Americas Farmers Fight Monsantos Scorched Earth Legal Campaign Of Threats And Intimidationselfnews Post The plaintiffs brought the pre-emptive case against Monsanto in March 2011 in the Southern District of New York and specifically seek to defend themselves from nearly two dozen of Monsantos most aggressively asserted patents on GMO seed. They were forced to act pre-emptively to protect themselves from Monsantos abusive lawsuits, fearing that if GMO seed contaminates their property despite their efforts to prevent such contamination, Monsanto will sue them for patent infringement. Its time to end Monsantos scorched earth legal campaign of threats and intimidation against Americas farmers. Family farmers should be protected by the courts against the unwanted genetic contamination of their crops, said Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots community of more than 300,000 farmers and citizens dedicated to reforming food and agriculture, that is co-plaintiff in the suit. In an attempt to sidestep the challenge, Monsanto moved to have the case dismissed, saying that the plaintiffs concerns were unrealistic. In February 2012, the district court took Monsantos side and dismissed the case, ridiculing the farmers in the process. Despite the fact that the plaintiffs are at risk for being contaminated by genetically modified seed and then sued for patent infringement by Monsanto, Judge Naomi Buchwald of the Southern District of New York dismissed the case because she didnt find a case worthy of adjudication, saying it is clear that these circumstances do not amount to a substantial controversy and that there has been no injury traceable to defendants. Monsanto is known for bullying farmers by making baseless accusations of patent infringement, said attorney Dan Ravicher of the not-for-profit legal services organization Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), which represents the plaintiffs in the suit against Monsanto known as Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v Monsanto. Theyve sued and harassed many other farmers who wanted nothing to do with their genetically modified seed and now that organic and conventional farmers are fighting back, they claim they would never do such a thing without backing up their words with an enforceable promise. Nature has determined that seed and pollen can drift great distances, in some cases as far as 10-15 miles, increasing the likelihood of contamination of organic crops with genetics from Monsantos laboratories. These seeds and crops are referred to as transgenic seed that has had DNA of foreign organisms inserted into its DNA through human engineered processes. Plaintiffs use and sell nontransgenic seed, more commonly referred to as heirloom, organic, or conventional seed. We have a right to farm the way we choose, said Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, President of lead plaintiff Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA). Yet Monsanto is unwilling to control their GMO pollution and they refuse to sign a binding covenant not-to-sue our family farmers for patent infringement should their seed contaminate our crops. Monsantos publicized Commitment promising that they would not sue farmers was described by Monsantos own lawyers as being vague. The law says we deserve protection under the Declaratory Judgment Act. We will continue to pursue our right to farm, and the right of our customers to have access to good clean food and seed. Some plaintiffs have simply stopped growing certain types of crops due to the threat of contamination. Bryce Stephens, a certified organic farmer from northwest Kansas, had to give up on trying to grow organic corn and soy once his neighbors started using Monsantos genetically modified seed because it could easily spread onto his property and contaminate his organic crops, which would put him at risk of being sued for patent infringement by Monsanto. In the brief filed today, the plaintiffs point out numerous errors in the district court decision that warrant reversal. Murphy went on to state, No company should be allowed to violate the property rights of Americas farmers or threaten their livelihoods through the use of frivolous patent infringement lawsuits designed to control farmers and the food supply, while protecting Monsantos flawed seed technology and corporate profits. The brief filed by the plaintiffs with the Court of Appeals is available here. About Maines Wood Prairie Farm (www.woodprairie.com; 800-829-9765) Wood Prairie Farm is located in Aroostook County, Northern Maines historic center of potato farming. For over 36 years, Jim Megan Gerritsen and their family have been farming organically and grow the finest potatoes, seed and vegetables. Wood Prairie Farms organic seed potatoes, kitchen potatoes, vegetable and cover crop seeds and other products are available direct to the customer by mail order from its website and catalog. High resolution photo of Jim Gerritsen available here. You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 