Man taking Monsanto to court

[nosmokes]

Ive never met Mr Schmeiser and after all his troubles w/ Mosanto he may very well be a sammich or so short of a full pic-nic, but I would never hold that against him, especially under the circumstances. I admire the man, and I hope he wins this one.WTH should anyone hafta sign away their rights to gain just compensation for another wrongs?
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original-minotdailynews

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 — Time:4:37:13 PM CENTRAL



Man taking Monsanto to court

By MARVIN BAKER, Staff Writer [email protected]

BRUNO, Sask. – A former canola producer is taking Monsanto to court claiming the chemical giant is not only spreading contamination with its Roundup Ready canola, but is also trying stifle farmer’s free speech.

Percy Schmeiser will meet Monsanto in a courtroom Jan. 23 because he says Roundup Ready canola contaminated a 50-acre field he owns and he wants compensation for the cleanup.

According to Schmeiser, Monsanto was willing to clean up the plot of the GM canola, or GMOs, which stands for genetically modified organisms, but wanted him to sign a release form suggesting he would never bring legal action against the St. Louis corporation in the future.

He refused to do so saying his legal right to free speech would be nullified. Schmeiser then hired people to hand-pull the volunteer canola from the field and sent Monsanto a $600 bill. When Monsanto refused to pay it, he filed a case against them that will be heard in provincial court in Saskatoon.

“The contamination issue is realized here,” Schmeiser said. “You can’t control contaminants once they are released into the atmosphere and in this case, it’s canola.”

Schmeiser explained that in 2005 he put 50 acres into summerfallow with the intent of raising mustard in the spring of 2006. Late that summer, he said sporadic canola plants were showing up all over the field and he hadn’t raised canola on that plot for eight years. Thinking the plants were tolerant of the herbicide Roundup, Schmeiser applied the chemical to some of the plants with an eye dropper and they didn’t die, confirming to him they were genetically modified.

~snip~
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complete article here

[Lautremont]

1. This fellow's been taking Monsanto to court for years.

He's a real grassroots hero, an authentic Capraesque little guy figure, and I'm totally rooting for him. Monsanto is incredibly evil and soulless.

[lovuian]

8. woohoo Percy

:woohoo:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. Monsanto sued him first for patent infringement.

Which was due crosscontamination from Monsanto's Roundup Ready Canola plants and in no way his fault.

In 1997, Monsanto's genetically modified Roundup Ready Canola plants were found in Percy Schmeiser's field. In spring 1998, before Schmeiser planted his 1998 crop, he was informed that Monsanto believed that he had grown Roundup Ready canola in 1997. In the summer of 1998 the canola in Schmeiser's fields was found to be Roundup Ready canola. After this, Monsanto sued Schmeiser for patent infringement. For the next several years, the case traveled through the Canadian court system. Meanwhile, Schmeiser became an international symbol and spokesperson for the anti-GE movement. He accepted speaking engagements, and received donations for his defense fund, from around the world. Ultimately, a Supreme Court 5-4 ruling found in favor of Monsanto of their patent being valid and if there was infringement. Often misinterpreted, the decision was relatively limited. The publicity around the case focused on whether Monsanto would be held responsible for GE crop contamination. This issue was, in explicit fact, not considered by the courts. The patent infringement finding was based solely on the determination that Schmeiser had recognized the crosscontamination, and knowingly went on to collect the crossbred seed, then replant and harvest it the next year. No punitive damages or the costs of the technology use fee were awarded to Monsanto as the Supreme Court also ruled 9-0 in Schmeiser's favor that his profits were exactly the same with or without the presence of the Roundup Ready Canola.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Schmeiser

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Read the main article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeiser

It was Schmeiser's fault. He committed patent infringement.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

25. It wasn't his fault that the GE crop contaminated his crops

Where do you see that?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

29. They didn't contaminate his crops.

Read the article. He was planting their crops on purpose.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

33. You read the article

I'm already familiar with the case.

Specifically find a reference to it being his fault that the GE crops crosscontaminated his crops.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

35. ...

"All claims relating to Roundup Ready canola in Schmeiser's 1997 canola crop were dropped prior to trial and the court only considered the canola in Schmeiser's 1998 fields. Regarding his 1998 crop, Schmeiser did not put forward any defence of accidental contamination. The evidence showed that the level of Roundup Ready canola in Mr. Schmeiser's 1998 fields was 95-98% (See paragraph 53 of the trial ruling). Evidence was presented indicating that such a level of purity could not occur by accidental means. Based on this the court found that Schmeiser had either known "or ought to have known" that he had planted Roundup Ready canola in 1998."

[Lone_Star_Dem]

36. No. That doesn't show it was his fault that the GE crops contaminated his

Which is what we're discussing. Not that he collected the seeds from the GE seeds after he discovered them.

As established in the original Federal Court trial decision, Schmeiser first discovered Roundup-resistant canola in his crops in 1997.<2> He had used Roundup herbicide to clear weeds around power poles and in ditches adjacent to a public road running beside one of his fields, and noticed that some of the canola which had been sprayed had survived. Schmeiser then performed a test by applying Roundup to an additional three to four acres of the same field. He found that 60% of the canola plants survived. At harvest time, Schmeiser instructed a farmhand to harvest the test field. That seed was stored separately from the rest of the harvest, and used the next year to seed approximately 1,000 acres (4 km²) of canola.

