This afternoon, Putnam Circuit Court Judge Derek Swope granted preliminary approval to comprehensive settlements agreed to by  Monsanto company and the Calwell Practice PLLC that resolve all claims in all pending litigation as well as all class actions filed in West Virginia. The litigation, including the pending class action suits relate specifically to a chemical plant once located in Nitro, West Virginia and activities which took place 40 to 60 years ago.

“These settlements ensure that both individual and community concerns are addressed, and services are made available for the people of Nitro,” said Scott Partridge, vice president of Monsanto company. ”We are pleased to resolve this matter and end any concerns about historic operations at the Nitro plant.”

“The settlements provide needed medical benefits and remediation services to the people of Nitro and broader community,” said Class Counsel Stuart Calwell of the Calwell Practice. “The principal goal of the litigation was to provide long-term medical monitoring and to provide professional cleaning of individual homes.”

These resolutions provide for eligible class members in the Nitro community to have their health monitored and to have their houses professionally cleaned. Approximately 4,500 homes are located in areas where individual remediation of homes may be desirable.  A program will be created to offer free professional cleaning of these homes and provide funding of up to $9 million dollars for this purpose.

The parties have agreed that a thirty-year medical monitoring program will be established at a local hospital. Thousands of persons who lived, worked, or attended school in the Nitro area during the period of time covered by the lawsuit will be eligible to apply for benefits.  The plan will be supported by a primary fund of $21 million dollars which will pay for medical testing of eligible class members.

Up to $63 million dollars in additional funding will be available over the thirty-year life of the medical screening program. In addition to the direct benefits these agreements will provide to the residents of the Nitro area, Monsanto has agreed to pay Court approved legal fees and litigation costs incurred by Class Counsel over the last seven years.

The class action resolutions will now be fully reviewed by Circuit Judge Derek Swope to ensure the fairness of the class action settlement agreements.

Monsanto noted that this settlement will allow it to maintain its focus on its global agriculture business and its commitment of investing in improved seed products for farmers throughout the world. Monsanto indicated that, for fiscal year 2012, the settlement will not affect ongoing earnings per share but the one time expense will reduce as reported earnings per share by approximately $0.05.

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Monsanto, the world’s largest genetically engineered seed corporation, does not just want to dominate America’s food chain, but the world’s as well. The U.S. federal government has been pursuing Monsanto’s agenda by pressing Europe to support genetically modified (GM) foods.

In efforts to weaken the EU’s ban on GM crops, the Atlantic reported that Monsanto requested “renewed U.S. government support of Spain’s science-based agricultural biotechnology position through high-level U.S. government intervention.” Spain has always been a pro-GM member of the EU. Thus, with its increased support, Spain may be able to influence Europe’s steadfast opposition to GM foods. A  cable from the U.S. embassy in Madrid stated, “If Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow.”

According to Natural Society, the United States will go against any nation who opposes the GM crops produced by Monsanto. Several nations, including France, that have decided to ban one of Monsanto’s GM corn varieties were said to have been penalized by the United States for their opposition.

This allegation can also by confirmed by the Guardian, which stated that Craig Stapleton, a business partner of former U.S. president George Bush, requested that Washington penalize, not just the EU, but all the countries which did not approve of GM crops consumption.

A Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute, Mark A. Kastel, stated, “President Obama and Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack just sent a clear message to the American public that they do not care about our concerns with genetically engineered food and their questionable safety, adverse environmental impacts, and detrimental effects on farmers, especially organic farmers.”

Fox News reported that, Monsanto is selling “posilac”, a growth hormone, to farmers in order to make them inject it into their cows, with the perception that their cows would be able to produce more milk. However, when the cows did not respond to the posilac as the corporation hoped, Monsanto supplied farmers with antibiotics in order to save the sick cows from dying.

Currently, the U.S. is the only country where posilac is being used, despite knowing that 27 nations have banned its usage due to potential health hazards, such as accelerated puberty in children and increased cancer risks. Recently, a new study was released that shows how GM foods might be linked to organ damage in lab animals.

Monsanto spends millions of dollars each year in lobbying political figures and has spent around $200,000 on political donations in 2007 and 2008. The corporation is focused on expanding and strengthening its GM seed business, without acknowledging the health risks many are taking.

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