December 2014, Cargill purchased twenty-five percent plus one share of indirect interest in the grain terminal Kombinat Stroykomplekt (KSK), located in the port of Novorossiysk Russia. This purchase gives Cargill access to the Black Sea making it a key player in the global grain market.
January 12, 2014, thousands of pro-western Ukrainians came out to protest then President Viktor Yanukovych. That same day Cargill paid $200 million to buy a stake in Ukraine’s UkrLandFarming. According to Financial Times, UkrLandFarming is the world’s eighth-largest land cultivator. Yanukovych was kicked out of office a month later.
Cargill, Inc., is an American multinational corporation and top exporter of U.S. grain and oilseeds. Founded in 1865, it is the largest private corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. They are involved in a myriad of products and services: trading, purchasing and distributing grains and other agricultural commodities, financials and risk management, pharmaceuticals and energy.
They produce many food ingredients found in most processed foods, like: corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, and vegetable oils. They have been called, “the quiet giant that rules the food business.” Looking at their website, I’d say they qualify as a sovereign nation.
Cargill, along with Monsanto and Dupont have spent millions to defeat any type of mandatory labeling of genetically modified (GMO) foods in the United States. President Obama appointed Michael Taylor, who was Monsanto’s Vice President of Public policy, to head the FDA in 2009. Last January the Supreme Court ruled against organic farmers in the landmark federal lawsuit, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) et al v. Monsanto. Farmers were denied the right to argue their case in court and gain protection from potential abuse by the agrochemical giant Monsanto.
But even with the legal victories Monsanto and the chemical companies seem to be having, the “Right to Know” campaign seems to be gaining momentum. Stores are offering more organic choices and many food companies are becoming “GMO verified.” Does Big Ag think they will lose market share in the U.S. when it comes to selling their GMO products? Are they hoping to force GMOs down the throats of unsuspecting consumers living in foreign countries? Do they hope to buy off east European politicians like they have in the U.S.?
According to a report from Reuters, Monsanto plans to build a seed plant in Ukraine to produce conventional corn seeds. Ukraine is called “the bread basket” for eastern Europe. Food and beverage online magazine, ft.com, wrote in 2012, that Monsanto, Dupont and Cargill were getting into the food and grain market in Ukraine. They believed that their superior seeds would help produce a larger yield, therefore giving them larger profits. But eight eastern European countries, including Ukraine, currently outlaw the growth of GMOs, but that could change if Monsanto has their say in a “new, friendly, pro-American” Ukrainian government.
Is the American government (working for these companies) the real provocateurs behind the current Ukraine turmoil? This would not be the first time the U.S. overthrew governments in order to promote it’s business agenda.
President Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada back in the 80s. He sold his idea to Congress, claiming that the people of Grenada needed “saving” from their socialist government. That turned out to be false. The real reason was Grenada’s government would not be subservient to America and was not open to having its economy dominated by U.S. corporate interests.
Washington wants to convince the American public that President Putin is the bad guy behind the problems in Ukraine. Putin is no saint, but neither is our president, he just plays one on t.v..
Washington is looking to keep their campaign contributors happy. If Monsanto, Cargill, and Dupont get what they want, politicians get what they want: a nice comfy job (where they work part time), a nice pension and a great healthcare package. And it’s not just these corporations, there are the big energy producers who can benefit, and of course who can forget, Wall Street, but that’s a whole other story…
Sources:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/cargill-buys-stake-in-novorossiysk-port-to-boost-black-sea-presence/491486.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/24/monsanto-ukraine-idUSL5N0E51CM20130524
http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/155/25966.html
http://www.cargill.com/
*Inge…..excellent report. 90% of American Corn is GMO. Finding the 10% which is not is a huge challenge….especially if you love tortillas and pop corn.
I always thought somehow Monsanto would worm there way here – with the super farmland in the Mainland and in Crimea – sounds like they lost their “up front money” to Janukovych – too bad !! But everyone lost their money to him. China also was in process of making a land deal here with Januk and that deal was for an end result of 7+ million acres, their own roads and 100,000 chinese workers. 7+ million acres is larger than the whole Crimean Peninsula.
So. Ukraine has been the target of corporarations, countries, politicians, mercenaries, and anyone else that wishes to Capitalize on a weak corrupt run country. Where workers make $250-600 a month – the land is all owned by the Gov.- the army was ill funded-of course- and the Gov stole billions and stole any chance of this x soviet country to be a nation of any stature.
The roads/infrastructures are rated 135th of 145 countries- the teachers are paid 250 a month- the hospitals/equipment are 50 yrs old but I have never seen better behave teenagers, strong family ties, and a young intelligent population that wants to have more of a chance to enter the world they will only see- on TV or Internet. The Prize here is not only the land — but the good people – Too bad the people trying to take the country – don’t see it ! Spasibo
*Great opportunity for investment …eh?