Again. Show me he was at fault that his crops were crosscontaminated.

[Lautremont]

26. "He committed patent infringement."

You're really out of your depth here.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. Did you read the article?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Schmeiser?

That nut again? Yeesh.

[scarletwoman]

16. 'scuse me, but what's "nuts" about him? I wish we had a few million Percys in this country,

standing up to the mega-corporations and saying "fuck you!"

sw

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Well, there was the first lawsuit.

Then there's this one wherein he claims Monsanto asking him to sign the contract constituted a violation of his free speech.

[scarletwoman]

19. I honestly and sincerely see nothing "nuts" about either of those 2 actions.

Seriously, I totally don't get why you would dis this man. So; whatever, man. You are certainly as entitled to your opinion as anyone else.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Well for starters...

If I were worried about the safety of GM food, I'd be dising him simply because he's an embarrassment to the cause.

Secondly, could you explain to me how Monsanto asking him to sign a document violates his free speech? I mean if Monsanto had contaminated his property, then he'd have a case. If they had refused to clean it up, then they'd have a case. But that's not the issue.

[scarletwoman]

24. Monsanto DID "contaminate his property", their GM plants showed up in his fields.

Monsanto... wanted him to sign a release form suggesting he would never bring legal action against the St. Louis corporation in the future.

(From the article in the OP)

I think he's totally right not to sign their "release form", it's called "prior restraint".

sw

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. No, they didn't.

Monsanto showed in court that they didn't contaminate his crops. He planted it on purpose than lied about it.

"I think he's totally right not to sign their "release form", it's called "prior restraint"."

That's fine if he doesn't sign it. But why would asking him to sign it be a violation of his free speech?

Think this through.

[Canuckistanian]

17. Forget the sarcasm smiley?

Percy Schmeiser is a hero to traditional and organic farmers in Canada and the US.

And what Monsanto did and continues to do is nothing short of criminal harassment.

[Cha]

3. No wonder monsanto wants him to sign

a release form from futher discussion about their gmo(gargoylean monster organisms) ...It's Percy Schmeiser! A one man band who is beating the drums against the encroachment of gmo across our Planet!

Good Luck Percy Schmeiser!!

[LiberalEsto]

4. Monsatan nt

[DeSwiss]

5. Go Percy Go!!! Go Percy Go!!! Go Percy Go!!!

- K&R

[kestrel91316]

6. Percy Schmeiser is a HERO. David trying to slay Goliath.

[Mike03]

7. Monsanto is one company that has always scared

the hell out of me. Without any challenge whatsoever, they have been allowed to patent untested seeds that produce vegetables and other agricultural products that have been demonstrated to be unsafe. And Monstanto is sort of like the current administration--monolithic, impenetrable, and it seems like there is nothing we can do.

Even buying organic is no longer a solution, because of the contamination issue.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. If they're untested, how have they been demonstrated unsafe?

[Mike03]

10. Yes, you are correct to ask for clarification, and I'm delighted to provide it.

For the documented health risks of genetically engineered foods as well as internal industry studies themselves which cast doubt on the safety of these "foods" just see "Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods" by Jeffrey Smith. This book is about the size of a textbook, and very very interesting.

[Mike03]

11. P.S.

Untested by FDA, or American studies that anyone will pay attention to. Just like the sham U.S. science that sidesteps the most credible way to prevent cancer.

Although SOME of the foods produced by Monstanto have been studied in Europe and found to be unsafe, Monstanto produces thousands of chemicals (including pesticides, fungicides, plasticizers) each year that are not food-related yet are introduced to our environment on the say-so of Monstanto's scientists that they are safe. That is really something to think about.

[Sequoia]

12. Monsanto is the Blackwater of Farming

I think I've met Percy before. We were having a vote in our town regarding GE seeds and he came to speak against it. I was like, I so KNOW you!!

[Mike03]

22. That's reassuring

I'm happy that people are out there fighting this.

Me personally, I feel so paralyzed by my confusion and inability to fix anything in this world... It's good people still care.

[fed-up]

14. I rode BART w/Percy during "Reclaim the Commons" in SF in 2004-he spoke 2x in Chico about his

battles with Monsanto before and during our Measure D campaign to ban GE crops in our county. It didn't pass, but last year CA banned GE rice!

His sweetheart of a wife was also with him as we rode bart. The now elderly man has been through hell and back with Monsanto. It is nearly killing him and his wife because of all the stress related to Monsanto contaminating his canola fields and then expecting Percy to pay them!!!!

Last time I was paying attention his wife was suing Monsanto for contaminating her organic herb garden. I have been to busy to keep tabs on that.


Keep up the good fight Percy.

[Pastiche423]

15. nosmokes -

I want to thank you for staying on top of this horror that is called Monsanto. It is much appreciated.



Go, Percy, Go!

[fed-up]

21. here's a few local stories from 2004, my Percy looks younger!

