Soil bacteria hold the keys to life on this planet. This is why agricultural systems that work with nature rather than against it are so important for the future. Writing on the GMeducation.org website, Meg Noble and Lawrence Woodward warn of a strategic corporate inroad into so-called microbials market.
Monsanto’s chief executive describes soil bacteria as: “…the next major platform in agriculture…” It emerges that the company has been working with Danish firm Novozymes to develop a range of bacteria-based products that can be adapted to industrial agriculture.
Alongside Monsanto’s core chemical business, the USD 300 million partnership deal with the Danes is a paltry sum to pay. Given Monsanto’s corporate history, this particular change of tack should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Given that agricultural chemistry has been destroying soil bacteria for decades, any corporate U-turn is unexpected, to say the least.
For seven ways to save our tired soils, see this guest post from the Soil Association.
For pesticides and soil see here
And for something on soil that’s a little cosmic, from Arc2020’s EU correspondent Oliver Moore see here.
