Monsanto vs. Free Speech

US - In March, as the Center for Ethics and Toxics [CETOS, PO Box 673, Gualala, CA (707) 884-1700, CA 95445, www.cetos.org] was preparing to publish Against the Grain -- a "detailed, first-hand account of the perils of the new genetic technologies in agriculture" -- a threatening letter arrived from Monsanto, complaining that the book's comments about Roundup, a Monsanto herbicide, were defamatory and potentially libelous. CTOS' printer "stopped the presses and folded his tent."

Without publishing insurance, we are vulnerable to a lawsuit," said CETOS' Marc Lappe. "But if we were to bow to Monsanto's bullying tactics, our opportunity to express our views would disappear along with our book."

On April 27, CETOS fired off a letter to Monsanto CEO Robert Shapiro chastising him for "censoring a book which no one at Monsanto ever read or even asked to read."

Against the Grain is now set to appear this fall, published by the aptly named Common Courage Press [Monroe, Maine, (800) 497-3207, www.commoncouragepress.com].

Monsanto Hits The Ecologist

UK - Without notice, the latest issue of the magazine The Ecologist, featuring a critique of "the ecological dangers of Monsanto Company's work" was seized by the printers and all 14,000 copies were destroyed.

The printer has refused to comment. This is the first time in nearly 30 years of publishing that Britain's premiere environmental monthly has been censored. The entire edition has been reprinted by a different company and is now on the newsstands.

Monsanto-Spiked Story Hits Web

US - In 1997, veteran investigative reporters Jane Akre and Steve Wilson prepared a four-part report on the risks of bovine growth hormone (BGH) for WTVT-TV in Tampa, Florida. The show, "The Mystery in Your Milk," never aired.

Monsanto, the maker of Posilac, a synthetic BGH, objected to the series. WTVT officials ordered the reporters to rewrite the script to meet Monsanto's approval.

The reporters made the changes but, when they refused to back the airing of the edited version, they were fired. The reporters claim that the Monsanto-approved version would have presented "a slanted, biased and distorted view of this important health issue."

Akre and Wilson have posted the "unapproved" version on the Internet [www.foxBGHsuit.com]. Transcripts of the original script and the Monsanto-approved version are also available at the same site.