More than 282,000 people have signed a petition opposing the proposed Bayer and Monsanto merger.
The petition claims such a merger would result in an agri-chemical monopoly that would threaten world food systems, raise prices for famers and consumers and threaten food security for millions.
SumOfUs, an international consumer watchdog group, spearheaded the petition. It sent the petition to Bayer chief executive officer Werner Baumann and intends to deliver it to regulatory authorities in the United States and Europe.
“The new mega-corporation would have annual revenues of over US$67 billion and would dominate a third of global markets in seed sales and crop protection,” SumOfUs said.
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“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 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 anti-trust statutes,” the organization said.
