Why is this important?

Bayer is one of the largest producers of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides. And Monsanto is one of the leading producers of genetically modified plants. [1] Together, these companies could have a total lockdown on what farmers put in their fields, the pesticides they use, what we buy in the shops, and ultimately put on our dinner tables.

If the merger is to be successful, the two companies must gain approval of competition authorities all over the world, including from the EU. Bayer has managed to “convince” Donald Trump to back the mega-merger [2], and now there is really only one organisation that has enough clout to stop the deal -- the European Union.

We know that Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for competition informally is already negotiating with Bayer behind closed doors. If we don’t act now this mega-merger could be a done-deal. That’s why we have to tell her to reject the deal now.

The merger of Bayer and Monsanto isn’t the only mega-merger in the agri-chemicals sector. ChemChina has already swallowed Swiss based Syngenta, and Dow Chemical and Dupont have merged as well. The three new agri-business giants would control 70% of the world’s agri-chemicals and 60% of the market for seeds.[3] This would be a crushing anti-competitive blow to the world’s farmers, tying them into buying seeds and pesticides from just three global corporations.

Those corporates proved already in the past, that they put their profit above our health and the environment. Industrial farming means a vicious cycle of the same crops on vast fields, which needs more and more fertiliser and pesticides to generate results. At the same time this model of farming causes erosion and the total loss of food chains for insects, birds and small animals.

While our fight is in Europe, the struggle against these mega-mergers is global. There are a growing movements of farmers, consumers and citizens like us, who protest against it. It is up to us to hold Margrethe Vestager accountable and demand to stop the merger.

Update: Today (March 20, 2018) we sent this open letter to EU-Commissioner Vestager, to jointly protest with over 70 organisations from all over Europe against the merger of Bayer and Monsanto.

References