99: Monsanto Chemical Company: The Silent Killer - Agent Orange, Birth Defects and Toxic Cereal | Dark History with Bailey Sarian
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I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman

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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

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What does the Vietnam War have in common with that old lettuce in your fridge? I mean, you're not going to eat that. They're both connected to what some call the most controversial company in the world.

This is a company that was supposed to represent the future of America. But instead, they helped destroy the farming industry, poison children, and change the food we eat forever. This is the shocking story of Monsanto Chemical Corporation. Boo! Boo!

Hi, how are you doing today? I hope you're having a wonderful day so far. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Yes, this is my podcast. Don't mind the corn behind me or the farmer with the totally safe pesticide. That looks legit, huh? Why do you look like a dick? Okay. Oh, so hey, all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let's talk about that hot, juicy history together.

It's really not goths though because like we're spitting facts here. Okay, look so when you walk into a grocery store There's always fruit like right at the front right and then if you look around I did I like did this at the store the other day I was like looking around you see on the walls there's pictures of like jolly farmers and sometimes driving a tractor petting some chickens Right. It's just like cute and you're like, oh my god

That's where my food comes from. And then get this, it's intentionally misleading. I mean, those pictures are there to subconsciously make us feel like what we're buying is still handpicked by that lovely farmer and Farm Fresh. But the reality is that farming has changed in a big way around the world. And this is thanks in part to a little company called Monsanto. - Monsanto! - Okay.

So before we keep going, I just want to make it clear with you. Monsanto, they were acquired or like bought by a company called Bayer in 2018. So now technically Monsanto is just Bayer.

I know. So like they don't go by Monsanto anymore. It's just Bayer. But most of their like shady stuff happened when they were still called Monsanto. So that's what I'm just gonna call them moving forward. But it's under the Bayer umbrella. Bayer. They're shady. I trusted them for so long. I've seen those commercials, Bayer. They're like, take two of our aspirins and you won't have a heart attack. And they've been pushing that down our throats since like 1982. So listen here, Bayer. We're onto you.

It's not a threat. I'm just like pointing out facts. Okay, so picture summer break. Picture, okay? But it's like back in the day and just being outside, just soaking up the sun, the vitamin D. Oh, fresh air, birds, no screens, okay? You're there laying on like a towel maybe and just downing like five of those rocket popsicles that you got from the truck. Yeah, those things were the shit.

and you know exactly what I'm talking about. So it's the best of times, right? We're outside, we're living life, it's happy, it's innocent. It's just nice, right? Now, what if I told you all those years playing outside would actually kill you? I know, I don't know. Well, for thousands of people in Anniston, Alabama,

This literally happened. Yeah, something in Anniston was making all sorts of people sick. Anniston is a town that sits at the end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Where's that? That sounds pretty. Blue Ridge? I'm into it. It seemed like one of those Southern towns from the movies where everyone really knows each other. They all go to church together. It was very picturesque back in the day.

In the 60s, the population of Anniston was around 33,000 people. So it was pretty, it was like a pretty small place. And over 42% of people in the state were living below the poverty line. This was especially true on the west side of Anniston.

The people who lived there, they grew their own food. They raised pigs in their backyard. They caught fish in the streams. And in general, like, you know, times were tough. A lot of the times, the people who lived there would just take the work that was presented to them. But something, something a little weird was going on in Anniston. I mean, there were rumors swirling around about a guy who walked through a local Anniston landfill

And at the bottom of his shoes, they completely burned off. Just clean off. Very Roger Rabbit. Remember when he's melting the shoe?

I had nightmares about that. Soon, it wasn't just rumors. I mean, there were dozens of Aniston residents sick with mysterious, horrible illnesses. And like people were starting to wonder like what the hell is going on? So I'm gonna tell you what the hell was going on, okay? In 1935, a chemical company named Monsanto took over a local factory

So having a factory like this in town was supposed to be great for the people who live there. I mean, it was going to give them a lot of jobs. Hopefully tons of people were going to have steady, steady work. And Monsanto produced a lot of different chemicals, but mostly they focused on like pretty scary chemicals known as PCBs. Yeah, let me tell you what PCB is short for because I'm going to nail this. Here I go. Polychlorinated biphenyls.

Nailed it. It's a scary chemical, whatever, it's PCB. Okay, so these chemicals, the PCBs, they were essentially used for creating like heavy machinery and electrical equipment. And every single day, the Monsanto factory would pull a DuPont. Do you remember DuPont season one, first episode? Go back, it's great.

