Greenwash in the Third Degree
Clearly this extreme third-degree greenwash is the most heinous kind. There is obviously a considerable amount of overlap amongst these three levels of severity. But third-degree greenwash moves beyond the simple illegitimate promotion of an image or product, and uses these tactics expressly in an attempt to greenwash from the public consciousness past instances of violation. Alluding to Monsanto’s legacy of industrial accidents and negligence (and subsequent conversion to biodiversity), we have already indicted Monsanto on this charge (and others).
If one is willing to dig into the past the evidence for the prosecution is quite compelling. In 1947, an explosion of Monsanto ammonium nitrate fertilizer during loading onto a French vessel at Galveston Bay destroyed a Monsanto styrene manufacturing plant on the premises, and much of the port itself. The “Texas City Disaster” is largely considered the worst industrial accident in US history, and carries the largest death toll. During the 1970s, Monsanto became the largest producer of Agent Orange to be utilized in US military operations in Vietnam. For a fuller story regarding Monsanto and its present activities, click here.
Today, on Monsanto’s website, the color green abounds.
Posted by on 03/23 at 03:05 PM