Pigs Have Flown: A Constructive Conversation on Twitter with Monsanto

Yesterday morning the TriplePundit team was nervous. We'd publicized the heck out of our Twitter chat with Monsanto. Feedback from our community was mixed. We got lots of kudos for tackling a tough conversation, and a lot of people also expressed concern that hosting this chat might have a negative impact on TriplePundit's brand. We also heard some concerns about money -- Monsanto paid us our usual rate for facilitating and promoting the chat.

#Ag4thefuture is NOT #Monsanto Guess TP's motto is now Profit 1st. Very disappointed with your choice of sponsorship https://t.co/Vy66XiHQQd

— Dr. Karen Lee (@drkarenslee) March 3, 2016

But we persevered. We trusted our core audience to understand what we were trying to do: have a constructive conversation and build some bridges with an organization that has a lot of power and opportunity to do good.

It's easy to do sustainability work with companies who already work sustainably @triplepundit, @nickaster @jenboynton

— Simon Robinson (@srerobinson) March 8, 2016

Thanks @JenBoynton It's a pretty brave move to position @MonsantoCo as eco+ve via @TriplePundit so it will be interesting to see reactions.

— Simon Robinson (@srerobinson) March 8, 2016

The beauty of Twitter is it gives everyone a chance to participate. However, that means that any hashtag can be co-opted by any group to get its message out. We were concerned that the channel might become overwhelmed with angry tweets.

I have to say I'm incredibly heartened by our community. Many participants had tough questions for our hosts. We love to see that!

.@MonsantoCo: You aren't trusted by most due to your history. Why should we trust you now? How will you earn & prove it. #Ag4thefuture

— Henk Campher (@AngryAfrican) March 8, 2016

But what we loved even more was to see intellectually robust questions and answers that furthered the conversation on soil and climate change -- a substantive topic!

Q3. Why is soil health so important? It’s just dirt, right? #Ag4thefuture https://t.co/sZVgVjmZQs

— TriplePundit.com (@TriplePundit) March 8, 2016

A3a Soil is a precious resource. How we till it can can be a key part of being carbon neutral. #Ag4theFuture

— Monsanto Company (@MonsantoCo) March 8, 2016

A3b I think that’s a common misconception of farmers, that they don’t care for soil by using GMOs, herbicides or pesticides. #Ag4theFuture

— Monsanto Company (@MonsantoCo) March 8, 2016

A3c Farmers’ livelihoods depend on the land. Why would they not want to be good stewards of that land? #Ag4theFuture

— Monsanto Company (@MonsantoCo) March 8, 2016

A3a: No, “don’t treat your soil like dirt!” Take it from these student rappers @IowaNRCS: https://t.co/5VFIurJMQC #Ag4thefuture

— Nick (@SoilPartners) March 8, 2016

A3b: Farmers can be carbon sequestration heroes. Restoring soil organic matter = mind-blowing effect on #climatechange! #Ag4thefuture

— Nick (@SoilPartners) March 8, 2016

A3c: #Soil is critical for stable food supply. Soils support plant growth, recycle nutrients & provide habitat for organisms. #Ag4thefuture

— Nick (@SoilPartners) March 8, 2016

A3a Healthy soils=healthy crops. Soil is the lifeblood of a growing crop, functioning as a living system to help grow our food.#Ag4thefuture

— Climate Corporation (@climatecorp) March 8, 2016

A3b Soil characteristics have a big impact on crop growth, from how much moisture is retained to how nutrients move through it.#Ag4thefuture

— Climate Corporation (@climatecorp) March 8, 2016

You can read the whole Storify summary here.

We also saw Monsanto's own CEO Hugh Grant engage with our audience in an authentic manner. He even indicated in a Periscope broadcast after the chat that Monsanto's position on GMO labeling may be shifting.

"The myth is that we're against labeling. The reality is we would support some kind of federal standard. We would support something that covers the country, that helps consumers. Our concern has been the danger of a state-by-state labeling approach that resulted in confusion and expense."

This statement is somewhat at odds with Monsanto's website, last updated in 2013:

"We oppose mandatory labeling of food and ingredients developed from GM seeds in the absence of any demonstrated risks, as it could be interpreted as a warning or imply that food products containing these ingredients are somehow inferior to their conventional or organic counterparts."

Grant's comments on labeling will probably come as a surprise to sustainable agriculture advocates, as Monsanto has spent over $22 million lobbying against GMO-labeling bills at the state level.

Now that Vermont has passed a GMO-labeling bill, U.S. Rep. Michael Pompeo (R-Kan.) sponsored legislation to strip states' rights to pass labeling bills. This legislation, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, is colloquially known as the “Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act." The bill would, according to advocacy organization Just Label It, "make voluntary labeling for GMO foods the national standard and strip away consumers’ right to know by blocking all state efforts to require labeling of GMO foods."  Monsanto is one of Pompeo's key supporters, having given the Pompeo for Congress committee the maximum contribution of $5,000 in 2015. Monsanto is also a leading member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which is lobbying hard in favor of the DARK Act.

We are pleased to see Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant go on the record supporting some kind of GMO labeling at the federal level. Obviously the next step would be for Monsanto to stop lobbying against these labeling efforts.