US: Organic farmers attempt to sue GM seed producer
The trade group has filed a lawsuit against Monsato, the manufacturer of most of the world's GM seeds and pollens.
The reason for this is members want to prevent the company suing them for patent infringement if GM plants are found on their land.
In a written statement, Monsanto spokesman Thomas Helscher said "Monsanto never has and never will sue a farmer if our patented seed or traits are found in his field as a result of inadvertent means.”
But Gianni Ortiz, founder and director of FarmAssist Productions, a nonprofit advocacy group for small farms, says she is aware of nearly 900 court cases in which Monsanto won damages from farmers because their crops contained plants grown from its genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Ortiz says that one case Monsanto did not win involved a non-organic Canadian farmer. “There was truckload of GMO seed going from ’Point A’ to ‘Point B.’ The tarp came off the top of the truck and their seed blew into his field, and they went after him for years," she said.
Ortiz does not deny that Monsanto products have been used illegally by some farmers, but she says organic farmers have a compelling financial reason not to do so.
“This group of farmers, they clearly do not want anything to do with their genes, their, pollens and their seeds because they will lose their certification. So if they do wind up being contaminated, they are the ones who should be collecting damages, not Monsanto," she said.
Source: www.voanews.com
