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Date sent: Mon, 09 Apr 2001 01:11:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anna M* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: IUFO: Fw: [Ethnobotany] [Fwd: RAFI Genotypes: Monsanto vs.
Percy
Schmeiser]
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The paradise of the genetically engineered plants.
" ...And God looked at his work and thought it was good.."
Anna
Rural Advancement Foundation Intl wrote:
RAFI
Rural Advancement Foundation International
www.rafi.org | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geno-Types - 2 April 2001
Monsanto vs. Percy Schmeiser
No Corporate Liability for Unsafe Sex
and Bioserfdom
> On 29 March 2001 a Canadian judge dealt a crushing blow to Farmers' Rights by ruling
>that Percy Schmeiser, a third generation Saskatchewan farmer, must pay Monsanto
>thousands of dollars for violating the Gene Giant's monopoly patent on genetically
>modified canola seed.
>
> Under Canadian patent law, as in the US and many other industrialized countries, it
>is illegal for farmers to re-use patented seed, or to grow Monsanto's GM seed without
>signing a licensing agreement. If the Gene Giants and US Trade Reps get their way,
>every nation in the world will be forced
to adopt patent laws that make seed saving illegal. The ruling against Schmeiser
establishes an even more dangerous precedent because it means that farmers can be
forced to pay royalties on GM seeds found on their land, even if they didn't buy the
seeds, or benefit from them.
>
> Percy Schmeiser did not buy Monsanto's patented seed, nor did he obtain the seed
>illegally. Pollen from genetically engineered canola seeds blew onto his land from
>neighboring farms. (Percy Schmei
ser's neighbors and an estimated 40% of farmers in Western Canada grow GM canola).
Monsanto's GM ca
nola genes invaded Schmeiser's farm without his consent. Shortly thereafter,
Monsanto's "gene polic
e" invaded his farm and took seed samples without his permission. Percy Schmeiser was
a victim of g
enetic pollution from GM crops - but the court says he must now pay Monsanto $10,000
for licensing
fees and up to $75,000 in profits from his 1998 crop. It's like saying that Monsanto's
technology i
s spreading a sexually transmitted disease but everyone else has to wear a condom.
>
> The GM canola that drifted onto Schmeiser's farm was engineered to withstand
>spraying of Monsanto
's proprietary weedkiller, Roundup. But Schmeiser did not use Roundup on his canola
crop. After all
, if Schmeiser had sprayed his crop, the chemical would have killed the majority of
his canola plan
ts that were not genetically modified to tolerate the weedkiller! Schmeiser didn't
take advantage
of Monsanto's GM technology, but the court ruling says he's guilty of using the seed
without a lice
nsing agreement.
>
> Monsanto (acquired by Pharmacia last year) is the world's premiere Biotech Behemoth.
> Last week's
court ruling has far-reaching implications for farming communities around the world.
Last year, Mo
nsanto's GM seed technology was planted on 41.6 million hectares (103 million acres)
worldwide. Tha
t means Monsanto accounted for 94% of the global area sown to genetically modified
seeds in 2000. (
Total worldwide area = 44.2 million hectares or 109.2 million acres.)
>
> Thanks in large part to Terminator technology, the Monsanto moniker has became
>synonymous with GM
seeds and corporate greed. Although Monsanto disavowed "suicide seeds" in the wake of
internationa
l public protest, the company has routinely employed Draconian measures to prevent
farmers from re-
using patented seed, including the use of private police to root out seed-saving
farmers, and toll-
fee hotlines to encourage rural residents to snitch on their farm neighbors. Monsanto
has threaten
ed to "vigorously prosecute" hundreds of cases against seed saving farmers, but
Schmeiser's was the
first major case to reach the courts. Schmeiser courageously decided to fight back
and speak out a
gainst bioserfdom.
>
> Last week's anti-farmer verdict is being hailed as a landmark victory for Monsanto,
>but it's too
soon for the Gene Giants to celebrate. Will the ruling against Schmeiser unleash a new
biotech back
lash in the heartland?
>
> North American farmers grew three-quarters of the world's commercial GM crops last
>year, and now
they're showing signs of biotech battle fatigue. Illegal traces of Aventis' StarLink
maize (unappro
ved for human consumption) have disrupted grain markets and jeopardized exports.
Unsold stockpiles
of US maize are at their highest level since GM crops were commercialized. The US
government announ
ced last month that it would spend $20 million in taxpayer money to bail out the
biotech industry,
by purchasing maize seed that was contaminated with Aventis' StarLink genes. (StarLink
maize was pl
anted on less than 0.02 percent of all US maize cropland in 2000, but
cross-pollination with other
maize varieties resulted in seed contaminated with StarLink genes.) To add insult to
injury, the fe
deral bailout is using money that would normally go to disaster relief for farmers.
>
> With the advent of genetic engineering and exclusive monopoly patents, the Gene
>Giants have aboli
shed the farmers' fundamental rights to save and exchange seed. Now farmers are being
forced to acc
ept liability for genetically modified crops. How many bullets will they take for
biotech?
>
> In North America, where many farmers have embraced GM technology, there are signs of
>resistance w
orth noting:
>
> * The National Farmers Union of Canada has called for a national moratorium on
>producing, importi
ng and distributing GM food.
>
> * A bill introduced in North Dakota (US), backed by the state's wheat farmers, would
>impose a mor
atorium on growing genetically modified wheat - a crop that Monsanto hopes to
commercialize by 2003
.
>
> * In March 2001 the National Farmers Union (US) adopted a policy supporting a
>moratorium on the i
ntroduction, certification and commercialization of genetically engineered wheat until
issues of cr
oss-pollination, liability, commodity and seed stock segregation, and market
acceptance are adequat
ely addressed.
>
> * The Indiana (USA) House of Representatives passed a bill last month defending the
>farmers' righ
t to save seed.
>
> * Oklahoma's Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Howard, recently commented: "After
>reviewing Monsa
nto's 2001 Technology Agreement, I would discourage any farmer from signing this
document. Not only
does this contract severely limit the options of the producer, it also limits
Monsanto's liability
...The protection of the Monsanto contract is strictly one-sided and I would encourage
producers to
carefully consider this before entering into this agreement."
>
> * A North Dakota State University economist warns that growers of GM crops are
>exposing themselve
s to potentially huge financial risks by signing gene technology agreements. Dwight
Aakre warns tha
t "responsibility for providing assurance of non-contamination with GMO materials is
being pushed b
ack to the individual producer."
>
> Support Percy Schmeiser
>
> Percy Schmeiser has filed a counter-suit against Monsanto, but his family faces
>enormous legal co
sts that cannot be sustained without outside assistance. Contributions to Schmeiser's
legal defense
may be sent to:
>
> Schmeiser Defense Fund
> Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
> Humboldt, Saskatchewan
> Canada SOK 2A0
>
> For more information about Percy Schmeiser's case, go to:
> www.percyschmeiser.com
>
> To see the 62-page decision by Canada's federal court judge Andrew MacKay go to:
>http://www.fct-c
f.gc.ca
>
> **********
>
> RAFI (the Rural Advancement Foundation International) is an international civil
>society organizat
ion based in Canada. RAFI is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity, and
to the socially responsible development of technologies useful to rural societies.
RAFI is concern
ed about the loss of agricultural biodiversity, and the impact of intellectual
property on farmers
and food security.
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