Factory farms, antibiotics, and honeybees: The Bayer corporation's subversion of public and environmental health

One of the Bayer corporations slogans is "The More You Know, The More You Trust Bayer." However, this large, global, century-old corporation, which produces pharmaceuticals, genetically-modified crops, and herbicides/insecticides, has a long history of corporate malfeasance which has undermined human and environmental health. The company helped to invent chemical warfare in World War I; exploited slave labor in World War II; conducted unethical human subject experiments; admitted knowingly selling HIV-tainted blood clotting products (which infected many hemophiliacs); has been cited by governmental regulatory bodies for misleading advertising claims and workplace safety violations; and pled guilty to defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. It has aggressively marketed agricultural antibiotics, the overuse of which has led to a dramatic increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant food-borne infections in humans, and continues to manufacture a pesticide which many scientists believe is contributing to precipitous drop in the global population of honeybees. It has vigorously lobbied governmental and regulatory bodies to influence agricultural and trade policies to increase its profits at the expense of human and environmental health.

This session will review Bayer's historical and contemporary malfeasances and provide audiences with an overview of the problems of overuse of agricultural antibiotics and declining worldwide honeybee populations (with consequent multi-billion dollar consequences for global food production). Resources for those interested in learning more about these issues and becoming involved as activists will be presented.