Over 282,000 people have signed a petition that opposes the proposed Bayer and Monsanto merger.
The petition claims a Monsanto/Bayer agrochemical monopoly would threaten world food systems, raise prices for farmers and consumers, and threaten food security for millions of people.
SumOfUs is an international consumer watchdog group that spearheaded the petition. The group sent the petition to Bayer CEO, Werner Baumann, and intends to deliver the document to regulatory authorities in the United States and Europe.
“The new mega-corporation would have annual revenues of over $67 billion (USD) and would dominate a third of global markets in seed sales and crop protection. Monsanto seed traits are already found in 80 percent of corn and 90 percent of soybeans grown in the U.S. A Bayer/Monsanto mega corporation would add cotton seeds to this list, together controlling 70 percent of the U.S. cotton market,” SumOfUs said in a news release.
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The release also claimed the merger would run afoul of antitrust laws designed to protect the public, because it would significantly reduce competition, which would likely result in higher prices for consumers.
“Given the consolidation already occurring in the first two links of the industrial food chain — seeds and pesticides — this merger is likely to violate antitrust statutes,” the press release said.
