Subject: RE: Ertharin call on Monsanto
From: "Bonnie Raquet" <[email-masked]>
To: "'Samuel Berger'" <[email-masked]>, "'Randy Russell'" <[email-masked]>, "'Glickman, Dan'" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Cc: "'Rick Leach'" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2015 10:57:44 -0400

Sandy -

Thanks for your work.

This is very positive news for moving forward.  The general opposition to
"big ag" (not just GMOs) from some of those same geographies can be
addressed with education on a company-by-company basis.  Will take hard
work, but the clarity will make for positive impact, not just for Monsanto.

Bonnie E. Raquet

Mobile: 612-562-0380

E-mail:  [email-masked]

From: Samuel Berger [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 10:47 AM
To: Randy Russell; Bonnie Raquet; Glickman, Dan; [email-masked]
Cc: Rick Leach
Subject: FW: Ertharin call on Monsanto

All -  To close the loop on the WFP /Monsanto issue (refusing the donation
on reputational grounds),  Ertharin called last week to respond to my
earlier email (which you all received and our prior conversation.   I
thought it was a constructive and reasonable response, and I think Rick
shares that view.  My notes from the call are below.  In a nutshell she said
that she supports the Monsanto grant - and indeed would like to turn the
relationship into a longer-term partnership -but there are elements of her
Board  (Europe and  some  Africa) which oppose (GMOs).   She (directly
through her Depy Chief of Staff and with WFP  USA) would like to work with
Monsanto over some months to develop a "narrative" about how the company
assists the underdeveloped world (not including GMOs) which she then can use
to overcome Board opposition.   This is the strategy she used with Nestle's
and it worked very well.  She seemed quite confident it would work here.

I've discussed this with Rick who is very positive about this and believes
this is very consistent with the kind of conversations WFP USA already has
been having with Monsanto.     If you have any questions,  give me a call.

SAND

From: Samuel Berger 
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 12:13 AM
To: Rick Leach
Cc: Samuel Berger
Subject: Ertharin call on Monsanto

 

Rick,

I spoke with Ertharin this morning, as a follow-up to our call on June 5 and
the memo I sent her regarding Monsanto.

The key point is that Ertharin would like to move forward, but she wants a
strategy that will enable her to do so in a way that avoids strong
objections from the WFP Board. The Board only gave them private sector
fundraising authority in 2013, and they are still on a short leash, with
some countries-particularly the Europeans and Nordics-very vocal on the
Board and opposed to GMOs. She mentioned Kenya as well.

She offered the example of Nestle, which offered a contribution when she
first became Executive Director that she didn't feel in a position to
accept. However, over the course of approximately a year, WFP worked with
Nestle to build a 'narrative' that would mitigate potential opposition-with
the end result a partnership rather than simply a contribution, and without
any criticism. What she would like in Monsanto's case is a communications
strategy and narrative that highlights how Monsanto is serving the interests
of the poor community and the hungry beyond GMOs. She feels this will give
her what she needs to overcome any Board resistance.

She suggested this process should be handled by someone from Monsanto,
someone from WFP USA, and specifically Laura Santucci, her Deputy Chief of
Staff.

We should discuss this. Ertharin is not making a "good or bad" judgment; she
wants to do this not just as a donation but as a partnership, but needs a
political strategy to make it happen. I don't know how Monsanto would react
to this, or what they have/are already doing that would be helpful.

Let's discuss.

Sandy