Supreme Court Gives Monsanto Full Ability to Sue FarmersHeather Callaghan Yes, were talking about the windor insects carrying GM seeds onto another farm, which to them is considered contamination. But instead of the ability for the farmers to sue for a ruined field, they can be cleaned out in court for not having permission to plant patented seeds. Monsanto workers have been found trespassing and gathering evidence on farmers properties. The lawsuit had sought protection from this overreach, as Monsanto has filed 140 of these suits and settled 700 without suing. Organic farmer and President of Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), Jim Gerritsen, had said: And later: As Rady Ananda points out, a trace amount in this ruling, only means less than one percent contamination of a crop! Those are not the percentages of contamination in the real world i.e. Monsanto can sue, sue, sue. Furthermore, less than one percent contamination still leaves the integrity of an organic crop ruined. It does not settle the issue of Monsanto trespassing on private land to take samples for infringement cases. After the federal court threw out the 2011 lawsuit based on Monsantos assurances, OSGATA plaintiffs petitioned theSupreme Court: When the plaintiffs asked Monsanto to pledge not to sue, the company responded: A blanket covenant not to sue any present or future member of petitioners organizations would enable virtually anyone to commit intentional infringement. The Supreme Court would not hear the case* on Monday, thereby sealing the previous decisions in the district and federal courts. Monsanto can sue with full immunity if one percent or more of a farmers crop contains their patented seeds. Kyle McClain, Monsantos chief litigation counsel told Reuters: Image by Thierry Ehrmann, licensed under Creative Commons. * Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, et al., v. Monsanto Company, et al. Supreme Court Case No. 13-303 Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work atNaturalBlaze.com and selfnewsPost.com. Like at Facebook. Recent posts byHeather Callaghan: 