Who is Monsanto?

Today, Monsanto is an international agriculture and biotechnology corporation, with a workforce of approximately 22,000. Monsanto is also one of the most controversial corporations in the world, due to its production of genetically engineered seeds, rBGH (bovine growth hormone), and the company’s highly litigious nature.

Monsanto is also responsible for manufacturing and selling Aroclors – a trade name for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which recent studies show can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For more information about PCBs and cancer, call 800-401-7497 today.

Monsanto Company History

Monsanto was founded in 1901 by John Francis Queeny. During its early years, Monsanto produced such things as saccharin (an artificial sweetener), aspirin, and rubber.

In the 1930, Monsanto acquired the Swann Chemical Company and began producing PCBs under the trade name Aroclor. Despite growing public controversy and mounting scientific evidence of PCBs’ toxicity, Monsanto would continue producing PCBs well into the 1970s, before the chemicals were finally banned by the EPA in 1979.

By the mid-20th century, Monsanto had become one of the largest chemical companies in the United States, producing a number of controversial products, including:

• DDT – an artificial pesticide mostly banned in the US in 1972
• Agent Orange – a toxic herbicide used during the Vietnam War

Around the turn of the century, Monsanto began changing the focus of its operations from chemical production to biotechnology. Starting in the 1990s, the company introduced several strains of genetically modified seeds. These genetically modified seeds have been the subject of much environmental controversy and have also been the focus of several lawsuits filed by Monsanto against family farmers it accused of violating its patents.

Monsanto and PCBs

From the 1930s to the mid-1970s, Monsanto produced and distributed polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, for use in a variety of industrial products and processes. Almost immediately after the debut of Aroclor (Monsanto’s trade name for PCBs), evidence of the chemical’s dangers began to appear.

Workers involved in making Aroclor developed severe skin damage. Monsanto’s internal memos showed discussions about PCBs and skin and liver damage. Studies conducted over the next three decades showed that PCBs were highly toxic to several animal species, caused birth defects in animals, and were likely carcinogenic (cancer-causing) as well.

During this time, Monsanto worked to defend Aroclor. In 1952, Monsanto made an agreement with the US Public Health Service to include a warning in all bills of sale for Aroclor – but later admitted to leaving out parts of that warning.

In 1962, Monsanto informed a government official that it had “attempted to provide sufficient information to insure safe handling and usage,” despite its customers’ reports to the contrary. Internal papers from several years later confirmed that Monsanto had not “officially notified” customers of Aroclor’s toxic effects.

As concerns over environmental contamination rose, Monsanto reassured the public that PCBs posed no threat inside so-called “closed systems” – yet warned its customers that PCBs could leak from closed systems and seep into the environment.

By the 1970s, at least one member of Congress had called for a ban on PCBs. Monsanto responded by claiming it had only recently become aware of PCB’s’ toxic effects – and, according to documents from 1970, continued to look for ways to profit from PCBs. In 1975, Monsanto deceptively informed a customer that PCBs had caused no “human harm.”

In 1979, PCBs were finally banned by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Taking on Monsanto

Throughout its history, Monsanto has shown itself willing to engage in aggressive litigation, both as a plaintiff and as a defendant. For example, the company has filed lawsuits to prevent dairy farmers from truthfully labeling their milk as being free of rBGH, on the ground that this might “mislead” consumers into believing that rBGH is harmful.

If you discover that your cancer was caused by PCBs and you decide to take legal action, we can help you take on Monsanto’s well-paid legal army. We are a team of attorneys from Allen Stewart, P.C. and Williams Kherkher, two experienced personal injury law firms that have joined forces to fight for you against Monsanto.

If you are living with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, you need to know that PCBs (produced by Monsanto under the name Aroclor) may be the cause of your cancer. Call 800-401-7497 today to learn more about getting tested for PCBs.