Monsanto and other Evils
Of all the horrors caused by genetically engineered crops I would have to say the worst is the way that farmers are getting screwed by corporations like Monsanto and Syngenta. Genetic Engineering of plants can be as innocent as hybridization which basically crosses favored genes of one strain of plant with another. The problem with doing this is that the hybrid plants no longer produce viable seed. In some cases seeds are bred to be resistant to drought or disease which in itself, seems pretty harmless.
Monsanto, the people behind Agent Orange and PCBs, used to be primarily a chemical company making herbicides and pesticides now making genetically modified seeds. They produce an herbicide called Roundup and now seeds that are designated ‘Roundup Ready’ that contain a gene that allows them to survive spraying with said herbicide. These seeds are sold to farmers who sign a contract to continue to purchase their seeds from Monsanto and to pay a fee per acre for growing the seed.
There was a famous case in Canada when a Saskatchewan canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, who had been using his own saved seed for 50 years was visited by private investigators in the employ of St. Louis, Mo. based Monsanto. The investigators trespassed on Schmeiser’s land to obtain samples of his canola and found that the samples contained genetic material from Monsanto’s patent-protected GM seeds.
It’s very easy to figure out how the GM material got there, there are plenty of farmers in Saskatchewan growing Roundup Ready canola and Mr. Schmeiser’s plants could easily have been contaminated by the wind carrying pollen all across the prairie. Schmeiser was prosecuted by Monsanto for patent infringement and he fought it all the way to the supreme court. However, the court ruled in favor of Monsanto (!) but did not award them monetary damages, saying that Mr. Schmeiser did not profit from the copyright infringement.
Mr. Schmeiser is not the only farmer who has faced this kind of challenge, but he may be one of the only ones who has had the time and resources to fight back. His case brought a lot of attention to this issue. A report from the Center for Food Safety in 2005 said that the total recorded judgments that farmers have been ordered to pay Monsanto is over $15 million. Andrew Kimball, then executive director of the CFS said “These lawsuits and settlements are nothing less than the corporate extortion of American farmers.” And Canadian farmers too, apparently.
In my next post I’d like to explore the health risks of consuming genetically modified food. So far I am having trouble finding facts. For now please take a look at these websites, which are chock full of information:
Organic Consumers Association
Monsanto Watch
GM Watch
Say NO to GMOs
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