Monsanto tastes defeat

[nosmokes]

original-grist

Monsanto tastes defeat

Posted by Tom Philpott at 10:27 AM on 08 May 2007

Toward dominance over the global seed market with strong-arm tactics and friends in high places.

As evidence of the former, the roguish company once threatened to sue me -- then a neophyte blogger with 30 readers -- on the most trivial grounds possible. As for the latter, software monopolist Bill Gates, evidently impressed with the way Monsanto tosses around its market girth, has tapped a former Monsanto exec to help lead his foundation's "Green Revolution" in Africa.

The company wins plenty of battles, but it loses sometimes, too. In fact, it suffered two bitter defeats last week.

No GMO alfalfa for you

Last Thursday, a U.S. district judge upheld a ban on new plantings of a genetically modified alfalfa variety that's designed to withstand copious lashings of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.

Alfalfa is grown nationwide as a perennial fodder crop for livestock. If so-called Roundup Ready alfalfa becomes ubiquitous, farmers would be encouraged to dump huge quantities of Roundup on pastures -- a direct attack on plant biodiversity. Worse, it could create "superweeds" resistant to Roundup -- at best conjuring up the need for a new and even more fierce herbicide than Roundup, at worst creating an invasive weed that could take over pastures and other fields.
~snip~
.
.
.






















complete article including links to other sources here

[Spinzonner]

1. Can we send them into the Cornfield ?

[soothsayer]

2. death to monsatan!

[bananas]

3. Only the real Alfalfa for us!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Switzer

[OlderButWiser]

4. Alfalfa and most clovers

are already slightly immune to Round-Up. As to this: "a direct attack on plant biodiversity" farmers will stay on the attack against bio-diversity with or without Round-Up. It's what they do.

[cliss]

5. Good. May this company

go bankrupt, before the year is out.

These are the Pirates, the Rogues among really REALLY bad companies.