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=29214

Seeds of (genetic) change
Canadian farmer sounds the alarm of the corporate-created monster possibly heading this way
By Tom Gascoyne
This article was published on 02.19.04.


MERCY, MERCY MR. PERCY
Percy Schmeiser, a former Canadian canola farmer, shows where Monsanto's genetically modified canola first showed up in his fields.

In 1947 Percy Schmeiser and his wife Louise began growing canola on their Saskatchewan farm located about 250 miles north of the Montana-North Dakota border. Each year they saved and reused the seeds, harvesting them from the plants that thrived best in the soil and climate conditions in that part of the great Canadian plains.

In 1997, the Schmeisers' world changed forever.

Neighboring farmers had began using genetically modified (GM) canola seeds produced by Monsanto Canada Inc., the multinational giant that for the past 10 years has worked to market GM crops, including corn, rice and wheat.

Today the Schmeisers no longer farm; instead they find themselves pitted in court and world opinion against one of the world's largest corporations. As a result, Percy Schmeiser has become a modern-day Paul Revere, traveling the world to warn of a frightening and potentially devastating future for agriculture, in particular family and organic farmers.

Last week the 73-year-old Schmeiser passed through Chico, where he gave a talk at Chico State University. The next day he met with members of the Lundberg family rice operation in Richvale, where this strange new world of agriculture is viewed with a sort of anxious confidence that, with some protections already in place, the California rice industry will survive the threat of genetically engineered crops.




http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=30005
This article was published on 04.15.04.
Square dealing through genetics.
Heck, no, GMOs
A group of concerned citizens is launching a petition drive to get an ordinance forbidding the growth of genetically engineered organisms in Butte County on the Nov. 2 ballot.

The ordinance is necessary because the biotech industry has yet to come up with a way to prevent genetically modified crops from contaminating the crops of growers who prefer to remain GMO-free, said Scott Wolf of Paradise, who co-chairs Citizens for a G.E.-Free Butte. “We’re not against this technology ultimately,” he said. “We just want people to look at the risks and long-term consequences of this.”

Using a Mendocino County ordinance as a blueprint, the group wrote up the “County Ordinance Prohibiting Growing of Genetically Engineered Organisms” and submitted it to Butte County offices. The ordinance outlines health and economic risks of genetically engineered crops and would forbid their cultivation except in controlled lab or educational settings. Violations would be prosecuted similar to a public-nuisance charge.

The coalition of attorneys, academics, farmers and others had been considering drafting an ordinance for some time, but it was a talk by Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser that pushed them to action. After Schmeiser’s canola crop was contaminated by a genetically modified crop in a neighboring field, Monsanto sued the farmer for “using” its technology without paying for it. “For many of us, it stirred up a sense of moral outrage,” Wolf said.


and before you knew it we had our signatures turned, and got 39% of Butte County residents to vote in favor of Measure D, not enough, but... then last year California Rice farmers banned GE Rice, so our efforts may have helped somewhat...

http://www.organicconsumers.org/biod/butte060204.cfm

..snip

Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs said it will be several days for the petitions to be processed. If enough signatures were turned in, the issue will be on the November ballot unless the Board of Supervisors itself votes to ban genetically engineered crops.

Organizer Susan Sullivan said they actually collected 10,100 signatures, but volunteers found some that were obviously going to have to be thrown out.

If the effort is successful, Butte would be the second county in the state to ban genetically modified crops. Humboldt County was the first.
Genetic engineering is where genes from one organism are spliced into the DNA of another plant.

Sullivan said her group became inspired after the visit of Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser. Schmeiser lost a court battle with Monsanto, a corporation that markets genetically modified seed and herbicides.

Schmeiser claims Monsanto unjustly pursued him for patent infringement when seed from genetically-modified canola somehow got onto Schmeiser's farm.

Sullivan said she and 131 volunteers found support for the ban in most Butte County communities. "We're a really diverse group of farmers, mothers and citizens," Sullivan said.

..snip

[formercia]

27. Monsanto GMO patents invalidated.

http://bereagardens.blogspot.com/2007/07/monsanto-anti-farmer-patents-rejected.html

MONSANTO PATENTS ASSERTED AGAINST AMERICAN FARMERS REJECTED BY PATENT OFFICE: PUBPAT Initiated Review Leads PTO to Find All Claims of All Four Patents Invalid
http://www.pubpat.org/monsantorejections.htm

NEW YORK – July 24, 2007 -- The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected four key Monsanto patents related to genetically modified crops that PUBPAT challenged last year because the agricultural giant is using them to harass, intimidate, sue - and in some cases literally bankrupt - American farmers. In its Office Actions rejecting each of the patents, the USPTO held that evidence submitted by PUBPAT, in addition to other prior art located by the Patent Office's Examiners, showed that Monsanto was not entitled to any of the patents.

[Elspeth]

28. Good

:kick:

[formercia]

32. I hope all the farmers in the US that Monsanto sued countersue

to recover their losses and seek punitive damages.

[Lisa]

34. this movie has info on the Schmeiser case

http://www.futureoffood.com