Lobbying and Advertising
8 Ways Monsanto Fails at Sustainable Agriculture: #6
Monsanto outspends all other agribusinesses on efforts to persuade Congress and the public to maintain the industrial agriculture status quo.
Like many other corporations and organizations, Monsanto engages in a variety of activities to influence policy makers and opinion leaders. From lobbying members of Congress and other federal officials and contributing to their election campaigns, to advertising aimed at reaching those officials and their constituents, the company spends millions of dollars every year pushing an agenda that runs counter to sustainable agriculture.
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Advertising to Shape Public and Decision-Maker Opinions
In addition to lobbying officials directly, Monsanto also spends many millions of dollars in advertising to influence public opinion.
According to documents the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it spent $120 million on advertising in fiscal year 2010, and $100 million in fiscal year 2011.
These ads are often strategically placed to reach Washington decision-makers, showing up at DC airports and train stations and near federal office buildings.
They tell a story of heroic farmers who "grow our economy, provide us with jobs and protect our environment"— even as Monsanto lobbies for policies that will make it harder for farmers to do those things.
Lobbying Congress and Federal Agencies
Among agribusiness companies and interest groups, Monsanto is far and away the biggest spender on lobbying to protect and maintain industrial agriculture’s dominance over our food system.
In 2008—the last year a federal Farm Bill was negotiated—the company reported a whopping $8.8 million in lobbying expenditures (see table below) intended to influence decisions in Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other federal agencies.
Quarterly disclosure reports filed with Congress show that Monsanto's lobbyists worked to:
- Push through a short-lived crop insurance program called the Biotechnology Yield Endorsement, which provided cut-rate USDA-backed crop insurance to farmers who planted specific genetically engineered varieties of corn developed and sold by Monsanto.
- Defeat or weaken a patent reform effort in Congress.
- Protect Monsanto and other biotechnology companies from liability when their patented genes contaminate non-GE farmers’ crops.
- Prevent labeling of Monsanto’s artificial growth hormones on milk packaging.
- Enable further agribusiness consolidation, which could allow Monsanto to further reduce already poor competition for seed sales, leading to higher prices and even fewer choices of non-engineered seeds.
Between Farm Bills, Monsanto’s lobbying efforts haven’t let up. The company racked up $8 million in lobbying expenses in 2010 and another $6.37 million in 2011. Monsanto lobbied for approval of its RoundupReady alfalfa and sugarbeets, the widespread planting of which will further increase application of the company’s Roundup herbicide and could cause additional resistant weeds.
In addition, the company lobbied to:
- Increase production of inefficient corn-based biofuels, which require massive water use and lead to devastating water pollution.
- Weaken or prevent the EPA's issuance of voluntary guidance to reduce pesticide “drift” from industrial farms. This could be devastating if new crops resistant to 2,4-D and dicamba are approved, because these herbicides cause much greater harm from drift than glyphosate.
- Weaken or defeat the Food Safety Modernization Act, a bill that Congress ultimately passed, which will give the FDA the authority to force companies to recall contaminated food, and also reduce undue corporate influence over federal food safety agencies.
In addition, Monsanto reported lobbying in early 2011 for the creation of a so-called “modern agriculture” caucus in Congress. Unsurprisingly, in February of that year, the Congressional Caucus on Modern Agriculture was established.
Contributions to Politicians
Monsanto also wields influence on policy makers through campaign contributions. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the company consistently ranks among the top political check-writers in the agricultural services and products industry. Monsanto gave more than $420,000 in campaign gifts during the 2010 Congressional election cycle, and appears on track to meet or exceed that in 2012.
Monsanto Federal Lobbying Expenditures, 2008-2011
| Year | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| 2008 | $1,280,000$ | $1,980,000$ | $3,380,000$ | $2,188,120$ | $8,831,120$ |
| 2009 | 2,094,000 | 2,080,000 | 1,990,000 | 2,530,000 | 8,694,000 |
| 2010 | 2,460,000 | 2,180,000 | 1,920,000 | 1,470,000 | 8,030,000 |
| 2011 | 1,440,000 | 1,710,000 | 2,010,000 | 1,210,000 | 6,370,000 |