But the Monsanto factory would take all of their toxic waste and then they would dump it directly into the Anniston Creeks and the landfills. So this is not great. They just were literally dumping millions,

upon millions of pounds of these chemicals. I mean, like it was regular trash in a way because like they're putting in the creek. So I hope you're not dumping trash in the creek, but you get it. So this meant that the chemicals were in the water that people, the community, they were drinking that water. It was the water that people swam in. And even like the water people baptize their children in.

Praise God, you know? In 1966, some Monsanto workers noticed that there was something like weird happening in the local creeks. So apparently, if fish were put in creeks near the factory, within 10 seconds, they would go belly up.

Yeah, dead. And like the poor little fish would start spitting up blood like crazy. And I guess their skin would just shed right off. I don't think that's good, right? And it's like, what do the workers do after they discover this? You're like, oh, that sucks. But they don't, nothing, nothing happens. A few years later in 1969, workers discovered the fish in other Aniston Creeks had 7,500 times

the legal limit of like that PCB chemical and it was all in their little fish bodies. 7,500 times the legal limit. So I think that's a lot. Okay, but once again, like people are discovering this and like Monsanto's like,

We don't do anything. Like leave us out of this. Pretty soon they started to get some serious heat on Santo because the rumors about what was happening in town, they weren't rumors anymore. It was a reality. Okay. So there's this article by a journalist named Harriet Washington. I'll link the article for you down below. And she highlights the shocking things that happened to the Anacin community. People were suffering from terrifying things like sudden memory loss,

confusion, autoimmune diseases, kidney failure. The list goes on. People who were like living near each other, they all got diagnosed with cancer around like the same time. And that's called a cancer cluster. But it was odd.

right? And they didn't know what was going on. Nobody did. I mean, people were suddenly like immobile with illnesses that seemed to like come out of nowhere. And like some were even having serious breathing problems. Now the major problem was that there was no test being done on people to like find out what the heck was really going on. And this was probably on purpose. I mean, let's be real. Instead of checking on the local Anacin people, Monsanto ordered tests to be done on rats.

Yeah. So they wanted to see like what would happen to the rats once they were exposed to the factory's PCB chemicals. So they were like, we're going to test these rats and we'll let you know if it's toxic. And then when the results came back, it wasn't good. Okay. Because it was a bad look for them because the rats were covered in tumors.

Yeah, Gasparella. So when Monsanto received the rat test results, they, okay, they acknowledged the tumors, but then they ordered scientists to change the test results to say, quote, does not appear to be cancer causing, end quote, without making sure like it was actually true. They just straight up lied on their own tests to show the results that they wanted. I mean, it's like every corporation we talk about here. They all do this shit. Why is it legal?

The worst part, even if residents avoided the creeks filled with chemicals, the chemicals were also like in the soil where people were growing their food. And even if you could find a way to avoid the water and like the food grown in Anniston, the Monsanto factories was one of the main employers in town. So pretty much everyone got some type of exposure. It was like nobody could win.

In 1971, after 36 years, the Monsanto factory ended up closing. But it was honestly too late because it was discovered that the PCB chemicals had seeped into everything, like literally everything. And it was essentially part of their environment.

Monsanto's PCBs became known as brain thieves because it would literally wear down the systems in the brain and like central nervous system. And like you need that to operate. So brain thieves.

I could see that. It was also ruining people's endocrine systems. In other words, like the system that controls your hormones and like releases them into the blood. And when your endocrine system is messed up, honestly, like everything goes sideways. Your reproductive system, your mood, your physical development, and even your mental development is thrown off. And like this continued to happen

over Aniston, just all over, all of it. I mean, people were just falling apart and Monsanto kept telling them that these PCB chemicals were fine in small amounts. Yeah, it's totally fine, but it's just like small amount. But we all know that's BS. They're lying, we know it. It's like, of course they're gonna give us some loophole excuse.

In 2003, after thousands of lawsuits and years in court, Monsanto was found guilty of knowingly poisoning Aniston.

So Anniston residents ended up receiving a settlement of like $43 million, which is like, yay, cool, good for them. But then like when the money got broken down, each of the adults had received an average of like $9,000 and $2,000 per child, which is a really big slap in the face because like many of these residents, many of these people had to deal with permanent disabilities. It was like, oh, links, well.

