Dear Monsanto:
I remember our first meeting very well. It was my
second trip to Disneyland (but the first that I remembered) in December of
1967. I was 10 years old.
There was a new ride in Tomorrowland that year
called “Adventure Thru Inner Space”. At 10 years old I wasn’t tracking a lot of
details, but what I remember are the building’s shiny silver exterior, the
clean colors of blue, black and white inside, the crisp and smart “sciency”
feeling of the place. After being
amazingly reduced in size by the great shrinking microscope, there we were –
side by side with snowflakes and water molecules. Later, when exiting the ride
(and, thankfully, returned to normal size!) we were told, “This is
Monsanto." We saw posters with
thumb-nail descriptions of Monsanto’s forward-leaning research and development
as the conveyor noodled its way to the final platform. It all felt very new, very exciting. The name “Monsanto” was fixed in my mind with
associations of science and the thrilling horizon of “Tomorrow”.
So, what happened?
You’ve really changed since I first met you.
Or have you?
In recent years I kept hearing the name
“Monsanto”, until at some point I made the connection that the Monsanto of that
cool ride at Disneyland decades ago was the same Monsanto I was hearing about
in the news.
I’m aware that there are plenty of people trying
to get your attention, like dogs barking their heads off trying to awaken those
who are sleeping while the house is on fire.
I won’t do that here. But I do
wonder: what does it take for a company (or the individuals who work there) to
recognize when a long-range project starts to go bad, or when there are
increasing numbers of unintended consequences that can’t seem to be
righted? What keeps them from saying
“Uh-oh!”, and then doing something about it?
I honestly don’t fault companies for wanting to
make a profit – that’s what companies do! – but where do the hidden costs of
unintended consequences enter into the equation? How can the categories of loss
and gain be widened to include the scope of impact on nature, on people's
lives, on economic stability?
Recently I had a fantasy about Monsanto that I
want to share with you. Mind you, from a
business perspective I have no idea what would be entailed in turning a company
around: to reverse practices or
eliminate products from production, or to set about solving the very problems a
company’s ventures inadvertently caused.
But here it is:
there is a beautiful phrase in the biblical prophet Isaiah’s message,
about “turning swords into plowshares”.
The image is powerful, because the notion is to use the very materials
that had been used for war and transform them into implements for farming, a
more peaceable endeavor. So in this daydream, I envision the whole enterprise
of Monsanto being turned around to supporting and enhancing the subtle
processes of nature without trying to change them, thereby becoming an aid to
and partner with farmers around the world. Once again, I don't have a clue what
this New Monsanto would look like: do you?
I certainly don't wish you any harm,
Monsanto: but more than that, I wish no
harm to the marvelous workings of sun and rain, of seed and flower, of water
and soil. Good luck!
Sincerely yours,
Chela Sloper
Bend, Oregon
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