A group of organic farmers and seed dealers have filed a preemptive lawsuit against agribusiness and biotech giant Monsanto to protect themselves from any legal action that may result in case when Monsanto-owned seeds contaminte the farmers organic crops. This lawsuit is intended to protect the farmers from charges of patent infringement by Monsanto when said farmers crops are contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified and patented seeds. Under the current law, if Monsanto is legally entitled to sue farmers when their seeds are found in the farmers plants, even if the seeds drifted over by accident or by natural cross-pollination. The suit for the farmers was passed by the Pubkic Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) on behalf of about 60 different farmers, seed businesses and organic agriculture organizations and in all respresent over 270,000 members. Monsanto called this lawsuit a publicity stunt and any allegations contained in the lawsuit "false, misleading, deceptive." They then go on to state that Monsanto "has never been, nor will it be Monsanto policy to excercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seeds or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertant means." Yet despite that statement the article states that they're have been multiple cases of harassment and legal action by Monsanto against farmers over these alleged unatuthroized use of Monsanto genetically modified seeds products. Sourcewatch also claims that "Monsanto has an annual budger of $10 million and a staff of 75 devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers. Opinion/Reflection Okay I think that this is just downright brillant thinking by the organic industry in this case blocking a potential lawsuit from Monsanto a GMO giant that could have easily bankrupted hundred of farmers. I am not usually the type of person who believes that all bigger companies that compete with a smaller counterpart are all "evil, corrupt, corporations intent on bankrupting small companies." But this is a case where I think that Monsanto is being completely unreasonable and is basically saying "Hey! We were careless and did not care enough to make sure that our seeds don't get spread into your crops, so we are going to sue you for our carelessness." I also liken them to stating that they were never going to file any lawsuit against farmers after the farmers sued them, despite their record for suing and harrassing any farmers who were caught with Monsanto seeds, to a child saying that he wasn't taking any cookies despite having a cookie in his mouth, two cookies in his right hand, and his left hand in the cookie jar. This is just utterly despicable business practice but this also shows the incomprehensible levels of corruption going on in Washington that would allow these big companies to bully around their smaller counterparts. I also know that something can easily be done to prevent this as we have talked in class about all the things companies can do to prevent GMO seeds from cross pollinating crops. Questions: 1) Who do you think is right in this case? The farmers or Monsanto? Why? 2) What would you recommend that Monsanto can do to prevent this cross pollination from happening again? 3) Should Washington do something to prevent these big GMO companies from bulliying small, organic farmers. 4) What would you do to prevent it? 5) What do you think of PUBPAT's decision to sue Monsanto before Monsanto could sue the organic farmers? 6) Do you think that this lawsuit could be used as something that would allow both sides to come together and make an agreement that keeps this sort of thing from happening again? The above picture shows a field of crops blowing in the breeze.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Organic Farmers vs. Monsanto
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/04/organic-farmers-sue-monsanto-over-gm-seed.php?campaign=th_rss A group of organic farmers and seed dealers have filed a preemptive lawsuit against agribusiness and biotech giant Monsanto to protect themselves from any legal action that may result in case when Monsanto-owned seeds contaminte the farmers organic crops. This lawsuit is intended to protect the farmers from charges of patent infringement by Monsanto when said farmers crops are contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified and patented seeds. Under the current law, if Monsanto is legally entitled to sue farmers when their seeds are found in the farmers plants, even if the seeds drifted over by accident or by natural cross-pollination. The suit for the farmers was passed by the Pubkic Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) on behalf of about 60 different farmers, seed businesses and organic agriculture organizations and in all respresent over 270,000 members. Monsanto called this lawsuit a publicity stunt and any allegations contained in the lawsuit "false, misleading, deceptive." They then go on to state that Monsanto "has never been, nor will it be Monsanto policy to excercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seeds or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertant means." Yet despite that statement the article states that they're have been multiple cases of harassment and legal action by Monsanto against farmers over these alleged unatuthroized use of Monsanto genetically modified seeds products. Sourcewatch also claims that "Monsanto has an annual budger of $10 million and a staff of 75 devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers. Opinion/Reflection Okay I think that this is just downright brillant thinking by the organic industry in this case blocking a potential lawsuit from Monsanto a GMO giant that could have easily bankrupted hundred of farmers. I am not usually the type of person who believes that all bigger companies that compete with a smaller counterpart are all "evil, corrupt, corporations intent on bankrupting small companies." But this is a case where I think that Monsanto is being completely unreasonable and is basically saying "Hey! We were careless and did not care enough to make sure that our seeds don't get spread into your crops, so we are going to sue you for our carelessness." I also liken them to stating that they were never going to file any lawsuit against farmers after the farmers sued them, despite their record for suing and harrassing any farmers who were caught with Monsanto seeds, to a child saying that he wasn't taking any cookies despite having a cookie in his mouth, two cookies in his right hand, and his left hand in the cookie jar. This is just utterly despicable business practice but this also shows the incomprehensible levels of corruption going on in Washington that would allow these big companies to bully around their smaller counterparts. I also know that something can easily be done to prevent this as we have talked in class about all the things companies can do to prevent GMO seeds from cross pollinating crops. Questions: 1) Who do you think is right in this case? The farmers or Monsanto? Why? 2) What would you recommend that Monsanto can do to prevent this cross pollination from happening again? 3) Should Washington do something to prevent these big GMO companies from bulliying small, organic farmers. 4) What would you do to prevent it? 5) What do you think of PUBPAT's decision to sue Monsanto before Monsanto could sue the organic farmers? 6) Do you think that this lawsuit could be used as something that would allow both sides to come together and make an agreement that keeps this sort of thing from happening again? The above picture shows a field of crops blowing in the breeze.
