A good friend recently turned me on to the blog La Vida Locavore, which, despite it’s name, is primarily about sustainable food and agriculture in general, though locavorism is certainly a part of the broader movement.

They posted today about Monsanto’s new blog called Monsanto According to Monsanto.  I actually came across it when I wrote about them last month, but I didn’t realize that it was brand new, as in their first post was early February.  Apparently this is part of a rather futile PR strategy to reposition the company and to humanize the people who work there, and includes building a Facebook and Twitter presence. 

After reading a few posts, it’s impossible not to come to the conclusion that it’s a pretty entertaining effort at green-washing as evidenced by the post titled “We’re Just Like You”.  Really.  How insulting.  And how stupid.

And in their explanation of why they decided to do a blog, they acknowledge that there are many people who are critical of Monsanto, and indignantly claim that these people ‘have their own agenda’.  As if Monsanto didn’t.  Yes, we do have an agenda, and that is to have a safe food supply that is free from hormones, pesticides and GMOs.  Never mind what many (including me) perceive to be Monsanto’s pretty clear aim of controlling the world’s food supply, through the use of terminator technology seeds (in which the second generation of seeds do not germinate, thus forcing farmers to buy seed every year - a practice which goes against the tradition of saving seeds), and harassing farmers (well-documented in Vanity Fair’s brilliant article “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear”), among their more nefarious strategies.  I’m sorry, but I think most people would agree that an agenda in the public interest trumps corporate greed every time.

Though they do have their supporters (I remember having a very vivid debate many years ago with someone who refused to believe a word I had said about Monsanto’s practices, I wonder where he stands now that so much more information about them is out there), I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the positive and supportive commenters aren’t in fact other Monsanto employees.  Personally, I feel that anyone with half a brain and critical thinking skills can see that their activities raise a whole host of questions on the future of food, and on food safety in the present.

La Vida Locavore’s post put a number of tough questions to Monsanto getting to the heart of the company’s behind-the-scenes dealings.  It will be interesting to see if they answer any of them or respond at all.

This should be fun to watch for the entertainment value alone.