The World According to Monsanto | |
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French: Le monde selon Monsanto | |
Directed by | Marie-Monique Robin |
Written by | Marie-Monique Robin |
Produced by | Marie-Monique Robin |
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Edited by | Françoise Boulègue |
Music by | Olivier Auriol |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
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The World According to Monsanto is a 2008 film directed by Marie-Monique Robin. Originally released in French as Le monde selon Monsanto, the film is based on Robin's three-year-long investigation into the corporate practices around the world of the United States multinational corporation, Monsanto. The World According to Monsanto is also the title of a book written by Robin. [1]
The film reports many controversies surrounding the use and promotion of genetically modified seeds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Agent Orange, and bovine growth hormone. Cases in the United States (including Anniston, Alabama), Canada, India, Mexico, Paraguay, the United Kingdom (Scotland) and France, are explored, claiming that the Monsanto corporation's collusion with governments, pressure tactics, suppression and manipulation of scientific data, and extra-legal practices aided the company's attempts at dominating global agriculture. Scientists, representatives of the United States Food and Drug Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, civil society representatives, victims of the company's activities, lawyers, and politicians are interviewed. [2]
In March 2008, French journalist Marie-Monique Robin released the results of her three years of worldwide research into Monsanto. A book was published by La Découverte, a French editor, and a video documentary, Le Monde selon Monsanto (The World According to Monsanto), was released on DVD and shown on Arte, the Franco-German culture TV channel. [3] [4]
Robin travels to India, Mexico, Argentina, and Paraguay to see how Monsanto's genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have affected local farmers using it for their crops. The film claims that GMO use has increased suicide rates of farmers in India.
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The original version of The World According to Monsanto was not only focused on GMOs but Monsanto’s bad behavior in general. Much of this material was contributed to and used by Marie-Monique Robin to by retired U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy analyst William Sanjour. Sanjour, while working for EPA, had written a 21-page report titled “The Monsanto Investigation.” The report and its 62 end notes and other supporting material was loaned to Robin for her documentary. The report was “an analysis of the failure of EPA to investigate allegations that the Monsanto Company had falsified scientific studies on the carcinogenicity of dioxin.”
Film participants include David Baker, Ken Cook, Professor David Carpenter, Dan Glickman, James Maryanski, Jeffrey Smith, Michael Hansen, Jeremy Rifkin, Michael Taylor, Dr. Samuel Epstein, Shiv Chopra, Prof. Arpad Pusztai, Peter Melchett, Vandana Shiva, Prof. Ignacio Chapela, Prof. Stanley Ewen, Segundino, Elena Alvares Buyll, Aldo González Morales, Jonathan Matthews, Roberto Franco, Prof. Robert Bellé, Richard Burroughs, Pete Hardin, Ray Mowling, Lisa Watson, Margaret Haydon, Steven Druker, William Sanjour, Gerson Smoger, Prof. Ian Pryme, Troy Roush, David Runyon, Kiran Sakhari, Abdul Gayum, Kishor Tiwari, Tarak Kate, and Jorge Galeano.
The book has been reviewed by Les Inrockuptibles, L'Express, AFP, Bakchich, L'Humanité, Télérama, Le Point, Politis, La Marseillaise among others. [5] A review compares the book's impact to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in raising awareness of the issues of Monsanto. [6] La Recherche criticised the lack of a thorough examination of biotechnology in the book, but praised it as captivating and saying that it had a thriller style. [7]
The Toronto Star described the film as taking a "scattershot approach", criticised its use of boring footage showing the creator googling for information, and notes that even though the documentary is available in English and available to the American public, Monsanto will probably not be constrained by them. [8] The Globe and Mail described the film as "a well researched but stylistically flawed film", and criticised the use of footage showing Robin googling. [9] Le Monde described the film as an edifying documentary, and praised the diversity in testimonies presented in the film. [10] A later review feels that the film was one-sided until the phone conversation where Monsanto declined to appear was shown. [11] The film was projected in the National Assembly before a debate on GMOs by the initiative of the Greens party and was described by Le Figaro as "a long and meticulous indictment against GMOs" ("s'agit d'un long et minutieux réquisitoire contre les OGM"). [12] Rue89 described the film as "paced like a thriller on public health", and compared it to the film Erin Brockovich but without the satisfying conclusion of that film. [13] La Presse describes the film as being not in the vein of Michael Moore's documentaries, but instead relying on the facts to make its point. [14] In its showing on 11 March 2008, it had 1 569 000 viewers. [15]
Biologist Marcel Kuntz denounced the film in an article published on the website of the French Association for Scientific Information (AFIS), describing the film as "replete with pseudoscientific claims" ("truffé d'allégations pseudo-scientifiques"). [16] A review in Libération states that the film amalgamates the issues of GMO and Monsanto, and, citing the review by Marcel Kuntz, states that the film lacks scientific rigor. [17]
The author of the book and film, Marie-Monique Robin, won the Rachel Carson Prize for her work on this project. [18]
Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalization author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as "Gandhi of grain" for her activism associated with the anti-GMO movement.
