Design Fiction: political hoax attacks Monsanto

*It’s important to draw a clear ethical line between “design fictions” and deliberate hoaxes — because, in the way they’re invented, created and spread, they’re practically identical.

*Maybe I should thank Monsanto for the spam in my inbox that brought this intervention hoax to my attention…. but wait! It appears that this email is NOT from Monsanto at all, but is a further, double-your-bet hoax intended to make it LOOK LIKE Monsanto is somehow disturbed by obscure Mexican pranksters…

*This would appear to be the actual Monsanto speaking on the subject:

http://monsantoblog.com/category/monsanto-news/

“Earlier today, an unidentified cyber group developed and posted a deceptive web page called www.monsantoglobal.com designed to appear as though it was posted by Monsanto. This pagee and its related communications, including fake news releases entitled “Mexico Grants Monsanto Approval To Plant Large-Scale GM Corn Fields” and “Monsanto Denounces “Activists” for Hoax Release” are intentional misrepresentations (((oh dear me))) and are not in any way associated with our company. Monsanto has not issued a press release on the hoax. (((<—-)))

“Monsanto regrets any confusion or inconvenience caused by this hoax. Information on this hoax web site and its related communication properties has been turned …” (((As you can see, “design fictions” merely “suspend disbelief” for some limited period, while hoaxes strew the broken glass of wicked deception in the sandy beach of media.)))

(((The phony press release pretending to correct the deceit reads as follows.)))

PRESS RELEASE

Spanish version below / 
Version en español abajo

Monsanto Denounces “Activists” For Hoax Release
Aug 14, 2013

Earlier today a fraudulent press release was issued alleging that Monsanto had received a permit to plant 250,000 hectares of GM corn in Northern Mexico. While Monsanto does expect to receive such a permit in the near future, as the first step in more extensive plans, one has not yet been issued.

The release was the work of a group of international students and activists calling themselves “Sin Maíz No Hay Vida” (“Without Corn There Is No Life”). Besides spreading misinformation about the permit, the group’s release falsely announced a digital repository of Mexican customs allegedly endangered by GM corn. They also announced a fictitious Monsanto “vault” to store all the native varieties of corn that GM varieties would supposedly render unviable.

“The action of the group is fundamentally misleading,” said Janet M. Holloway, Chief of Community Relations for Monsanto. “The initiatives they put forth are unfeasible, and their list of demands is peppered with hyperbolic buzzwords like ‘sustainability,’ ‘culture,’ and ‘biodiversity.’”

“Only ecologists prioritize biodiversity over real-world concerns,” said Dr. Robert T. Fraley, who oversees Monsanto’s integrated crop and seed agribusiness technology and research worldwide. “Commercial farmers know that biodiversity means having to battle weeds and insects. That means human labor, and human labor means costs and time that could be spent otherwise.”

“Monsanto is committed to helping commercial farmers transform their land into the most economically sustainable product possible,” said Fraley. “With Monsanto’s GM corn, no longer will nature’s invasive biodiversity diminish the economic returns of our customers.”

“The very name of the activists’ group shows where they’re wrong,” said Holloway. “In many parts of the world, there is no corn, yet life exists everywhere. And in any case, Monsanto is dedicated to increasing available corn supplies.” (((I’m smelling the over-cooperative rhetoric of the “Yes Men” at work here.)))

Extensive research and experience confirm that transgenic technology is not destructive, but rather judiciously adds new species to an already abundant bioscape. “There is a vast profusion of corn species in Mexico, but most of them have little or no commercial viability,” said Fraley. “We celebrate the cultural and biological heritage of Mexico, but the production of real wealth requires that people be open to new technologies, no matter how significantly they break from the past.”

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About Monsanto Company

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com.

Follow our business on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed. “Silvia Schacht de Miranda” and “Lester Cortez” do not exist. (((What? How did that get in there?)))

