Agro chemicals and genetic modification they are at the heart of a new pharmaceuticals mega merger buyer and months until. Today the commission has. Decided to give a conditional approval to buy us plans to pry my own son to under our european merger rules. The two companies have Research Facilities that are shaping the future of agriculture and they set themselves an ambitious goal to feed the world. Now u. S. Authorities have to approve the deal fire boss van i bowman is doing his best to win over u. S. President on will trump. People around the world have been protesting against months ago for decades many are now fearful of the consequences that may result from the biggest merger in german postwar history of rights so our seats and Animal Husbandry must stay in the hands of farmers. All of us its a multibillion dollar business buyer wont do anything any differently than one chantal. What does the future hold for a buyer and what will the merger mean for people all over the world. St Louis Missouri this is the starting point for a journey that will take us across three continents in our quest for insight into this record breaking deal. With the Global Workforce of over twenty thousand in sales of fourteen point six billion dollars when santo is a goliath in the Agricultural Sector and one subject to massive controversy. Television crews are not normally allowed to enter this high Security Research center. Behind these closed doors scientists are work. On products that wont be on the market for another decade this area is off limits to our camera we are allowed to film this chipping machine taking a sample from a corn kernel the aim is to duplicate only the best Genetic Information the brave new world of monsanto. One of these plants was grown conventionally the other is genetically modified. The second one survives the visit by the hungry caterpillar for monsanto its just one of many examples of the companys superior technology the challenges we have to you know provide you know the kind of technology thats going to drive the increase in far more productivity around the world you know really takes the combination of monsantos drinks in biology and data science with bare strengths in chemistry and the combination and being able to bring the biology the chemistry in the data science together is really part of the magic. Then of all men who has had a germanys buyer group since two thousand and sixteen explains what that magic will entail to the shareholders. To. The acquisition of monsanto will enable us to further consolidate buyers position and create significant added value in the long term. In spite of protests bowman is determined to go through with the mega deal it would make buyer until now known primarily as a pharmaceutical giant the Worlds LargestAgro Chemicals group. But what are the ultimate goals of buyer and its boss our next stop is in monsantos backyard the us midwest joe raven has been a monsanto customer for years together with his father he runs one of the biggest farms in Southern Illinois only two kinds of crops are grown here sardines and corn. Ribbons by monsanto products in large quantities both scenes and round up a weed killer that contains the herbicide life or state. This is the future of farming as envisaged by man sato. Traditional cropping methods are very much a thing of the past here. Used to walk. By hand. As a young kid a group of us how thats how we took out a claim the field. Now with a say. Around i mean that made a is a world changer for us. Really makes the fish and sea so much better. Several times a year the father and son team spray their fields with life a seat now common practice among conventional farmers in the us who use far larger quantities than a customary in europe for example. Within days the chemical kills off nearly everything only one side is genetically modified corn and soybeans survive. Round treat. Enables farmers to control their weeds so they dont have to do the extensive tillage and what we now know is that practice when farmers are plowing their field in there turning over the dirt that causes both lots of water evaporates and it caused a c o two release it uses a lot of energy and so the environmental benefits the impact of using ground up in promoting you know till i go culture has been a big boon for farmers in europe in both north and south america. But like many other monsanto customers the ravens do have their doubts is there really no other option. Life for saints and g. M. The only economically viable solution to Food Production ive heard this. Nineteen sixty four were back in high school feed the world feed world theres always been printed grain no i dont i dont buy there i think its a slogan it sounds good theyre not worried about us theyre worried about sowing their product to us i fear the day they have to make money for the company whatever it takes and that around the world some of the soybeans and corn grown by the ravens are exported overseas although the farming of genetically modified grain is largely banned in europe it can be imported in the form of animal feed. So will the life of sage monsantos cash cow soon be making billions for buyer two. Then of aman has always had an eye on profits for the Company Shareholders for years before joining the board he was a numbers crunching financial expert a man in the shadow of the executives. He first drew up figures for a possible monsanto takeover seven years ago once he became c. E. O. Himself in may two thousand and sixteen his moment had come. This entire deal is closely associated with him does that sometimes make you money easy. No not at all. We conducted an extensive analysis of the potential transaction and concluded it was the right