Emmanuelle Béart is a French film and television actress, who has appeared in over 60 film and television productions since 1972. An eight-time César Award nominee, she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1986 film Manon des Sources. Her other film roles include La Belle Noiseuse (1991), A Heart in Winter (1992), Nelly and Mr. Arnaud (1995), Mission: Impossible (1996) and 8 Women (2002).
L'Obs, previously known as Le Nouvel Observateur (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, L'Obs is one of the three most prominent French news magazines alongside Le Point and L'Express. Its current editor is Cécile Prieur.
Paul Aussaresses was a French Army general, who fought during World War II, the First Indochina War and Algerian War. His actions during the Algerian War—and later defense of those actions—caused considerable controversy.
Caroline Fourest, is a French feminist writer, film director, journalist, radio presenter at France Culture, and editor of the magazine ProChoix. She was also a columnist for Charlie Hebdo, for Le Monde until 14 July 2012, and she joined Marianne in 2016.
Marie-Monique Robin is a French TV journalist and documentary filmmaker. She generally issues books and documentary films together on the topics she investigates, in order to make more people aware of the issues she studies.
The Cité Catholique is a Traditionalist Catholic organisation created in 1946 by Jean Ousset, originally a follower of Charles Maurras and Jean Masson (1910–1965), not to be confused with Jacques Desoubrie, who also used the pseudonym Jean Masson. Despite the presence of Roman Catholic clergy in some of its meetings, the Cité catholique is not officially recognised by the Roman Catholic Church.
Paul Moreira is a French journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is based in Paris, France. He has directed several investigative documentaries in conflict zones, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Palestine, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
The Albert Londres Prize is the highest French journalism award, named in honor of journalist Albert Londres. Created in 1932, it was first awarded in 1933 and is considered the French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Three laureates are awarded each year. The three categories are : "best reporter in the written press", "best audiovisual reporter" and "best reporting book".
Jeffrey M. Smith is an American consumer activist, self-published author, and former politician. He is the author of two books on genetically engineered foods, Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating, and Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives, which he made into a film in 2012. He has appeared twice on each of the shows -The Dr. Oz Show and The Doctors. Smith has worked with organic food marketers and alternative health product promoters to advocate against genetically modified food. Supporters identify Smith as an influential educator on the alleged risks associated with genetically modified foods, while others point out Smith's lack of formal scientific training. In 1998, Smith ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a candidate for the Natural Law Party. As of 2021, Smith is the executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, and executive director of the global campaign Protect Nature Now.
Down There is a 78-minute 2006 Belgian-French English- and French-language independent documentary art film directed by Chantal Akerman.
The Séralini affair was the controversy surrounding the publication, retraction, and republication of a journal article by French molecular biologist Gilles-Éric Séralini. First published by Food and Chemical Toxicology in September 2012, the article presented a two-year feeding study in rats, and reported an increase in tumors among rats fed genetically modified corn and the herbicide RoundUp. Scientists and regulatory agencies subsequently concluded that the study's design was flawed and its findings unsubstantiated. A chief criticism was that each part of the study had too few rats to obtain statistically useful data, particularly because the strain of rat used, Sprague Dawley, develops tumors at a high rate over its lifetime.
Gilles-Éric Séralini is a French molecular biologist, political advisor and activist on genetically modified organisms and foods. He is of Algerian-French origin. Séralini has been a professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen since 1991, and is president and chairman of the board of CRIIGEN.
Robert Thomas Fraley was executive vice president and chief technology officer at Monsanto, where he helped to develop the first genetically modified seeds. He retired from Monsanto in June 2018. He advocates for the use of GMO products to address global food insecurity and reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture.
Stéphane Jean-Abel Michel Charbonnier, better known as Charb, was a French satirical caricaturist and journalist. He was assassinated during the Charlie Hebdo shooting on 7 January 2015.
The Association française pour l'information scientifique or AFIS is an association regulated by the French law of 1901, founded under the leadership of Michel Rouzé in November 1968. As a skeptical organisation, it has been a member of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations since 2001, and publishes the magazine Science et pseudo-sciences.
Marceline Loridan-Ivens was a French writer and film director. Her memoir But You Did Not Come Back details her time in Auschwitz-Birkenau. She was married to Joris Ivens.
GMO conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories related to the production and sale of genetically modified crops and genetically modified food. These conspiracy theories include claims that agribusinesses, especially Monsanto, have suppressed data showing that GMOs cause harm, deliberately cause food shortages to promote the use of GM food, or have co-opted government agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration or scientific societies such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Paul Deheuvels is a French statistician. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.
The Centre de formation des journalistes or École CFJ is the journalism school of Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, located in Paris and Lyon, France.