The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Monsanto" ...
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Genetic Modified Food
In a two-part series, senior investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian examined the business of genetic engineering and the growing impact it is having on the way we grow food, and what we eat. Part one take a look at the business practices of Mondsanto, a major bio-tech seed maker, which patents its genetically modified seeds. Monsanto sells the seed to farmers but prohibits them from replanting their seeds after harvest, a practice known to farmers for 11,000 years. In the story, the team found that Monsanto has been coming after small farmers for seed piracy, suing them when Monsanto suspects farmers of planting its patented seeds "illegally" even when those farmers have never purchased or planted and Monsanto products. Part two examines the secret changes to our foods and asks, why don't we, in the U.S., label genetically modified ingredients when it is done with regular practice in Europe, Japan, Australia and our trading partners? Whether we realize it or not, we probably ate something for dinner last night that had a DNA-altered ingredient in it, but the FDA says that these ingredients do not have to be labeled and therefore no one knows when they are eating genetically modified foods.
Tags: Monsanto; genetically modified food; soybeans; farming; agriculture; seed cleaning; food
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Seeds of Doubt
These two stories deal with some dubious aspects of genetically modified foods; how their developers sometimes fail to deliver on the promise to relieve hunger in poverty-stricken parts of the world; and how the connections between universities that do the research and the companies that market the products are not always beneficial to the people whose lives depend on a cheap supply of food.
Tags: GM foods; patenting genetic material; Monsanto; Pioneer; cloning; Mali wild rice; Niger River; Africa; world hunger; university-industrial complex
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Pandora's Pantry
Genetically engineered foods have risks that the U.S. government ignored during the approval process. Now companies like Monsanto and Novartis Seeds are facing stiff opposition to these foods in other countries. The protests could move to the U.S. with people asking questions that perhaps should have been asked years ago.
Tags: genetics; genetically enhanced foods; biotechnology; bioengineering; DNA; Monsanto; FDA
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Kids at Risk
This investigation finds that substances in the environment can harm the human brain. The story reveals how polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury in many cases have had devastating effect on children's development throughout the country. A major finding is that protection against such chemicals is still underdeveloped, because the Environmental Protection Agency does not require chemical manufacturers to provide data on possible neurological effects.
Tags: PCBs; neurotoxicants; IQ; cancer; birth defects; FDA; vaccines; pollution; oil refining; Monsanto; mercury
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Toxics on the Hudson
Multinational Monitor sheds light on the new development in a case dealing with the General Electric (GE) corporation's responsibility for polluting the Hudson River with oily compounds known as polychlorinated byphenyls. The story focuses on a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to GE for cleaning up the river at the cost of $460 million, and examines the company's concern that the cleanup plan may not work at all. The article reports on some of the health hazards posed by PCB contamination, and reveals that, as early as the 1930s, GE executives knew about health problems in workers exposed to the poisonous substance.
Tags: rivers; contamination; Environmental Protection Agency; Jack Welch; wildlife; PCB; science; Monsanto; fish; carcinogenicity; legislature; Pittsfield; Massachusetts; Rome; Georgia
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What Monsanto Knew
The Nation investigates Monsanto's efforts to conceal the ongoing contamination in Anniston, Alabama, during the 60s and the 70s. The story reveals that the ecological system in the region has been damaged by contamination from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). "The neighborhood around the plant [of Monsanto] is populated with by people with cancer, young women with damaged ovaries, children who are learning-impaired and people whose ailments have been diagnosed as acute toxic syndrome," reports the Nation. The article cites Monsanto's internal memos showing that the company's management has been aware of the problem for decades.
Tags: environment; public health; cancer; the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; toxic substances; landfills; Alabama Department of Environmental Management; Environmental Protection Agency; litigation
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The Cure: With Big Drugs Dying, Merck Didn't Merge - It Found New Ones
The Wall Street Journal analyses the survival of Merck & Co. at the time when it is gradually losing its exclusive rights to several of its best-selling drugs. The story finds that the key for Merck's success is "searching for blockbuster drugs," instead of joining "the merger rush sweeping the pharmaceuticals industry." The reporter looks at the Merck's innovative research for painkilling drugs, and describes the effectiveness and the flaws of some of the company's new pills.
Tags: drugs; business; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); health; side effects; ulcer; headache; Monsanto; mergers and acquisitions
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Banking on Biotech
The story examines the controversies surrounding biotech research and development, and sheds light on some of the little known risks to the environment and the customers. The investigation finds that "public and private funds increasingly commingle in cooperative agreements with private industry," and that biotechnology is facing severe public relation problems. The reporter looks at the research activities at the Texas A&M University and finds that it "is well-situated to ride the crest in the coming biotech boom."
Tags: farms; crops; life science; agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Food and Drug Administration; Environmental Protection Agency; genetically modified foods; labeling; Monsanto; StarLink; Aventis; Novartis; Pioneer; allergy
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Drug Control or Biowarfare?
"The story unveiled a secret government plan to use Colombia as a testing ground for Fusarium oxysporum, a fungus-based herbicide, as a new biological weapon in the war on drugs; the power and personage behind the effort, and the lack of oversight, monitoring, and informed consent from stakeholders on health and environmental concerns. (The) story detailed how the fungus was initially clandestinely isolated and developed by various government agencies and how the U.S. worked to force the experimental agent on Colombian authorities for use against coca, poppy, and marijuana."
Tags: deforestation; USDA; Peru; fungus; Plan Columbia; Rep. Ben Gilman; mycoherbicide (fungus plant killer); human health; farming; immune system; State Department of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement; Monsanto Roundup; United Nations
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Pension Cuts 101; Raw Deals: Companies Quietly Use Mergers and Spinoffs to Cut Worker Benefits; Even as They Pump Up Pension-Plan Surpluses, Employers Slash Payouts; Ms. Jastram Can't Make Rent
The Wall Street Journal reveals that many major companies have cut employee benefits in connection with mergers or spinoffs. The companies investigated by The Wall Street Journal include General Electric Co., Monsanto Co., Merck &Co., SmithKline Beecham PLC and Chiquita Brands International Inc.
Tags: merger; spinoff; employee benefits; employees; pensions; business; companies; corporate; 2000 contest entry