FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 9, 2018

Contact: Organic Consumers Association: Katherine Paul, katherine@organicconsumers.org, 207-653-3090

FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued this statement by Ronnie Cummins, international director of Organic Consumers Association (OCA), on the U.S. Department of Justice approval of the acquisition of Monsanto Co. by Bayer AG:

“We are disappointed though not surprised by the DOJ’s decision to allow Germany-based Bayer to buy Monsanto. The monopolistic and criminal histories of both Monsanto and Bayer have been well documented. Allowing these two companies to merge into the world’s largest seed and pesticide company spells disaster for consumers, for the environment and for farmers who will now have even fewer choices.

“In the end, it really doesn’t matter who manufactures or sells Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, or any other dangerous chemical. The damage to human health and the environment remains the same, as does OCA’s commitment to getting these chemicals out of our food system.

“The industrial chemical agriculture model, where factory farms and GMO monoculture crops have produced unhealthy food while poisoning the environment and creating a nightmare of superweeds and superbugs is not the future of food. We will continue to promote an alternative organic regenerative model that truly nourishes the world while restoring the ecosystem.”

About the Organic Consumers Association

The Organic Consumers Association is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public-interest organization advocating on behalf of more than two million U.S. consumers for health, justice and regeneration. For more information, please visit organicconsumers.org. @OCA_Press.