Monsantra Visits France

The PlantBot Genetics team of Wendy DesChene and Jeff Schmuki first created Monsantra, an innovative remote controlled robot/GMO corn hybrid on wheels that could be directed by anyone it encountered on the street. Monsantra Series PlantBots were named after the Monsanto Corporation, the world’s largest supplier and producer of genetically modified seed. Posing as farmers at a Monsanto Field Research Laboratory, PlantBot Genetics acquired transgenic seeds and grafted the subsequent genetically modified organisms (GMOs) onto robotic bases to create innovative agricultural hybrids. Like a B-movie Godzilla, Monsantra attacks food politics when unleashed by remote control onto unsuspecting audiences. These robo-plant street interventions motivate communities to question industrial food production, where food comes from and where it may be going, despite their economic level, education, or interest in art. Coupling scientific knowledge on the environmental and social costs of bioengineered crops with alternative energy technology, Monsantra provokes investigations into current agricultural practices inspiring individuals to think more critically about their connection to what they eat and the natural world.