move for the company to make these on the news and often what sorts and i assumed my new position in the firm around the same time im completely behind it im totally convinced that this is the right move for the company but also for our customers and thats why ive never felt uneasy about it but theres some to speak but it was an emotional. Moment appears not to see any potential risks involved in the sixty six billion dollars deal in contrast to many people who work at buyers headquarters in. Experts to have sounded warnings about the consequences of the mega merger. Losing risks will arise that are not so visible right now. Once the deal is closed it will be in time for its implementation and i personally believe that will be very difficult due to the differences in german and american Corporate Culture it is using the its there will be rest that cannot currently be anticipated. And there is also the risk connected to the companys all in the workforce will they support the entire enterprise and will they benefit from this merger because as soon as your own employees are against it the company is going to fail. Officially by our says that the majority of the workforce supports the deal but when we talk to people under the condition of anonymity its a completely different story one well connected employee tells us about the many discussions taking place in house. He says people are appalled because of the other company in question he was struck by how that seemed to be the case at all hierarchical levels. Before the fact a great deal of time and money were invested in polishing bios image including in terms of its new Corporate Strategy under the tagline science for a better life. The worker says anyone familiar with monsanto as Business Practices can tell you their methods are just the opposite. Even among buyer employees monsanto is notorious for its ruthless Business Practices. Fire does not seem to encourage criticism whether internal or from the outside. At the last annual Shareholders Meeting the company have the venue in van closed off but protesters came down the list. By a hot. Spot claims it has to protect itself from terrorists so it sort of attempt to regulate people entering the venue they didnt want to see as a whole but the court said we are within our rights so we are allowed to demonstrate here today. There wants to be on. The mall these protesters are ordinary citizens consumers and those more directly affected by the merger farmers. Among the farmers is parent schmidts who drove his tractor to the demonstrations. He tries to avoid using weed killers and he gets his seed from the previous harvest. In genetically modified plants thats rarely possible. This month i am no longer able to plant my own seeds to worry farmers have done for thousands of years when i see a need to defend myself. And this is for me and going to me so then. If it becomes just a matter of money and i have to justify everything i do out in the field. Again its time to take a stand against it. Small farm thats been in his family for five generations although he started out with conventional farming fifteen years ago he decided to make the transition to organic production. He grows vegetables and cereal grains. Hes also an active member of alternative farmers associations that are concerned about the methods being promoted by monsanto. Monsanto for them for example monsanto will try to create a type of wheat that is resistant to round up which will kill Everything Else im told but it also means that afterwards the soil is dead on our soil here is actually a living organism that is vital for the entire plant and its health. And so do we continue to tolerate such things. In south american countries where they grow a lot of soil. Cotton and the like plants are sprayed intensively with round up on with life or say dog which is the active ingredient. In the meantime lots of weeds there become resistant so they just use more roundup of the other things and its not surprising that traces of life as they can be found everywhere in the bloodstream is of people who consume ordinary food. As was finished by mentioning the consummate. Glad to see it in g. M. Seeds are they a blessing when it comes to feeding the world or an incalculable hazard for humans and the environment. Its a matter of growing concern all over the world. In argentina where the use of life to say it is widespread people are reporting rising cancer rates and frequent deformities in newborn babies. Dr demi unders an aussie from the university of her sario deduces the causes from his to testicle surveys if you look at the more studies show that children of farmworkers have significantly more genetic damage than those who live in cities. And have no direct contacts with the Agricultural Industry even if. They need a political all out into the. He also sees a connection between shocking birth defects and the use of life receipt. This is difficult these studies have been published they allow us to draw a very clear conclusions. There is a very definite link between the influence of toxins and Health Problems in the bedroom and some. One said oh and by or question the reliability of these and similar investigations. Get. There over three thousand studies showing theyre going to say it is a very safe product when used properly and as usual or. A condition this will soon. Stude the things you hear in the public debate are ultimately based on misinformation about the risks of this product. So we think that id like to see even if it does belong to our company is a good product and its license should be renewed which was. Obvious to most. For the end of twenty seventeen the e. U. Had to decide whether to approve that renewal for life is