more telling is the fact that these individuals were not a result of a grassroots movement that any of the citizens were aware of, and seemed to have their agenda organized before hitting the streets in an orderly fashion.

Legitimate anti-GMO grassroots protests have also been ongoing in Boulder, voicing opposition against food tyrant Monsanto and Boulder officials. It is only a matter of time until revealing information regarding Monsanto’s full involvement is leaked to the media. Whether or not they will cover it is in question, but we sure will.