Supervisor Richard Elias:
Say No to Monsanto in Tucson
In a guest opinion piece in the November 15th Ârizona Daily Star, Supervisor Richard Elias outlined a long list of reasons why the Board of Supervisors should not support a tax break for Monsanto.
“Monsanto has a decades-long litany of producing, promoting, and distributing some of the deadliest toxins ever created—and shirking responsibility for the tragic consequences of their use,” Elias wrote.
The company and its predecessors have had a hand in, often been a creator of, many of the world’s worst toxic nightmares: PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), early nuclear weaponry, DDT, dioxin, Agent Orange, Roundup (glyphosate), Lasso (alachlor), Bovine Growth Hormone, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Elias described the toxicity of—in other words, the environmental and health harm brought by—each one of these products.
In addition, Monsanto is, and has been, involved in many lawsuits, both those filed by people exposed to Monsanto’s dangerous chemicals, and those filed by Monsanto against farmers. It also has been convicted of crimes and fined for violations of environmental law and regulations.
We want business and industry that will operate in an above-board manner, Elias said.
“Monsanto certainly is not a company that deserves special benefits at the expense of local taxpayers,” Elias concluded.
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