eight consulting those studies was part of the process but how many are actually independent and which were commissioned by monsanto some politicians believe the studies that conclude life say it is harmless are credible others side with the critics. As there are big question marks was to use decision on the license for glyphosate industrial interests including the studies commission for industry and set the benchmark for the evaluation of the e. U. But people would expect us to to sions to conduct neutral analysis instead they rely on studies from industry and they come mostly from monsanto. As there arent even any checks on whether Ford Monsanto delivers is actually correct or if its tantalus this is the finish of. A scandal that has inspired mass protests and even rock concerts in argentina. One of the leading activists his role in montenegro winner of the alternative nobel prize here outside court over the activists won a rare victory over Global Corporation monsanto their protests prevented the construction of what would have been one of the Worlds Largest seed factories. Their slogan for whether Monsanto Monsanto out. The activists say monsantos negative image in argentina will rub off on by our. It would be a smart move by monsoon. To change its name because buyer has a good reputation and people respect. Now the two want to merge and thats why i believe that in the course of this whole process that buyer will ultimately lose. And as they went ahead and bought the profits. Now theres practically nothing left of months sandoz gigantic project the shell structures that had already been built were demolished by the company months ago. And. There arent even any signs indicating that the land belongs to monsanto for the people of the municipality mugginess argentina the place has become a symbol of successful resistance. The thing is you know this was such a become monsantos biggest seed factory but instead its been a massive defeat not going to have a lot of those and this is a monument to that defeat we want to move i think it will carry a lot more weight than the image buyer hopes to sell. A. Deal of the century or have they just bought themselves some bad publicity. What does buyer expect following the merger with the globally controversy among santa group and what is the driving force behind this Risky Business is it really all about making buyer stronger or does venerable one see the chance to catapult himself into the small circle of the worlds most powerful c. E. O. s. The son of a baker he learned early about the cornerstones of our diet grain and bread now he could have a major impact on the worlds food supply. Which has a new stand off pressure for this because im told on the i think i speak for the whole company when i say its important for us to represent. Things we strongly believe in. We have no cause for doubt which is why were also involved in this discussion in order to build a case using arguments based on fact and so whats on. His opponents also have good arguments the police have been called out to buyers headquarters and labor groups and a group of farmers from southern germany have traveled over three hundred fifty kilometers to make their voices heard. But people are on the defensive. Yes we believe the genetic engineering can help to combat hunger in the world series and well need you dont need to tell me this lie that you want to feed the world this merger is the beginning of the end for all small holders around the world. These are the deal like pastures that the protesting farmers call home a world away from labor coups and. The man who challenged the buyer spokesman heads a cooperative dedicated to organic farming. Look at that gorgeous field of spelt and the poppies in bloom being real you dont see that anywhere else. Over there you see a conventional field and you wont find a single poppy when i mean divide whats it all for. Me to reproduce healthy food on the all conventional crops leave behind waste and they take their souls off the environment and our health has. Some type beef with being dishonest classic organic farming is the answer to feeding the world. Its all to unfold also built in new york. Which includes meat of course swabian whole swine or a local breed of pigs that became the center of a legal dispute between the farmer biller and the Global Corporation months at zero. Zero dog blood for the aged and then out of nowhere we find Patent Applications online for gene sequence at the European Patent Office on our picks and all of submitted by the company genetic choice film genetic choice not a lot of all this stuff to further investigation we discovered it was a monsanto subsidiary feel like a reason. One said oh had deciphered the genetic characteristics of this breed and used them to claim a patent meaning that breeders would have to pay a fee. But the company had its work cut out. The scar tissue and believe there was a meeting in berlin and just fourteen days later monsanto withdrew its patent on patents or get sold as a ram still thought it showed very clearly that it pays to resist its necessary. Youre misinformed so that we have to stand up for our rights as farmers to the us money on snitched they are fused to be robbed of to be callously dispossessed of our livestock and crops on lawns and so. Our next stop is the mountains of Southern India a place we would have to be live visits regularly is cooperative back home supports a Partnership Project with local farmers in the state of kerala. Its mainly run by christians and its patron is the archbishop of the region. Like its german partners the y. And id social Services Side the farms organically its products include long forgotten pepper varieties which is reintroduced