Big Fish Eats Big Fish

A model of an Italian town in a garden in Corris, mid-Wales!

Let's take a moment to remember that not all news is bad news. In the last couple of months the US and China have agreed to ratify the Paris Climate Pact; Sri Lanka has been declared malaria-free; the TTIP negotiations (with its terrifying ISDS clause whereby companies can sue countries if new laws impact their profits) appear to be stalling; Colombia has achieved a permanent ceasefire between Farc and the government; and the UK became the first country ever to connect a tidal turbine to the electricity grid. And that's not an exhaustive list. (I hope!)

But the news of this year's largest corporate merger to date - that of Bayer and Monsanto - is difficult to view as positive. In fact I'd go so far to say as it is pretty terrible news. What's the problem? Companies are always gobbling each other up in attempts to reach new markets and to bolster their share price.

Making sloe and apple jelly

Well it's to do with food, a commodity close to my heart (and closer still to my stomach), and the ever-increasing control of its supply by huge corporations. Bayer, amongst other chemicals and medicines, make insecticides. Monsanto, the most evil company in the world and proud of it, makes genetically-modified seeds and chemical weedkillers that cause long-term harm to soil.

Other massive agri-businesses are also wanting to tie the knot. The US chemical company Dow is merging with its rival DuPont, and ChemChina intends to purchase the Swiss seed and gene group Syngenta. Several of the world's biggest fertiliser companies are also amalgamating.

The veg bag collection point in Machynlleth

We could end up with just three companies controlling 60% of seeds and 70% agro-chemicals worldwide. The muscle these companies will have to lobby sovereign states to enact laws that benefit them to the detriment of peasant farmers, the environment and genetic diversity of crops will be unprecedented.

All is not quite lost - the mergers have yet to be approved by regulators. And farmer organisations from developing countries will be making their case at upcoming UN meetings, such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) committee on world food security in Rome next month.

Elderberries in foreground, hawthorn berries behind

We need to be supporting small-scale farmers across the globe so they don't become locked into buying expensive GM seed and accompanying chemicals from these corporate behemoths, but are able to farm using organic methods and save their own seed each year from crops. There's absolutely no reason why we must hand control of the world's food supply to three (and who knows, maybe two or one in future) profit-hungry companies.

(Oh, and while the bad news is rolling, I lost my appeal for getting Working Tax Credits. Boo.)