Monsanto wasn't always this way, though. I mean, the company actually started out as something innocent. Yeah, a company that was supposed to be the face of American progress.

I mean, a company that actually has some surprisingly sweet... You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time. But maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love.

love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and my favorite part, all Quince items are priced $50 to

80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh!

I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

So we're going back. Back to the beginning. Okay, 1901. We're there. A man named John Queeney founded Monsanto. He was an executive who worked in the pharmaceutical industry. So like he knew how successful the world of chemicals was gonna be. Like it was the future. And he produced saccharin, which is an artificial sweetener.

And honestly, the reason Monsanto took off the way they did is because their saccharin, it brought them one of their most powerful clients in the whole world, Coca-Cola. It was a match made in heaven. Saccharin needed Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola needed saccharin. And they grew together and they took off and Coca-Cola became...

You know, because of Monsanto's saccharin. You following? I mean, without Coca-Cola's business, Monsanto probably would not even be as big as they are. In 1915, Monsanto made its first million dollars. And after just a few years, John had a multi-billionaire.

million dollar company. So he started producing products that were even bigger money makers like caffeine and vanillin, which is like a vanilla extract. So things are going great for them. But then in 1928, John is diagnosed with cancer. I know, bummer. He decides it's best to pass the reins of the company onto his son, Edgar. And Edgar, yeah, he had some big plans, okay? And he had things besides soda on his mind.

In the first half of the 20th century, America relied on other countries to supply their chemicals. I mean, they needed these chemicals to build supplies, which were going to be used in the war, but also chemicals for common things like packaging, appliances, toys, cars, you name it, there's a chemical in it.

So it costs a lot to ship chemicals to the States, especially if America was feuding with the country and they decided to tax the shit out of us to send a message. Yeah, so if there was like a big conflict going on, like world war, it would be a big opportunity for a company like Monsanto. They decided to become

the provider when it comes to chemicals. Within a few short years, Monsanto was making everything from plastic to dishwasher detergent to medical supplies. They were expanding. And then they created a product that became key to America winning World War II. Styrene monomer.

Ooh, it's a good name. Styrene. Monomer. Come, darling. Monomer. I guess it's a chemical. Yeah, so this chemical liquid is used to make rubber, latex, and fiberglass. I know, I don't know how they do, like, I did not pay attention to chemistry or biology. I don't know how, like, what? I know. So, like, these obviously are very important during a war.

So they made things like the glass for the airplanes and things to really help with the war going on. And at this point, Monsanto sort of becomes the face of American innovation. I mean, if there was some kind of cutting edge technology, Monsanto created it.

I mean, they were trying to be the answer to everyone's problems. For example, in the 1950s, there was like a big baby boom. The population doubled in size in less than like 50 years. I guess just the people were bored. Let them have it. There was a huge housing crisis and like just not enough supplies or space to build the homes that were needed. And even if like enough materials or space was available, it was very difficult for the average person to afford it.

Oh my god, it sounds like right now. Same Z. And of course, here comes Monsanto with a solution. Everyone listen up. Plastic. And hey, plastic was a game changer. Monsanto even had the idea to build houses out of plastic. In 1957, they created something called the House of the Future. And it was a home that was made almost entirely out of Monsanto plastic, which could be built quickly and more affordably.

And like Walt Disney, yeah, cameo. He loved this idea so much that he put the House of the Future prototype in Disneyland and it was there for like 10 years. He's like jacking off to it every night or something. I don't know. He was stoked. This was so the average American could think of Monsanto as like the future of America.

and really just, "Oh wow, they're so cool. Look, they're at Disneyland." You know, I don't know. So at this time, like Monsanto is crushing it and it has like a chokehold on America. People love them. No one's thinking bad things about them. And especially after World War II ended, I mean, the people came home and they were like, "We love Monsanto. They built our planes. We got all the..." They did everything for them. Monsanto was the shit.

Meanwhile, Monsanto is raking in the cash and looking for more ways to expand their empire, you know? So they were developing new products like fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which is great. More things that Monsanto was saving our ass with. But Monsanto had some big plans for their innocent little plant fertilizers. Global domination.

This is when something called Agent Orange enters the chat. And you guys have been asking me for a video about Agent Orange forever. Here it is right here. It's in this section. So whenever I hear the name Agent Orange, I honestly just think of the band. Monsanto developed Agent Orange in the 1940s. And it was a cocktail of all like the super powerful weed killers that you could possibly have. It was the weed killer.

