Last month, “March Against Monsanto” protests took place in more than 50 countries around the world, with protests numbering more than 2 million in response to the growing misrepresentation of genetically modified food by Monsanto.

The company, which has a death grip on the agriculture industry, is mounting large-scale opposition to the labeling of GMO’s — and needs to be stopped.

The protests called for boycotts against Monsanto-owned companies, coming after the recent passing of the Monsanto Protection Act, a questionable new bill that passed Congress without obstruction.

The bill states that even if a court were to determine that a particular product by Monsanto might be harmful to human beings or the environment, the Department of Agriculture could not stop the production of that product once it is in the ground, according to Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont.

Big-business co-opting the politcal process is dangerous for consumers for a multitude of reasons.

Dr. Don Huber, plant pathologist at Purdue University, found that the company’s engineered crops are leading to infertility in cattle and declining plant health, while health problems for farmers are arising from Monsanto’s weedkiller, Lasso, found to have caused memory loss.

In spite of several prominent cases, which are only growing in numbers, Monsanto is given legal immunity from future lawsuits under provisions of the new bill.  Simultaneously, the Senate defeated a bill that would have given states the right to require manufacturers to label genetically modified foods.

It’s a dangerous line to cross when big business and government are on the same side, while the consumers are on the other, hopeless to the legal system.

But one thing that could help make a difference, where government can’t and won’t, is social media, as one blogger put it — the rise of consumer activism through the use of Internet platforms.

We have entered a new age of social connection where social media, like Facebook and Twitter, help mobilize supporters and raise awareness, as we have seen in Egypt’s revolution during the Arab Spring in 2010.

When news media fail to raise awareness of the problems underlying a society, young activists are transmitting their message to the world and even galvanizing international support.

The recent “March Against Monsanto,” was an important step that needed to take place to prevent corporations from further influencing politics and policy, but continual use of social media needs to flourish in order to have a healthy democratic society.