The Neo-Nazis Have a Better Public Image Than Monsanto, and Strangely, the Agribusiness Giant Doesn't Seem To Object

According to an email I received yesterday:

Last year, Monsanto spent nearly $6 million on lobbying, and their payoff was the “Monsanto Protection Act,” which was written anonymously, passed in secret, and allows Monsanto to keep selling genetically engineered seeds even if a federal court says they may pose a health risk. Now, Monsanto has sneaked an amendment into the farm bill that would block GMO labeling laws moving forward in states like Vermont and Connecticut. This time, Monsanto may have gone too far. A massive backlash is growing against the Monsanto Protection Act, and Senator Jeff Merkley is demanding a floor vote to repeal it.

The email went on and asked for a small contribution that would foster this “massive backlash,” and I’m certainly rooting for Merkley’s success in making it happen.

But this whole thing generates a question in my mind:  Why are these guys so unabashed? They appear completely unconcerned about public image.  The neo-Nazis and the KKK have better PR, and Monsanto seems totally fine with that; they appear not to object to the fact that they’re generally viewed as evil scumbags, hell-bent on starving and poisoning the world’s people, while ripping off the world’s farmers.

But how is this possible?  They must not attend the same cocktail parties I do; that public image wouldn’t play well where I live.