Photo by Robert Holly/Big Ag Watch
A Monsanto laboratory at the seed company’s Chesterfield Village research facility on July 20, 2015.
A mock international tribunal held in the Netherlands and put together by activist groups has concluded that the St. Louis-based seed company Monsanto has “engaged in practices that have impinged on the basic human right to a healthy environment.”
The tribunal — which doesn’t have actual legal powers — released its findings on Tuesday.
The Organic Consumers Association and IFOAM Organics International were among the tribunal’s organizers.
In addition to harming the environment, judges participating in the tribunal found in their opinion that Monsanto has a negative impact on the rights of scientists to freely conduct research. Judges also concluded that regulators around the world need to do a better job of holding Monsanto and other corporations accountable for actions that threaten the planet’s wellbeing.
The tribunal and its rulings are part of a staged event held by anti-agriculture technology and anti-Monsanto critics, officials from the company said in an open letter.
Mock trails against Monsanto distract from “real dialogue on the world’s food and agriculture needs,” they added.
“In a time where the public is trying to separate fact from fiction, this newly issued, non-legal opinion could be misconstrued,” said the officials.
News from the activists’ tribunal comes about a month after unsealed court documents revealed Monsanto communications with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding glyphosate, a controversial chemical in Roundup that some scientific studies have linked to cancer.