A group of organic farmers and seed dealers have filed a preemptive lawsuit against agribusiness and biotech giant Monsanto to protect themselves from any legal action that may result in case when Monsanto-owned seeds contaminte the farmers organic crops. This lawsuit is intended to protect the farmers from charges of patent infringement by Monsanto when said farmers crops are contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified and patented seeds. Under the current law, if Monsanto is legally entitled to sue farmers when their seeds are found in the farmers plants, even if the seeds drifted over by accident or by natural cross-pollination. The suit for the farmers was passed by the Pubkic Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) on behalf of about 60 different farmers, seed businesses and organic agriculture organizations and in all respresent over 270,000 members. Monsanto called this lawsuit a publicity stunt and any allegations contained in the lawsuit "false, misleading, deceptive." They then go on to state that Monsanto "has never been, nor will it be Monsanto policy to excercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seeds or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertant means." Yet despite that statement the article states that they're have been multiple cases of harassment and legal action by Monsanto against farmers over these alleged unatuthroized use of Monsanto genetically modified seeds products. Sourcewatch also claims that "Monsanto has an annual budger of $10 million and a staff of 75 devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers. Opinion/Reflection Okay I think that this is just downright brillant thinking by the organic industry in this case blocking a potential lawsuit from Monsanto a GMO giant that could have easily bankrupted hundred of farmers. I am not usually the type of person who believes that all bigger companies that compete with a smaller counterpart are all "evil, corrupt, corporations intent on bankrupting small companies." But this is a case where I think that Monsanto is being completely unreasonable and is basically saying "Hey! We were careless and did not care enough to make sure that our seeds don't get spread into your crops, so we are going to sue you for our carelessness." I also liken them to stating that they were never going to file any lawsuit against farmers after the farmers sued them, despite their record for suing and harrassing any farmers who were caught with Monsanto seeds, to a child saying that he wasn't taking any cookies despite having a cookie in his mouth, two cookies in his right hand, and his left hand in the cookie jar. This is just utterly despicable business practice but this also shows the incomprehensible levels of corruption going on in Washington that would allow these big companies to bully around their smaller counterparts. I also know that something can easily be done to prevent this as we have talked in class about all the things companies can do to prevent GMO seeds from cross pollinating crops. Questions: 1) Who do you think is right in this case? The farmers or Monsanto? Why? 2) What would you recommend that Monsanto can do to prevent this cross pollination from happening again? 3) Should Washington do something to prevent these big GMO companies from bulliying small, organic farmers. 4) What would you do to prevent it? 5) What do you think of PUBPAT's decision to sue Monsanto before Monsanto could sue the organic farmers? 6) Do you think that this lawsuit could be used as something that would allow both sides to come together and make an agreement that keeps this sort of thing from happening again? The above picture shows a field of crops blowing in the breeze.
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I just would like to apoligize for the lateness of this post. I have been very busy with other things and had fallen behing my blog duties. I apoligize to anyone who this may have inconvienced and hope that this does not keep anyone from getting their blog comment done on time.
ReplyDeleteOpinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI personally think this whole situation is ridiculous. Just because Monsanto is some big company doesn’t mean they need to be bullying around all the smaller companies. I feel that suing organic farmers for having Monsanto seeds on their crops is stupid because the seeds spread by nature or cross-pollination. It’s not as if organic farmers went over to GE farms and stole their seeds. If they did, then that would be a different story. But since they didn’t, there’s no reason Monsanto needs to be suing organic farmers for something that’s their own fault. I believe that it’s all just a scheme for them to make more money.
I feel that the PUBPAT was being extremely smart by filing a preemptive lawsuit against Monsanto and agribusiness. Especially since there have been cases in the past where Monsanto sued organic farmers for having their seeds, it was definitely a precaution worthy of taking. Hopefully this will protect farmers, organic agriculture organizations and seed businesses in the future.
