its policies and procedures for exporting probable or likely carcinogens and pesticides
not registered in the United States to developing countries. Since training and safety
equipment are often limited or unavailable in these countries, Harrington Invest-
ments also requested disclosure of training and educational information Monsanto
provides to farmers and farmworkers using these dangerous pesticides. The resolution
garnered support from 13.32 percent of the voting shareholders.
German-based Bayer was the other company to come under fire as Luis Gomero
of the Pesticide Action Newark–Peru appeared before the board in late May 2003
to demand justice for the victims of the 1999 Folidol (methyl parathion) poisoning
in Tauccamarca, Peru. Folidol, a pesticide produced by Bayer, killed twenty-four
schoolchildren and badly poisoned eighteen others after it was mistaken for milk
powder at a local school. Bayer had marketed the pesticide, a white powder with no
strong odor, in small plastic bags labeled in Spanish and without any appropriate
pictograms to indicate its use or danger. The Spanish text was of little help to local
farmers, most of whom speak Quechua dialect and are illiterate. Citing these fail-
ures, a Peruvian congressional subcommittee found Bayer criminally responsible for
the poisonings in 1999.
In order to ensure justice for the Tauccamarca victims, Gomero would like the
Dow board to accept responsibility for the poisoning; provide medical monitoring,
care, and special education for the surviving children as necessary; establish a func-
tioning health post in the village; and recognize the families’ suffering, in part
through financial compensation.
In his response to Gomero’s testimony, Bayer chairman Werner Wenning asserted
that the pesticide that poisoned the Tauccamarca children was not a Bayer product,
and the Peruvian court dismissed any claims against Bayer. However, representatives of
the Tauccamarca families pointed out that Bayer had registered both pesticides impli-
cated in the case (methyl parathion and ethyl parathion) for use in Peru, and the Peru-
vian court had not received all relevant documents and had not ruled in the case.
Gomero’s appearance was coordinated by the German group Coordination gegen
BAYER-Gefahren (CBG, or the Coalition Against Bayer Dangers) using Bayer shares
held by Pesticide Action Network Germany. CBG has been working since 1978 to
increase Bayer’s transparency, publicize its global abuses and violations, and ensure
appropriate responses and compensation.
The impact of these recent shareholder actions remains uncertain, but as John Har-
rington reminds investors: ‘‘Companies with greater corporate responsibility and
transparency prosper long term.’’^25Arguments Pro and ConPesticide manufacturers in the United States generally argue that additional restric-
tions on exports are unnecessary because they claim they do not manufacture and
export pesticides that have been denied registration in the United States. They con-
tend that more stringent export controls for unregistered pesticides (for example,230 | Pesticides