The justices that a president appoints to the Supreme Court is one of their most enduring and important contributions to the United States that every president gives the country. During his first term, President Obama appointed two Justices, one of whom was Elena Kagan, the former Solicitor General of the United States. During her time as the Solicitor General, Kagan filed a brief in support of Monsanto.
In 2007, Monsanto was brought to court by growers of alfalfa in California--these growers alleged that their crops were being cross-pollinated with, and thus contaminated by, Monsanto's GMO crops. After winning an initial legal victory and securing an injunction on Monsanto's planting of its modified alfalfa, Monsanto appealed the ruling and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court. Despite the fact that the United States government had no interest in the Monsanto alfalfa case, Kagan, the solicitor general wrote an "amicus" brief in favor of Monsanto's position.
Nobody knows why the Solicitor General's office decided to get involved in the Monsanto alfalfa case, but it was an unusual act by a supposedly neutral body; there was no rational reason for the US government to get involved in this case. While we don't know the reason for this brief, it does make many believe that Kagan may be sympathetic to Monsanto's corporate interests.
The Agricultural advisory Committee is staffed with numerous other agri-business supporters:
Chuck Connor -- The former leader of the Corn Refiners Association; this is the largest interest group for ethanol and corn syrup producers within the United States.
Bill Even -- The former head of the DuPont Chemical "high-tech seed" division, which manages DuPont's GMO seed business.
Chris Policinski -- The CEO of "Land O Lakes" and a party to the 2007 GMO alfalfa case in California.
Tom Nassif -- The leader of the Western Growers Association who has been the recipient of thousands of dollars in donations from the Monsanto Fund.
Tom Johanns -- A senator from Nebraska who has taken nearly $10,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto and who advocated in favor of blocking GMO labeling during the early 2000s push by the EU to mandate disclosure.
Conclusion 2012 (How prescient these insights now seem in 2018!)
When all things have been considered, it is undeniable that Monsanto has significant influence over both major parties in the United States--the only real difference between the candidates is how deep this influence goes. Regardless of who becomes the next president, it appears that Monsanto will continue to have significant power in Washington politics and will retain extraordinary high levels of lobbying influence.
(Article changed on September 8, 2018 at 18:35)
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