Bayer

Law Firm Files Suit on Behalf of Government Against Giant Chemical Firms; Government Declines to Join

Victims blinded by a methyl isocyanate gas leak from a chemical factory in Bhopal, India, 1984 (source).by Gaius PubliusThis news brought to you by the hashtag #CultureOfCorruption. There's a fair amount to digest in the news story below, so I'll try to give you the short strokes first:

Monsanto Gets the First CRISPR License to Modify Crops

Monsanto announced last week that it licensed the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool from the Broad Institute in Boston for use in seed development. The technology will allow the agritech giant to edit crops’ DNA by “snipping” away undesirable traits – or adding in more desirable ones – of the plants’ genetic codes. Frankenfood? [1]
Source: Business Insider

Biotech Giants Bayer and Monsanto Sign Mammoth Merger Agreement

The agritech world got a lot bigger this week when German chemical giant Bayer inked an agreement to acquire Monsanto for $66 billion in cash. The 2 companies had been bickering for months, and this was the 3rd refurbished offer. In the end, Bayer agreed to pay $128 per share, up from the company’s previous offer of $127.50. [1]
The agreement makes it the largest all-cash deal on record.
Markus Manns of Union Investment, one of Bayer’s top 12 investors, said:

Genetically Modified Mustard Steps Closer to Approval in India

A panel of scientists with India’s Ministry of Environment said in a risk assessment of genetically modified mustard that the crop does not “pose any risk of causing any adverse effects on human and animal health and safety.” [1]
Mustard oil accounts for more than 10% of India’s cooking requirement of approximately 21 million metric tons.
The scientists have spoken, but not everyone is convinced that the information is accurate.