The goal was to create a super powerful herbicide that would kill any living plants you wanted. It turns out Agent Orange not only destroyed every plant it touched, it was also extremely toxic to humans as well. Agent Orange was created, okay? And Monsanto saw a quote, adverse effect.

in the humans that were exposed to it. So this was like because the Agent Orange contained two very dangerous chemicals in them, dioxin and something called TCDD, which is just a short name for like a long ass chemical name that I'm not gonna embarrass myself with. So TCDD. But look, all you need to know is, is deadly.

So direct human contact with the chemicals could cause immediate side effects to the nervous system. Like you could trouble speaking, slower movements, stiff muscles, tremors, all kinds of like scary nerve damage. But the worst part about Agent Orange was that it wasn't necessarily what it did to you in the moment. I mean, that was bad, but like the side effects, they would show up

years later after you were exposed. So there was always like a surprise ending with Agent Orange. And Monsanto realized that the exposure to dioxin in particular was causing long-term effects like bladder cancer, leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma, prostate cancer, lung cancer, cancer, cancer, cancer, and even some tumors too. That's a lot.

Right? Okay, so you're probably thinking, "Oh, Bailey, I know. They probably shut it down. They're like, 'We're not gonna use that ever again. That's dangerous.'" Instead, Monsanto took Agent Orange and used it as a weapon. So between 1962 and 1971, for almost 10 years, the US military, with Monsanto's help, they sprayed over 20 million gallons of Agent Orange all over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Latin America.

and Laos. Even after they knew what they knew about the know about the Agent Orange, because they knew, they knew since 1949 that Agent Orange was not good. So they did it anyways. So why were they using this known deadly chemical cocktail? Well, unlike other wars that the U.S. has fought in, the landscape was very tropical.

and it was like difficult to navigate if you weren't from there. So when the U.S. soldiers got to Vietnam, like they quickly realized that they didn't really have the upper hand when it came to combat. The Vietnam soldiers were hiding under like all the lush trees and the plants. So when the U.S. people are flying over, like they can't see them because they're hiding in the plants. So the U.S. soldiers didn't know like what to do. So the American government came up with a

plan with a little help from... You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I

I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman

and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. Dark history. The U.S. soldiers would drop the chemical Agent Orange from a helicopter and destroy all of the greenery and trees that their enemy soldiers were using for cover.

This way they could force the soldiers out into the open and that's exactly what they did. And it worked. But the thing is, Agent Orange wasn't just destroying the plant life. Little did they know it was destroying the lives of millions of people too. The Red Cross estimates that in that 10 year period, Agent Orange killed over 400,000

thousand people and over three million Vietnamese people had lasting medical disabilities from exposure to Agent Orange as well. And not all of these people were enemy soldiers in battle. I mean, plenty of them were U.S. soldiers on the ground fighting.

and not to mention the Vietnamese citizens, like the women and children who were just like minding their own business and became innocent victims in all of this. In the years after the war, at least 150,000 children in Vietnam were born with serious birth abnormalities as a direct result of Agent Orange. These are conditions like spina bifida, congenital heart defects,

missing limbs, brain and spinal cord issues, hernias, Down syndrome, and I mean a ton of other disorders. Okay, it was just like lethal.

It wrecked people. To this day, 2 million people in Vietnam are still dealing with the medical conditions and cancer that came from Monsanto. Agent Orange literally changed the victim's DNA. I mean, these health issues from the war decades ago have been passed down from generation to generation. Like, it's nuts. It will still be passed down for generations to come.

I mean, today babies are still being born with all of those health issues we mentioned. And like, it's still a major problem. It's had a lasting effect for way too long. And internal reports showed that Monsanto, they knew about these medical concerns years before it was used in Vietnam.

So in 1984, there were thousands of the United States Vietnam veterans. They ended up suing the makers of Agent Orange. And this was like only after decades of struggling with health issues. And Monsanto, of course, they denied that they had anything to do with their health problems. And they eventually decided to settle, claiming that they wanted to, quote, avoid years of legal litigation. But it ended up backfiring.

Settling was seen as Monsanto admitting that they were guilty to the media. And in the settlement, Monsanto agreed to create a $180 million fund for the sick Vietnam vets. This was supposed to last long enough to cover their legal costs and the legal costs of any of their unborn children who had lasting effects from Agent Orange.