For further information: info@monsanto.com
SOURCE Monsanto Company

Monsanto denuncia a grupo de “activistas” por falso comunicado
14 agosto, 2013

A primera hora del día de hoy, un comunicado de prensa fraudulento fue difundido, alegando que Monsanto había recibido un permiso para plantar de forma comercial 250.000 hectáreas de maíz transgénico en el norte de México. Aunque Monsanto está a la espera de recibir dicho permiso en un futuro cercano como primer paso de un plan más extenso, éste todavía no ha sido procesado.
La declaración fue obra de un grupo de estudiantes y activistas internacionales que se autodenominan “Sin Maíz No Hay Vida”. Además de difundir información falsa sobre el permiso, el falso comunicado anunciaba también un repositorio digital de costumbres mexicanas supuestamente en peligro por causa del maíz genéticamente modificado. También anunciaban una “bóveda” ficticia de Monsanto para almacenar todas las variedades nativas de maíz que las variedades genéticamente modificadas supuestamente harían desaparecer.
“La acción del grupo es básicamente engañosa”, ha dicho Janet M. Holloway, Jefa de Relaciones Comunitarias de Monsanto. “Las iniciativas que proponían no son factibles, y su lista de demandas está llena de las típicas palabras que están de moda como ‘sustentabilidad’, ‘cultura’ y ‘biodiversidad’.”
“Solo los ecologistas priorizan la biodiversidad por encima de preocupaciones de la vida real”, ha dicho el Dr. Robert T. Fraley, que supervisa mundialmente la investigación de tecnología de cultivo y sembrado agrocomerciales para la compañía Monsanto. “Los agricultores de gran escala saben que la ‘biodiversidad’ realmente significa tener que combatir insectos y malas hierbas. Eso significa mano de obra, y la mano de obra acarrea tiempo y costos que podrían haber sido dedicados para otros fines”.
“Monsanto está comprometido a ayudar a los agricultores de gran escala a transformar sus tierras en el producto económicamente más sustentable”, ha dicho Fraley. “Con el maíz genéticamente modificado de Monsanto, nunca más la biodiversidad invasiva de la naturaleza reducirá los ingresos de nuestros clientes”.
“El mismo nombre del grupo activista demuestra lo equivocados que están”, ha dicho Holloway. “No hay maíz en muchas partes del mundo, y aún así hay vida en todo el planeta. Y en cualquier caso, Monsanto está comprometido a incrementar el abastecimiento global de maíz”.
La extensa investigación y experiencia al respecto confirman que la tecnología transgénica no es destructiva, sino que añade nuevas especies a una diversidad biológica ya abundante. “Hay una amplia riqueza de variedades del maíz en México, pero la mayoría de ellas tienen poca o ninguna viabilidad comercial”, añadió Fraley. “Celebramos el patrimonio cultural y biológico de México, pero la producción de verdadera riqueza requiere que la gente esté abierta a nuevas tecnologías, sin importar cuán significativamente rompan con el pasado”.
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Sobre la Compañía Monsanto
Monsanto es un proveedor global líder en soluciones tecnológicas y producto agrícolas para la mejora de la productividad del sector y la calidad alimenticia. Monsanto se centra en hacer posible que los agricultores de pequeña y gran escala consigan una mayor producción en sus plantaciones al tiempo que conserven más recursos naturales como el agua y la energía. Para saber más sobre nuestra compañía y sus compromisos, por favor visite: www.monsanto.com. Siga nuestra compañía en Twitter en www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, en el blog de la compañía, Beyond the Rows en www.monsantoblog.com, o suscríbase a nuestro canal de prensa. Ni “Silvia Schacht de Miranda” ni “Lester Cortez” existen.
Para más información: info@monsanto.com
FUENTE Compañía Monsanto

*Meanwhile, over at what seems, or would appear to be, hoaxster central:

Welcome!

Sin Maíz No Hay Vida is a group of activists working against GMOs’ invasion of Mexico. We are fighting to save corn, the most produced crop in the world, which also requires human intervention for its reproduction. We are fighting to save biological and cultural diversity in Mesoamerica and the world.

We have the opportunity to prevent the massacre of corn in Mexico. If they tell you you’re going to die but then give you another chance to change the circumstances, you will take advantage of the opportunity; but if they tell you you’re dead there’s nothing more to do and, therefore, no hope. Let’s take this second chance to save corn from the threat of GMOs.

GMO corn has been proven to cause illness in humans and animals. In addition, other strains of corn can easily become cross-pollinated with Monsanto’s patented GMO corn. Farmers must then pay Monsanto to plant the seeds from their own corn crop because it contains DNA which has been patented by Monsanto! This effectively means that even farmers who want nothing to do with GMO corn will find their crop producing Monsanto corn and be forced to either pay Monsanto, go through a long and costly process of decontaminating their land, or be deprived of their livelihood. Corn is the cultural heritage of Mexico and is central to many indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica. There are hundreds of strains of corn which are in danger of being replaced by Monsanto’s GMO corn.

Our “fake” press release on behalf of Monsanto unmasks the politicans that would sell Mexico’s heritage of corn to Monsanto, and also unmasks the company that only has its own economic interests in mind. Permission to plant GMO corn in Mexico is currently being debated in the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food. There is still time to stop the invasion of Monsanto’s devastating corn and preserve the biological and cultural diversity of Mexico.

Estos son algunos grupos que luchan contra los transgénicos:

These are some groups fighting GMOs:

iINVOLÚCRATE!

GET INVOLVED!

Occupy Monsanto
Monsanto Video Revolt
México Libre de Transgénicos
Stop Monsanto in Mexico
Carnaval del Maíz
Rechazo internacional a la siembra de maíz transgénico en México
Red por una America Latina Libre de Transgénicos
Sin Maiz no hay País
Stop Trans-Pacific Partnership
Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad (UCCS)
Viva la Milpa

Para sugerir grupos para esta lista, escríbenos.

To suggest groups for the list, write to us.

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