High school student Amelia chose Monsanto as the subject of her year-long 10th grade project. Her goal was to research the company and ultimately answer the question, "Is Monsanto Evil?"

Here's the "Replace Roundup" challenge Amelia referred to in her video.

I have a feeling this isn't the last we'll be hearing from Amelia ;)

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I've gotten some heat lately about my personal antipathy for Monsanto, since I'm a libertarian and all. Here are just a few of the reasons I choose not to support them:

* They work hand-in-glove with the government to create policies that make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market

* They give the Free Market a bad name: They spent $8 million lobbying last year -- what small farmer could possibly compete with that?

Sure, as a corporation they have a right to spend their money however they please, but when our political system is so obviously influenced by whomever spends the most money, companies like Monsanto end up buying a competitive advantage. This is NOT the Free Market, but the Free Market gets blamed when companies like Monsanto take advantage of a failed government system to create policies that increase their profits and prevent competition.

* I personally don't like their ethics, or the way they do business. I think Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have not been properly researched, and that our ecosystem has been irreparably altered (in known and unknown ways) by their widespread release.

* As a libertarian, if I don't like the company, all I can do about it is 1) choose not to support them and avoid consuming their products; and 2) let other people know why I don't support them.

If you agree, please join me in using alternatives to Monsanto products! If not, you are quite free to continue using them ;)

Learn more about Monsanto, GMOs and the struggle of small farms HERE.