And like there was one man named Al Marcotte who served in Vietnam and he testified in the court against Monsanto. And he did this while wearing his special forces uniform and walking on crutches. Al is a respected Green Beret. So he's tough as shit. And he's probably seen some shit.

Al actually suffered from dioxin exposure in Vietnam that left him with a severe nerve damage situation and like a very painful skin condition. And then after hearing about the Monsanto settlement, he said, quote, I don't think Monsanto should get off this easy.

Yeah, we agree. Even though the company has gone by so many different names, the Monsanto we know hasn't, you know, it's never been shut down. They haven't been forced to like change their formulas or anything or like been held accountable maybe. I think that's the biggest thing.

like yeah they had that thing that money settlement whatever but it didn't really they just did so much damage they got a slap on the wrist and had to pay fines but when you are one of the biggest chemical companies in the world money is not an issue really and even though the u.s veterans had their medical fees covered no vietnamese citizens did so all those people who were like killed or got cancer or were just left with

whatever Agent Orange did to them, they never saw justice. They never got any help. In 2005, a group of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange brought a case to the US court. It was rejected because they weren't American citizens. And this seems to be a common theme for Monsanto is just deny and walk away.

Now, ever since it became clear to Monsanto that Agent Orange was too toxic to be used as a commercial weed killer, it seems like they were in the market to find something less lethal, but just as effective. So throughout the 50s and the 60s, they were looking for that secret sauce weed killer that would bring in the big bucks. I guess finally they found it. Well, technically someone else did, but they found it.

Back in 1950, there's a Swiss chemist. He discovered a chemical called glyphosate. And the thing was, like, no one could figure out a good pharmaceutical use for this thing. It was new. It was different. It was cool. But like, what do we do with it? And then glyphosate falls into the wrong hands. Monsanto. And after studying this chemical, they were like, wow, this is actually really good at killing stuff.

And this was great news for Monsanto. I mean, they had been on the hunt for years for a chemical that could be used as a commercial top of the line weed killer. I mean, hey, just think about all those farmers in America who would buy it. And if you're a farmer growing food in America, weeds, they get in the way of

a good crop, which, you know, cuts profit. So having a good weed killer is a must have. The way glyphosate works is by being absorbed through a plant's leaves and it essentially poisons the plant and chokes it until it dies. It's brute, bro. It's brute. Monsanto patented this chemical in 1974 and brought glyphosate to market under the trade name Roundup. You know Roundup. Paul loves Roundup. Paul?

Yeah, he's trying to poison me.

People across the country immediately started buying Roundup. And from that moment on, the farming industry was never the same. Roundup was like this magical product that just killed weeds. Okay, boom, poof, gone. If farmers had more crops, then that meant more profit for them. So farmers were starting to see this Roundup product as like something it's a must have, right? In order to make any kind of good money, they need Roundup.

this product. And then soon, like word spread. And next thing you know, everyone was using it. I mean, it worked. It was great, right? Still to this day, it kills shit. By 1987, around 8 million pounds of glyphosate were used by farmers and ranches. So it spread so much that by the year 1987, it was believed that 8 million pounds of glyphosate were being used around the country by farmers and at different ranches.

Now Roundup wasn't the first herbicide created. I mean, not even close. But this formula was special for two reasons, two big reasons. One, it was cheap to make. Two, it worked really well. Roundup is what scientists call a non-selective herbicide. That means it kills whatever planet touches. I mean, so that includes like corn, cotton, tomatoes, soybeans, everything that farmers and gardeners are trying to grow and protect.

And this ended up becoming like one big ass issue because people had to be very careful when they used Roundup and they had to spray it very carefully, you know, because they didn't want to ruin all of their crops. So customers, they were starting to get really frustrated and it was kind of becoming more of an issue than it was like a helpful tool. The scientists at Monsanto were working day and night, allegedly, you know, trying to figure out how farmers could use Roundup

without killing everything in sight. And then they had a billion dollar light bulb moment. Instead of like wasting all this time and money figuring out how to change Roundup, what if they changed the plan? You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear all the-

time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and my favorite part, all Quince items are priced $50 to

80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices

and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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freakishly strong plant, like in a lab. And the goal was, you know, they wanted to make plants that would be able to withstand the chemicals from Roundup. In 1996, Monsanto invented super seeds. And the way our food was grown was changed forever. These seeds were genetically modified and they were designed to be immune to the chemicals in Roundup. So it's like, these

These aren't even real seeds. It's like kind of like giving them an invisible force field. Roundup would kill the weeds, but it wouldn't kill the crops. Magic, right? Everyone's like, wow, it's magic. But really, it's just like more chemicals on chemicals to make it not be a chemical on the chemicals. Just a chemical shit show. In the end, they ended up solving a problem that they had created. And honestly, it's kind of genius.

