Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for your attention. My name is Anne Temple, standing in for Zen Honeycutt from Moms Across America, due to a death in the family. We are representing John Harrington of Harrington Investments. We are asking for shareholder support for Item No. 5, a reasonable and important request for a report regarding the company’s plan to mitigate inevitable losses from public exposure to Roundup.
I am here with international advocate Beth Savitt of the Shaka Movement from Maui and Rachel Parent of Kids Right to Know of Canada, three generations speaking up for the health of our nations. Our loved ones are getting sick and are dying at alarming rates. But many of us are finding our family’s health improves when we avoid GMOs and toxic chemicals and eat organic.
I am giving a binder of 42 studies to the board showing that glyphosate kills placental cells, is a neurotoxin, increases antibiotic resistance, causes sex hormone changes, causes growth of cancer cells and causes liver and kidney damage at doses far lower than what is allowed on our food. I am here to appeal to Monsanto to change direction and reduce harm. Here are three of the reasons why:
1. EPA documents uncovered in 2015 reveal that Monsanto has known that glyphosate has cancer causing effects since 1983.
2. Misuse of Roundup and glyphosate in our food, water, air, parks and public spaces is rampant. Glyphosate is sprayed on roadsides and public areas without following the directions on the label to “keep people and pets away until dry”.The EPA has recently confirmed that pesticide applicators MUST follow label instructions, yet most city landscapers or school applicators do not barricade these areas for drying, thereby complying with the label.
This practice exposes pregnant mothers and children to toxic chemicals which have shown to be neurotoxic, cause organ damage and have been connected to birth defects.
This leaves city councils and Monsanto wide open for national class action lawsuits.
3. Lack of testing is sure to create legal ramifications: Consumers are demandingtransparency. Scientists have discovered that NO blood analysis has been made available to regulatory agencies after full formulation testing - with the real market product Roundup. So, claims that Roundup‘s full formulations are safe, are actually unfounded. This is sure to raise considerable issues in the pending 700 lawsuits against Monsanto for non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and impact shareholder profits.
Money, however, is not the only consideration of truly great and powerful leaders of this world. Wise leaders focus on health, sustainability and integrity.
Shareholders and board members of Monsanto, you may have money now, but your children and grandchildren are and will be paying the price. Monsanto is poisoning our food, air, water and environment. Stop it now.
Report to us how you will reduce risks and loss, change direction and do better.
We ask you to vote yes on Proxy 5. Thank you.
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Point made in Q & A period:
SUPERWEED Resistance: Roundup formulations are 40 years old and super weed resistance is on the rise-300 million acres are reporting superweeds, over 250 types of weeds. Roundup is simply not working. It is time to retire this old technology. Yet, your board is investing millions in Dicamba, also an older chemical, to replace glyphosate and continue on this toxic treadmill of chemical cocktails. Does this sound like a good plan? I don’t think a business plan should include sickness and death. More toxins will not work. You don’t need to find another chemical to replace Roundup, you need a new business plan. Albert Einstein said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
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