This will be a short diary, but I figured I'd give everyone a brief heads-up. In response to Jill Richardson's rec list diary yesterday entitled Monsanto Gives New Movie "Food Inc" Two Thumbs Down, Monsanto felt compelled to create a UID named Monsanto Company and posted a comment in her diary.
While Monsanto certainly has a right to defend itself against what I believe to be very legitimate criticism, it is interesting that the company felt compelled to post here. They have deep pockets, and their PR team is clearly defensive about the backlash that the movie is likely to create.
Anyway, it is now safe to assume that any diaries with the word "Monsanto" in the tags will be read by the company's public relations team.
This is completely in line with their conduct in the past and bears watching as the debate over genetically modified organisms continues.
Update:
Thanks for putting this on the rec list.
Land of Enchantment makes a good point with this comment:
Account created 2/23/09 (0+ / 0-)
It's safe to assume the account was created for PR purposes. But it's not correct to say the UID was created "in response to" yesterday's diary.
Update #2:
I liked this comment by Osorio:
Their Use of the Law (2+ / 0-)
Is precisely what we should be discussing, rather than simply impugning them. That's useless.
They operate under the same law as everyone else. Let's figure out what needs to be changed and how to change it.
We can't vote against Monsanto, but we can raise the profile of progressive ideas for patent and contract law reform, push them on friendly lawmakers, and get them into the public debate.
Right now, in the corners of the government and the legal community that matter, expansive intellectual property rights are being pushed successfully by the business community. We need a substantive answer.
Update #3:
Thank you to everyone who has commented here for the input! I hope that the discourse has been productive.
As an aside, Noweasels has posted a diary about the invasion of Normandy, which occurred 65 years ago, and I hope that it will get the recognition it deserves.