And now they get to make double the money because they're selling the seeds and they're selling the Roundup. And thanks to their new seeds, the amount of Roundup being used, I mean, it skyrocketed. It increased by almost 2,000%. By 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency, they had reported that farmers were using around 185 million pounds of glyphosate every year. But the thing about these seeds is that Monsanto created billions of them every year.

And just like any other seeds, they could just spread wherever the wind took them.

Literally. These seeds were Monsanto's secret weapon. So, of course, they're going to look out for themselves first and they were going to do whatever they had to do to keep them secret. I mean, it cost millions of dollars to create them. We all think of a seed as like a thing, a noun, something you buy. And once you do, you own it, right? You own this seed and you could just spread it somewhere, water it,

whatever, just do whatever you want. You can eat it, raw dog it, I don't know. Well, that is not the case when you buy Monsanto's genetically modified seeds because it comes with some rules. These are some special seeds that are just not found in like nature. Monsanto owns the rights to all of these seeds. Let's say you used a Monsanto seed to make soybeans.

You can't just like take a seed from the soybean that grew and like drop it into the ground the next season, like farmers have been doing since farming was invented. Even though it's on your land, you don't own it. And using that seed would be considered stealing from Monsanto because they believe they should get a cut

It's very weird. I mean, my first thought was, so how does Monsanto know if farmers are even doing this? Like just replanting their seeds? Well, they have their own version of a shady police force. In the report from 2000, Leora Broido, a journalist at Mother Jones, she revealed that Monsanto admitted to using some super aggressive tactics to keep farmers from reusing their seeds.

And Monsanto, they had hired private investigators who they called auditors. I know it's giving Scientology. And these auditors, they would drive out to different farms, out to the farmland, and they would secretly take samples from farmers' crops and like test them.

I guess they were looking to see if people were buying Monsanto seeds like on the black market or if they were quote brown bag in it. This was a phrase Monsanto used for farmers who would save seeds from one growing season and use them in the next. Now, if these auditors thought they found any evidence of stealing, they'd bring the results back to Monsanto and listen to this. Yeah, Monsanto would then get their name

They would broadcast their names in radio ads on local stations, like literally outing people like, oh, Barry Jones on Hickamy Street is selling the same soybeans as you, but he isn't paying for them. Go shame him. They were like seed shaming.

Very odd, right? So Monsanto's petty. The company even set up like a phone number where farmers were urged to call in and snitch on their neighbors. They were turning people against one another. Meanwhile, they're just like, we're over here with money. You guys fight over there. And like, honestly, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

There's court records that show that these auditors would secretly videotape and snap pictures of farmers and like sneak into community meetings. Their goal was just to spy on people and see what they were doing. They would go into local towns and have groups of informants working for them so they could like keep controlling the farmers by controlling their seeds and make sure like no one was getting out of line. Yeah, they're psychotic. They're like a stalker ex-girlfriend.

Like this is insane to me because that same year in 2000, Monsanto, they made $5.4 billion in profit. Like, bro, I think you're good, you guys. I think you're good. Like there's no reason to be this upset. It's around this time that Monsanto began tightening its chokeholds on the American farmer.

It's essentially got to the point where like farmers had to go buy Monsanto products or just go bankrupt. Those were all the only options. And like over the years, Monsanto has sued over 800 farmers. Yeah. So imagine being a farmer and trying to like go up against this billion dollar company. So while all of this is happening, there was something people just weren't accounting for.

So people use Roundup for decades, mainly because they thought it was less toxic than other herbicides, right? I mean, that's what they were told, or so we thought. In 2015, the World Health Organization and their Agency for Research on Cancer said that glyphosate, the main Roundup ingredient, can cause cancer and is linked to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Over tens of millions of thousands of this stuff has been used on crops by farmers who had no idea what they were dealing with. So it's like, oh no, what kind of shit sandwich are we getting into, right? Like how the hell is Monsanto getting away with all these horrible things? They're making everybody sick.

