Monsanto two working lunches with Monsanto. Peter Luff, then a Conservative Party MP and Chairman of the Agriculture Select Committee, received up to £10,000 a year from Bell Pottinger on behalf of Monsanto. In January 2011, WikiLeaks documents suggested that US diplomats in Europe responded to a request for help from the Spanish government. One report stated, "In addition, the cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto. 'In response to recent urgent requests by [Spanish rural affairs ministry] state secretary Josep Puxeu and Monsanto, post requests renewed US government support of Spain's science-based agricultural biotechnology position
Monsanto of 2004 about 150,000 small farmers had left the countryside; including 50% as of 2009 in the Chaco region. "The Guardian" reported that a Monsanto representative had said, "any problems with GM soya were to do with use of the crop as a monoculture, not because it was GM. If you grow any crop to the exclusion of any other you are bound to get problems." In 2005 and 2006, Monsanto attempted to enforce its patents on soymeal imported into Spain from Argentina by having Spanish customs officials seize the soymeal shipments. This has been an attempt made by Monsanto