I think that Monsanto is being extremely unreasonable in denying that it has ever, or will ever, sue organic farmers if their crops contain GE seeds. There are records of numerous cases where this has previously happened, so I don’t see why Monsanto is even bothering to lie about it. People are going to catch them eventually, and they will be in bigger trouble than before.
It’s really pointless that Monsanto would even consider suing farmers in the first place. I think that if an organic farmer’s crops are contaminated by GE seeds, than it is the GE industry that’s responsible. Monsanto should be the ones paying organic farmers for harming their crops in the first place, not suing them. It just doesn’t make any sense. Monsanto needs to step up to the plate and admit that this whole problem is their fault, and they shouldn’t be blaming the organic farmers for their carelessness.
This article relates to class because it talks about organic farmers’ crops being contaminated by cross pollination. That is a topic we discussed in class, as well as a way to prevent it. The two industries should make sure that there are buffer zones between the farms so crops aren’t contaminated and there is no need for suing. It would just make things a whole lot easier, even if it wasn’t 100 percent effective.
Answer the Questions:
ReplyDelete1) I think that the organic farmers are the ones who are right in this case. It isn’t their fault that their crops are being contaminated, and they’re not stealing GE seeds, so there’s no reason they should be sued. Like I previously mentioned, Monsanto should be paying organic farmers for contaminating their crops, not suing them.
2) I would recommend that Monsanto establish buffer zones between organic farms so that cross-pollination doesn’t occur, and the contamination situation will be avoidable.
3) Yes, I definitely think that Washington should do something to prevent big GMO companies from bullying small, organic farmers. There needs to be a law established, stating that GMO companies can’t sue organic farmers for having their seeds unless the organic farmers deliberately stole those seeds. I believe that would make the situation more fair, and prevent the big companies from running the organic companies out of business.
4) To prevent the contamination issue, I would establish buffer zones between organic and GE farms. To prevent suing, I would create the law stated in my previous answer response.
5) I personally feel that the PUBPAT’s decision to sue Monsanto before Monsanto sues them is extremely smart, because they know that Monsanto will wind up suing them eventually, and this is a great precautionary measure to take so that organic farmers don’t have to pay for something that isn’t even their fault.
6) No, I don’t think that this lawsuit could be used as something that would allow both sides to come together and prevent this sort of thing from happening again. I have a feeling that Monsanto might try to make an ‘agreement’ with the organic industry that they won’t sue them if the case is dropped, but that said ‘agreement’ will fall through if charges are no longer being pressed against them.
Ask more Questions:
1. Do you think buffer zones are a good way of preventing GE crops from contaminating organic crops?
2. Should the GE industry have to pay organic farmers if their seeds contaminate organic crops?
3. Where do you think Monsanto even got the idea to sue organic farmers for something entirely their fault in the first place?
4. Which side are you on?
5. Who do you think will win this battle? Why?
6. Do you think the fighting will ever stop? Why or why not?
Monsanto seems to have accrued quite a bit of hate over the years (probably doesn't help that their list of illustrious misdoings dates back to the late '60s, when they manufactured Agent Orange). I think it's all pretty warranted though. It seems to me that this is less of "'Hey! We were careless and did not care enough to make sure that our seeds don't get spread into your crops, so we are going to sue you for our carelessness.'" and more of "Hey! If we let this happen, we can make a ton of money and put most of our competitors out of business!" It's dirty, underhanded, and just plain unethical. I disagree with the patenting of seed at all, it just creates too many problems due to the unreliability of living material.
ReplyDeleteWhen the seed and its descendants finds their way elsewhere, whose responsible? Who owns the product? When the seed breeds with someone else's seed, is the new, marginally different seed also patented and owned? What if both seeds are patented by different companies?
Far too much grey area.
Besides, I'm one of those people that don't believe in patents and say pretentious things like "Human knowledge belongs to everyone". I'm naturally opposed to all this. What happens when agribusiness grows so large, and patents seeds so much more profitable than what the typical farmer has access to, that small farmers are forced out of the market? And as we learned in class, what happens when these big farms' crops breed with the seeds of others' and spread rapidly? Will farmers no longer own their own crops because they didn't hold patents?
http://egoscueportland.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/monsanto_labelling1.jpg
That one really sums up the opinion I have of agribusiness.
http://breakthematrix.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/patent_pending.jpg
This shows how ludicrous the idea of patenting living material really is.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uGpvLFPX5Eo/SgIB5t8yIfI/AAAAAAAAAUk/NoPsumYrjO4/s1600/monsanto-claus.jpg
This comic raises the question, should we be trusting the manufacturers of Agent Orange ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange ) to mass-produce our food?
And my favorite one, this is more about the whole GMO industry, and America's lax testing and regulation of it: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qUFDMUpk9jE/TM4H5eKzcHI/AAAAAAAAnMc/9-NVETrwC6c/s400/monsanto_dishonest.jpg