Monsanto’s Biotech Public Relations Makeover: Lubricating the Wheels of the GMO Trojan Horse

Monsanto believes it is having trouble getting its message across to the public. Last year, it began a makeover. It realised that it and GMOs have an image problem.

According to the Holmes Report, an information service following the public relations industry, Monsanto has embarked on an international campaign by upgrading its association with Fleishman Hillard, one of the biggest public relations firms in the US.

On the gmoinside.org website, it states that a series of videos produced for Monsanto promote the company’s contributions to US farms, agricultural sustainability, the job market and the wide array of food choices. Monsanto is also participating in ‘GMO Answers’, a website launched in September 2013 by the Council for Biotechnology Information. Part of an industry-wide effort, which involves BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta, the site allows visitors to ask questions relating to all facets of GMOs, which are then answered by ‘experts’. The GMO biotech sector is also hoping to team up with NGOs and government-backed bodies to develop a more strategic approach to promoting GMOs.