the mon Satan of food production, can
have the legal right to claim that
neighbouring farms stole their patent
because the wind blows.
It's enough that, when farmers buy
Monsanto seed, only MOnsanto gets
rich, but their GM food shuts out
the market for non-GM. Then their
seeds pollute everyone else's farms.
Now, some scientists have climbed
out of their belly buttons to ask for
a little sanity. Thanks, Beaker.
checkit: Reuters
Food
safety group calls for court to limit GMO seed patents
By
Carey Gillam
Mon
Dec 10, 2012 4:40pm EST
(Reuters)
- Patent protection for genetically modified corn, soybeans and other crop must
be limited so farmers can save their seeds and protect themselves against
litigation, a public interest group said in a filing with the U.S. Supreme
Court on Monday in a case involving global seed giant Monsanto Co.
The
case that the high court will hear next year involving an Indiana soybean
farmer Vernon Bowman is but a "microcosm of a systemic problem," and
the outcome of the case could have far-reaching impacts as Monsanto and other
biotech seed developers expand their dominance of agricultural seeds, according
to the Center for Food Safety (CFS), which filed the amicus brief Monday in
support of Bowman.
"It
is a really critical moment for the court in terms of plant patenting,"
said CFS attorney Andrew Kimbrell. "Patenting should not interfere with a
farmer's right to save seeds. They should not resell them or repackage them or
become competitors of Monsanto, but the seed they buy they should be able to
use them in a natural way for planting. This is not only about farmer rights,
it's about farmer survival."
Monsanto
and other seed developers charge premiums for their genetically altered seeds
and closely guard use of the seeds carrying technological traits such as
herbicide resistance. Monsanto requires growers to use the seeds only for a
single crop, and prohibits them from saving the second-generation seeds from
the harvested crop, ensuring farmers buy new seeds each season.
