Wednesday, September 24, 2008

business as usual for Dow

Dow chemical got out of a lawsuit today that accused them of selling a pesticide that they knew caused sterility. They knew of the problems since the 1950s, continued to sell the pesticide in the US until it was banned in 1979, and continued selling it overseas until the mid 1980s.

The suit charged Dow with genocide and crimes against humanity, and the federal court ruling basically says the case doesn't fit the description of those crimes. It does not say what Dow did was acceptable, just that it wasn't deliberately genocidal. Dow's attorney claimed the ruling meant that Dow "is completely blameless, both factually and legally." He did not add "... of a deliberate policy of genocide."

All of which adds up to a new corporate motto:

Dow Chemical: Not As Bad As Mengele

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey now! How many corporations in this world CAN use that slogan?

I'd say DOW might want to use it proudly - it sets them apart from, say, the diamond industry!

Bobo the Wandering Pallbearer said...

So . . . Dow was trying to sterilize the bananas?

Doc Nagel said...

No no no, Dow was trying to sterilize the nematodes. They tried getting them to use condoms, but you know nematodes and their uncontrollable libidos.