Family Farmers to Travel to Washington, D.C. to Take on Monsantoselfnews Post Our farmers want nothing to do with Monsanto, declared Maine certified organic seed farmer, Jim Gerritsen, President of lead Plaintiff Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association. We are not customers of Monsanto. We dont want their seed. We dont want their gene-spliced technology. We dont want their trespass onto our farms. We dont want their contamination of our crops. We dont want to have to defend ourselves from aggressive assertions of patent infringement because Monsanto refuses to keep their pollution on their side of the fence. We want justice. Many farmers have been forced to stop growing certain crops to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits from Monsanto. This case challenges the validity of Monsantos genetically engineered seed patents and seeks Court protection for family farmers who, through no fault of their own, may have become contaminated by Monsantos patented seed and find themselves accused of patent infringement. Monsanto filed 144 lawsuits against Americas family farmers and settled another 700 out of court between 1997 and 2010. These aggressive lawsuits have created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy. A Citizens Assembly In Support of Family Farmers is scheduled for 10am in Lafayette Square on Thursday, January 10. Family farmers, their lawyers, and supporters will join after the hearing to explain why they traveled thousands of miles to protect their farms and communities. Farmers have planted and saved seeds for more than 10,000 years without interruption until Monsantos genetically engineered seeds entered the market in 1996. Almost immediately Monsanto began a campaign of harassment against Americas farmers, trespassing on their land and launching frivolous patent infringement lawsuits, said Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!. Its time to end Monsantos campaign of fear against Americas farmers and stand up for farmers right to grow our food without legal threats and intimidation. The lawsuit was originally filed in March 2011 by a large group of 83 Plaintiffs, which included individual family farmers, independent seed companies and farm organizations, whose memberships total over 300,000 individuals. The case was dismissed in February 2012 by Federal Judge Naomi Buchwald who ruled that the farmers lacked standing. Lawyers from the Public Patent Foundation representing the farmers have identified numerous reversible legal and factual errors committed by the judge, which they assert caused her to mistakenly dismiss the case and have filed a powerful appeal brief with the court. Amici briefs in support of the Plaintiffs have been filed by a group of eleven prominent law professors and by a group of fourteen non-profit agricultural and consumer organizations. OSGATA has established a Farmer Travel Fund to provide travel assistance to Plaintiff farmers for the case. Donations can be made here. 