into the market. Its this kind of diversity that the german and indian partners see as threatened by major corporations such as buyer and monsanto. Instead this is the beginning of a seed bank in the nursery where old varieties are now being registered. War against think is through. One hundred forty varieties of pepper a cultivated here and farmed on a large scale some are destined for germany. The cooperative in germany pays the farmers in india fifty percent more than the Global Market price for their organic pepper. It also serves as a model for other products. When really its the bomb while the cotton seeds that monsanto sometimes distributes free of charge have a gene that can no longer be reproduced again this is the built in town this size so after the harvest the farmers who dont know this and use the seed again this is what it doesnt germinate it stays dead in the ground they lose a whole harvest and it puts the farmers out of business on the field the ball in the wall you know this is a case that exemplifies how dependent Small Farmers can become on large scale industry. B. G. Roys husband allowed himself to be persuaded to buy the promising sounding new seeds. He took out a loan from the bank just like many other farmers for three thousand euros. But the revenue from the harvest wasnt enough for the family to repay the money. Wasnt aware of just how serious the situation had become. The going to the fund and upper to buy them and give it to them but then i get it and then i want to go to Early Morning i realised my husband was gone and i didnt know where the door was locked from the outside of the den in the liquid so i opened it through the window and live a candle to look for him. Because the i dont know daughter but he was already ten or. He deliberately swallowed a plant toxin the family now receive support from a local cooperative. The rising number of suicides among Indian Farmers is being looked into by social researchers and Church Representatives father john believes that the problems with genetically modified seeds are the real cause in addition to cultural factors. In his north marching with the expedition so finally. The. People. From. Their. Star wars and the. New things are now questioning because. Then. You just might have to move from the face. Of the suicides in india are also being discussed at the International Tribunals in the hague an expression of worldwide resistance to the american companys Business Practices. First glance appears to be activist street theatre is a serious examination of the many facets of profit oriented agriculture based on providing seeds to farmers everywhere and the consequences of excessive weed eradication for example with life. Another issue is the influence corporations like monsanto have on governments such as in india. In this last year in a huff while a sions and violence has increased intensity. Whether it be in india three hundred thousand farmers have committed suicide. And when the government tries to regulate the prices that are getting farmers in today. With the institutions controlling monopoly like the Competition Court of india says you have created a monopoly in cotton with ninety five percent control on the cotton seed. Government so the. Farmers from all over the world have gathered in the hague like Percy Schmeiser from canada. Had allegedly found genetically modified rapeseed in his fields for which was supposed to pay license fees. The farmer refused insisting he never used. It was really see clients and who really owns the gene supply and thats what its all about. The rule that we had we did not have to keep. Any money had we had five years or seven years of court battle which is a half Million Dollars three. We have to pay our court costs right. Well continue these underhanded practices. And as i already said in may twenty sixth seen there will also manage the new operations according to our standards fire stands for transparency for liability and a different style of debate is. A different style of debate meaning. We intend to deal with our customers and other Interest Groups in a way that is based on our values in a way that has been the companys policy for many decades you know. Monsanto enviro dismissed the event as a circus. But the tribunal has a high symbolic value. Its staffed by trained lawyers although they dont make a legally binding judgement here. The chairwoman france was too was a judge at the European Court of human rights. Good to have aided the city be the primary concern of this tribunal is to see whether monsantos practices are compatible with International Human rights i think that what the nets and i did about jordan. Theres an aussie from argentina makes a presentation of some of his findings in the hague as do other scientists from asia africa and europe the tribunals verdict monsanto violates peoples right to food and health and is harming the environment it also ruled that the company influences independent science and research what they have to say at monsanto headquarters. You know the accusations are not based in science theyre not accurate and and its unfortunate that you know people continue to spread these kinds of misinformation and lies. The message from the hague is also heard in leverkusen buyers response is to take countermeasures both internally and externally as an employee reports there is one rule he says no criticism as far as he knows there hasnt been any discussion of the official level within the company and thats caused a lot of frustration. And internal memo states avoid speculation and comments about the takeover or its potential impact whether on your colleagues or on external parties this includes social media. Some felt they were being