Translated by Ollie Richardson & Angelina Siard

00:25:55
23/09/2018

antifashist.com

 

According to the Ukrainian president, the country is experiencing an investment boom, and one piece of proof of this is the opening of a super-modern seed plant of the German corporation Bayer, which took place recently in the Zhytomyr region.

However, in reality the “German investor” appeared to be the American company “Monsanto”, which has a very bad reputation worldwide because of the use of GMO and cancerogenic herbicides.

“The investment boom happening in Ukraine serves as bright confirmation of the trust that foreign investors have in our country,” pathosly said Poroshenko on his Twitter, having illustrated the “investment breakthrough” with footage of the sorting of corn cobs at the enterprise of the “powerful European investor”.

And indeed: news was published in all Ukrainian media agencies with such an interpretation referencing the information of the German company: “Bayer opens a modern plant for the production of seeds in Ukraine. Investments in the plant in the village of Pochuyki in the Zhytomyr region will provide deliveries of high-quality corn seeds to the internal and external markets. These investments confirm the resolute commitment of the Bayer company to Ukraine. It is planned to expand the activity of the plant and also deliveries to the foreign markets in the future,” it is said in the press release of the German company.

However, the investment project, grandiose by Ukrainian standards, turned out to be not the case when trousers “turn into elegant shorts”, after all, it became German relatively recently, namely after Bayer finished the merger with the American corporation of Monsanto in the summer of last year. Before this happened, investments were presented as “American”.

“Monsanto in 2018 plans to start a seed plant in the Zhytomyr region. The new seed plant, which will make high-quality corn seeds, will be opened in the Zhytomyr region in 2018. The plant will be better than the equivalent ones in the US,” it was noted in the information in the media dated 2017.

The American Monsanto’s acquisition by the German Bayer helped to get rid of the toxic name of the American company in press releases, but it didn’t change its essence.

Monsanto has tried to expand its activity in Ukraine for a long time. Thus, the company declared the construction of a plant in 2013 in the Vinnytsia region with a volume of investment at the level of $140 million. On this territory it was planned to construct a seed plant, a logistic center, and also the accompanying infrastructure. But back then the American company faced the negative reaction of the public of the city, which opposed the construction of a plant by a corporation possessing a doubtful reputation around the world.

In particular, in their homeland, in the US, “Monsanto” is widely known as an “unwanted neighbor”. The pesticides production plant in Anniston for more than 40 years deliberately dumped toxic waste into the river that ran through the city, which became the reason for mass death and disease among residents.

Scientific figures of the region unambiguously spoke against the construction of the plant too. “The problem is that it isn’t authentically known what exactly they plan to produce there,” said the professor and head of the botany, genetics, and physiology of plants department of the Vinnytsia agricultural university Vasily Mamalyga to the “20 minutes“ publication.

Without having received distinct explanations from the company concerning the details of the project, Vinnytsia officials were compelled to refuse to cooperate with “Monsanto”. The tender for the sale of Vinnytsia land wasn’t completed — all three attempts were unsuccessful.

But the transcontinental giant isn’t used to being refused, and it decided to transfer construction to another region, namely to the Zhytomyr region, which was declared already after the “revolution of dignity”. The then Minister of Economic Development and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius reported about it, having noted that the company plans to invest about $250 million. The minister was very proud of this fact, after all, “money is being attracted to the economy at a time that is difficult for the country”.

The arrival of the “powerful investor” consecrated by Poroshenko will hardly please the inhabitants of Zhytomyr, because near by they received a rather dubious enterprise.

For example, the London newspaper “The Telegraph” noted that in 2015 in England and Wales the quantity of new oncological diseases exceeded the number of babies who were born to first-time mothers. And the largest charitable organisation Macmillan Cancer Support claimed that every day 980 citizens of Her Majesty are diagnosed with a malignant tumor. And the most awful thing is that the time will come when, with high probability, every second English person falls ill with this dreadful disease during their lifetime.

The carcinogens provoking malignant tumors are numerous, but the most dangerous source of evil is already known. It is herbicide glyphosate. Colin Todhunter, the British journalist, sociologist, and leader of the “EAST BY NORTHWEST” website, directly calls it one of the key reasons for the beginning of a cancer epidemic. He is guided by the 19-page report of the well known ecologist Dr. Rosemary Mason, which includes convincing proof of the slow intoxication of the inhabitants of Wales by the production of the American company Monsanto, mainly glyphosate.

But Kiev doesn’t think of this. The most important thing is that news about investments became the next decoration on the list of “victories” on Poroshenko’s Twitter. Well, about the fact that “German” investments aren’t German at all, but very dubious American ones, and only the packaging changed – there is no need to present this to the local public. Although, it might be possible to not even hide it. Well, they will “kick up a fuss and then forget about it” – as one Ukrainian politician put it.

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