But maybe that's her plan, you know? Well, way back in the 1970s, when the people were just starting to be concerned about Agent Orange, Monsanto sponsored or like paid for studies to be done that would show that the long-term health effects of their ingredients, dioxin, you know, the Agent Orange stuff, like it was not going to affect

the health of the workers. And these studies, they were published in medical and scientific journals in the 80s. And this is like when Monsanto was already neck deep in lawsuits. And they all magically said the same thing. Like, don't worry, you guys. Like, this is scientifically proven to not be bad for humans. For some reason, even though Monsanto paid for the study, it was still good enough evidence to get Monsanto out of hot water.

Cut to a few years later when a woman named Kate Jenkins, a PhD chemist at the EPA, decides to double check these scientific studies that Monsanto paid for. And sure enough, she does her research and becomes convinced that Monsanto deliberately manipulated the studies to say that dioxin wasn't harmful.

On February 23, 1990, Dr. Jenkins sent a memo to the board of the EPA called Newly Revealed Fraud by Monsanto. But listen, as soon as she put in the official request for the EPA to audit Monsanto studies, Dr. Jenkins was pulled from her job. Yeah, she was like taking off all of her assignments. Do-do-do-do-do-do-do.

Dr. Jenkins was moved to a job at the EPA that was essentially like admin. She was being silenced. She was being punished.

Somebody was mad. So she ends up filing a complaint to the Department of Labor because hello, hi, she's just trying to do her job and prove that like maybe this huge corporation was hurting a lot of innocent people, you know? That's all I'm trying to do, you guys. The Labor Department was like, yeah, we totally hear you, Dr. Jenkins. This is really bad, but...

You know, the EPA still refused to investigate Monsanto. They just told her what she wanted to hear and never did anything about it. And then after a while, they just closed the investigation. Dr. Jenkins spent years having to deal with the... You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the...

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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

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But thankfully, it wasn't all for nothing.

I mean, thanks to Dr. Jenkins, thousands of veterans ended up getting medical care who wouldn't have gotten it otherwise. Her persistence in getting Monsanto investigated, quote, broke a roadblock that was stopping veterans from being heard. She was even awarded with a plaque for exemplary service to Vietnam veterans for it. I love her story because it shows us that David really can stand up to Goliath, huh?

Even though she didn't win the battle, she won the war and got tons of people the help they needed. In 2018, Monsanto was acquired for $63 billion. That's a lot of money. But someone paid that much and it was a German company called Bayer.

Yeah, I didn't know they had that much money just on hand. Good for them, I guess. Now, Bayer became famous for introducing the world to things like aspirin and heroin. Yeah, they actually invented heroin as a substitute for morphine, but that's just called a good time. I'm just kidding. But I say we put a pin in it and do an episode on Bayer. I just don't want them to kill me.

'cause like they might. Not long after the Bayer-Monsanto deal was completed, Bayer agreed to pay $10 billion to end 95,000 lawsuits about exposure to Roundup. Now call me crazy, but when 95,000 people are suing you, maybe you're the problem. That's a lot of people that'll be suing you. Maybe you're doing something wrong, you know? And then the crazy thing is, even though they settled with like all those people,

Bayer still gets to sell Roundup without adding a warning label. Okay, they said they'd stop selling it to quote, residential customers, aka everyday people. And they said this in 2023. I don't know why I said it like that. 2023. 2023.

They said that. It's like, oh, wow, a million years too late, but they're still going to sell it. OK, they sell it to big commercial farmers that make our food. And to be fair, like Monsanto's scientific contributions to agriculture and farming has been impressive. Right. We like. But that's their that's where they're getting their money from. So it's like, of course, they want to fund and help them grow.

But at the same time, all of that progress has come at the expense of hundreds of thousands of people. Hey, maybe if Bayer took all the Monsanto tech and decided to use it for good instead of evil, I don't know, like maybe they could do the thing they wanted to do from the very beginning. Build a better future for everyone. Yeah.

Remember the Disney Walt Disney? What was that about? Can we go back to that? Okay, so where's Monsanto now? Well, the interesting thing is if you try to visit their website, yeah, just like Monsanto.com, there's nothing there.

It's just blank. Like there used to be a website and now it's just abandoned. It's just blank. They know what they did. They are running because when Bayer acquired Monsanto, it gave them a nice little safety umbrella, you know? And like now Monsanto kind of just blends into the background. It's like a ghost. It's like a ghost. And you can't sue a ghost if you can't really figure out where the ghost is at, right?