muzzled. We maintain an open dialogue on all issues with all Information Available to all parties involved in a discussion as long as the information is not of a confidential nature always that. By has enjoyed a better reputation than months at zero. But the buyer brand will have to change as a result of the merger if it wants to continue doing Good Business in the us market. By a fire says it is not the same as big bad monsanto and that it wants to practice different business methods i have my doubts because in south america we can see that the practices of fire and monsanto are basically the same theres no difference in kind to see. How does a buyer plan to market these chemicals and seeds from the laboratory. And what role will new technologies play. Personal is one of the most important cultural markets in the world just to. He used to be an insignificant small town five hundred kilometers south of the capital brasilia but it has flourished since the early one nine hundred ninety s. When soybean and corn were planted here on a large scale. A state of the Art Technology from buyer and monsanto is expected to further increase yields. A small team of agronomists from sao paulo travels across the country to inspect the fields on behalf of the farmers. The future is here it says on their car in the trunk is a drone which the Team Assembles in a few minutes. They use the drone to fly over the newly harvested corn fields in search of weeds. For what looks like a toy is actually high tech equipment. With automatically controlled High Resolution cameras. Out to those of us on the f. A. Q. Might just be. This drone as mapping the total area of the field refuse mizar thats why it has to fly higher you see more to improve your own water copter flies lower. I used to complement each other. In the post processing phase a map is created that faithfully reproduces the ground to scale the grid so three by three meters that is pretty significant cause. The data can be analyzed anywhere for example in st louis the climate corporation. Monsanto purchased the Global Leader in weather in satellite data three years ago. Data is the currency of the future and to swear by and months and to expect significant dividends explains the commercial director. Based on the science of our c. V. We can help farmers access. A zone map where we divide the field into zones where the darker green areas are higher productivity and the yellow and white or green areas we can actually back off the seeding rates in these areas and save money. In the world of the climate corp farming becomes a sort of computer game that can be controlled on a touch screen satellites fly over these fields theyre capturing images of the field and then you can quickly begin to see the parts of the field may have some significant weed pressure that requires a herbicide like ground up to be applied. The Largest Department on this floor is a call center for farmers they can call here any time things are not going according to plan out on the field if the world outside in the computer world arent working well together their virtual farmer is already a reality here. This is a computer monitor that you would find in the plant or care its called the twenty twenty seats and its plugs right in the planter and when the tractor in the plant are running its recording data and transmitting it right to the. Data thats decides and seeds all provided. And closely coordinated by months at zero. Back in just a year in brazil theres still no universal mobile phone coverage the data from the drones processed overnight is transferred to the onboard computer via a memory stick. And downloaded the map to my monitor. Here in the green area i dont have to spray. The other areas i do. Even though i could get that i havent even seen for months so you know if you can use our everythings ready and i can get going to. Do so. When the program is working as it should each nozzle can be switched on and off individually by the onboard computer so that the pesticide is only sprayed where there are actually we. Weed free areas are left alone by our claims that the use of pesticides can be reduced by up to thirty percent. Farmer fabio puzzling otto has great hopes in the new technologies. But he also sees their limitations. Yes if the news of this is called nisa we. Its not originally from here but its adopted very well to conditions went up there so for protect itself from the sun with its own leaves and is therefore very resistant to use it in simple unfortunately also organs cliver site so we have to use more talks and or other items to combat it. Billed as a miracle cure life has lost some of its magic appeal because its becoming increasingly ineffective but when buzzin come in both brazil and argentina theres been a massive increase in the use of clothes for safe compared to europe the amount of life for say the plight perhaps terrorist toll fold in these countries from q four and theyre using more and more of and the few i think recently resistant super weak sort shouldnt really affected by even these quantities anymore. They actually overpower the saudi fields within a few years and these areas just end up becoming fallow. And. Will the buyer and monsanto method really be the only way to feed ten billion people in two thousand and fifty. The United Nations food and Agriculture Organization in rome is also concerned about developments in the farming sector. At an International Conference in october two thousand and seventeen experts from all over the world discussed issues including seeds and pesticides. And also the merger of buyer and monsanto which was widely criticised at the event. So in our report we have a series of recommendations. Recommendations one