Are Monsanto’s shareholders not very proud of the product that they invest their hard earned dollars into? Wouldn’t letting you know that so many food products contain their ‘perfectly safe’ and amazing genetically modified organisms enhance their brand? Or perhaps they simply know that Monsanto would face economic meltdown in the event that consumers knew what they were eating.
As it turns out, around 96% of Monsanto shareholders would highly prefer that you do not know whether you’re eating Monsanto’s GMOs or not. According to Bloomberg Business and many other sources in articles posted in the back end of the stock section where most individuals likely never read, the recent Monsanto shareholder conference actually calculated how many of its investors were in favor of letting people know what they are eating.
Unsurprisingly, the vote turned back with only 4.16% of the shareholders in favor of “working with regulators on GMO labeling guidelines.” In the full release by Bloomberg, we read:
“As more than 20 states consider mandatory labeling of genetically modified food, shareholders at Monsanto’s (MON) annual meeting on Tuesday voted against proposals to label and assess the costs of GMOs… One resolution, which sought a report on the cost of GMO contamination affecting non-GMO and organic crops, received 6.51 percent of shareholder votes, while another asking the company to work with regulators on GMO labeling guidelines received 4.16 percent of the vote”
At least the shareholders are smart in knowing that Monsanto’s already-terrible reputation (they’re the third most hated company in the world according to polls) would plummet even further into oblivion if the general public became aware of what’s in their dinner.
But will the shareholders get their wish? With promising new GMO labeling initiatives on the way in states like Minnesota, and federal legislation being looked at amid 60+ million calling for action in online petitions, they may not win so easily.