I mean, you can, but it's so much harder. And honestly, it kind of reminds me of the way Johnson & Johnson created all those shell companies to dodge lawsuits for like their biggest product, which is still being sold today, baby powder, right? And this is just like baby powder. I mean, Roundup is still on the market, which is kind of a crazy thought, but here's something even crazier. Monsanto's patent on glyphosate expired in 2000, the year 2000.

This meant that other companies were allowed to start using it and not just in herbicides, I mean, in food too. So by 2015, more than 750 products made with glyphosate are being sold in the U.S. according to the National Pesticide Information Center. Here's a couple.

Are they scrolling? Did they insert them? There's a few. It's everywhere, bitch. The Environmental Working Group reported in 2019 that widespread glyphosate contamination affected oat products, pasta, cereal, crackers, chickpea flour, pizza, lentils. I mean, the list goes on and on and nothing is safe. Get out now.

But it's still allowed to be sold because like I said, Monsanto has paid for tons of studies to be done proving that it doesn't cause cancer, you guys. You're being so dramatic. The problem is, like we just learned, it's everywhere now. And as recently as 2018, Monsanto lost a lawsuit to a man and awarded him over $80 million because he was able to prove that Roundup had caused his cancer.

Good for him, but like, damn, you know? Miami, Portland, Maine, Austin, and Los Angeles County have all banned or restricted glyphosate in like some way. And Germany even banned it like across the board, the whole country. It makes you wonder what other corporations have going on behind closed doors. I mean, things we don't even know about yet. These companies are great at removing their fingerprints from the crimes they've committed. So we gotta call them out when we can. Let's go.

At the end of the day, no one has a crystal ball, right? Yeah, no, I don't know anyone. Well, there's a lady on my street who does, but I don't know what she's doing. Anyways, but no one could have seen Roundup doing what it did, except for Monsanto, right? Yeah, but the rest of us are fucked. At the end of the day, just remember, if it kills weeds, it's probably gonna kill us.

Now, after all this research, I wondered if there were any other companies who had control over our food supply. And sure as shit, I mean, there is. And this is something most of us consume every day, whether we like know it or not. It's sold everywhere from McDonald's to your fancy Whole Foods. And they're delicious. And if they went away tomorrow, it would bring down the American food supply crumble. We're talking about the country's biggest supplier of

chicken. So tune in next week for our episode on Tyson foods. Don't forget to join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can also catch my murder mystery and makeup.

Honestly, Monsanto could be on that end of things because they did murder a lot of people. Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian High, Junia McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Enloe from Maiden Network. A big thank you to our writers, Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, Allison Filobos, and me, Bailey Sarian.

Production lead, Brian Jaggers. Research provided by Xander Elmore and the Dark History Researcher Team. Special thank you to our expert, Leland Glenna. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. And now I would love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story. So make sure to use the hashtag Dark History over on social media so I can see what you're saying.

And also, maybe you might get a little social shout out because that's what we're doing right now. Our first shout out here, Tori says, come for the history, stay for Joan's costumes. Honestly, yeah, I get it now. Like she's really stepped up her game. But like don't compliment her too much because she's getting a little full of herself, you know? So just...

Anna commented something wild. Oh, tell me more. She said, quote, "I first heard of Heart Island when I went down a Disney rabbit hole. Bobby Driscoll, Peter Pan's model and voice actor, is buried there. Child stars often live tragic lives, but his is among the saddest to me. I'm surprised there isn't a book or movie about his life."

Honestly, same. I had no idea and I agree there should be a book or movie about this. I'm gonna go down a little rabbit hole when I go home, okay? But that is sad. Honestly, Heart Island was just sad, wasn't it? Corinne said, quote, "This comment section is so weird." She shared a messed up history lesson and everyone is just complimenting Bailey.

Thank you. I like to learn, but I also like to look good while I'm learning. Hope you have a great day today. You make good choices and I'll be talking to you next week. Goodbye. Amazon Pharmacy presents Painful Thoughts.

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I'm Stanzi Potenza. And I'm Brad Padre. Launching June 13th is our new podcast, Late to the Party. In this post-ironic chat show, we'll show you a window into our world of crazy post-ironic thoughts. An unlikely friendship founded on a shared love for riffs, ranting, and getting absolutely wrecked.

Consider this an invitation to our inside jokes. You're late to the party, but no one cool ever shows up on time. Follow Late to the Party on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this kind of stuff.