of course is largely disabling must strengthen our capacity in each country in the world to monitor these mergers and to intervene on them as necessary to look upon the implications for the environment the implications for Food Security more broadly duplications for livelihoods what it means for the producers. Is feeding the world in the future a challenge that only the big corporations will be able to meet or is it more a matter of consolidating and expanding their own market position. It actually has a wide range of the implications in a really quite surprising for us i think. We could say that well what do they care that theyre feeding them. Elza feed their family theyre theyre selling to their village theyre not really involved with global system these Big Companies are play and but thats not true because these Big Companies have enormous weight in policy theyre the ones who are setting the rules for Rural Development in each country secondly the farmers cant pick and choose from seeds and pesticides and fertilizers they have to choose the package being dictated to them by buyer months out you were b. S. F. John deere. That package includes above all pesticides the big conglomerates best sellers. But the f a o two sees the flipside. The appeal bachmann the top end of it we are seeing a worldwide increase in the use of pesticides. And we take a very critical view on this because it leads to dependencies. And might cause excessive use often leads to resistance which in turn leads to new dependencies. On this makes it difficult for small holders to produce sustainably. To prove its new. Nevertheless the e. U. Decided to approve the use of life for say it for another five years so im a bit weird because it seems that the European Commission and the e. U. Member states above all germany consider the interests of the Chemical Industry to be more important than Peoples Health and the environment you know. A green light for life. But what will happen after the merger thirty antitrust authorities around the world examine the deal the most important of those being in washington and brussels quarters of the e. U. Yes at the World Economic forum in davos in january by our chief there in about one spoke with u. S. President trump about the merger. Well in front of all my friends to your buyer working over the car in the central question i come in to us make friends over it was a subsection. Called the two thousand and eighty. Two well the deal is still being reviewed by u. S. Authorities the e. U. Competition commission has approved the merger. We were able to do so because of the significant remedies the companies offered which made which mets come to consensus in for. Among other things buyer has to part with one of its pearls vegetable Seed Production in new nym the netherlands in any case the group hardly seems interested in such classic business anymore the competitor b. S. F. Is likely to take over this area. Conventional cultivation of tomatoes cucumbers another vegetables thats no longer interesting to buy instead it will focus on corn soy and cotton spread over huge areas with genetic engineering and Crop Protection products such as the controversy old life estate. But the scum things will probably turn out just as many had feared moving multinationals on the market with the blessing of the European Commission. Thats not good it is the. Traditional farming versus high tech big business how will our food be produced in the future. German farmer barron schmitz at least doesnt need products from buyer and monsanto unlike many conventional farmers he continues to fight weeds with a mechanical rake rather than chemicals. Leak. Things with written by having read all report on what they dream of is using apps on pharmacy phones to access information directly from the fields for months on from markets will come with buyers head office then deciding what seeds will be planted. Not unthinkable for may. No longer be an independent farmer. Its important for me to make my own decisions. To what risks and to choose from a wide range of methods. And. What he and others fear is the prospect of patents on seeds and livestock the use of genetic engineering and pesticides plus the Digital Transformation of farms with everything controlled by one company Agro Chemicals giant by our monsanto. Senior citizens theyre unhurried quality conscious under dont hesitate to try out new Consumer Trends geminis retimed population is grabbing their purchasing power is to even so old age poverty is a serious issue especially among women. What do these developments mean for the next generation was made in germany thirty minutes ago. Small arms were observed where its not a high gear i dont believe. We are scared we are very scared and we have to state. It will be too hard for particulates to. Bangladesh what does the true face of the country look like freedom independence a separation of state and church that used to be important but for decades political infighting here has hindered progress and islam most extremists are more influenced democracy and the rule of law are on shaky ground in discord you know. Love is true. And it pretty. Are not. The anglo desh the dawn of islam as of an exclusive d. W. Report starting april twenty first. Good. News from bergland u. S. President donald trump fired off a warning to russia over syria he tweeted to get ready russia up missiles will be coming trump has vowed to strike Syrian Military targets after an alleged poison gas. The attack last weekend. Also coming up facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg faces the day to have a grilling over his companys misuse of private data tells a committee of the house of representatives that facebook has not