USA: Organic farmers take on Monsanto in Manhattan courtroom

Source: examiner.com
By Tamar Auber

OrganicPortal NewsRoom

On January 31, 2012 organic farmers will speak out against Monsanto in a New York City federal courtroom. The plaintiffs, which now number 300,000 from across the nation, intend to challenge both Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed and their bully-like behavior with threaten organic farms.

Monsanto, a mega-corporation which according to its corporate website is "working to make agriculture truly sustainable," has a fierce reputation among small farmers in the United States and Canada. Take for instance, the case of Percy Schmeiser of Saskatchewan who, according to a 2002 Philadelphia Inquirer report, was ordered to pay 20,000 Canadian dollars when pollen from Monsanto canola blew into his field contaminating the seed. Despite the fact that Schmeiser did not even plant the seed, Monsanto sued for copyright infringement and won.

Yet Monsanto's far reach goes beyond making organic farmers lives miserable. In January 2011, Monsanto struck a deal with healthy grocery giant Whole Foods, which currently has seven high volume stores in Manhattan. This boardroom handshake between Whole Foods and Monsanto effectively paved the way for genetically modified foods and made producing organic, unaltered seed crops more difficult for farmers and more expensive for consumers seeking organic foods.

Tip: OrganicPortal USA - Organic Agriculture

OrganicPortal NewsRoom

03.02.2012

TOP 3 most read news:

Daas - Tasty, organic, gluten-free beer and now in Hong Kong
Sweden: Kanon Organic Vodka - Local by tradition, sustainable by principle
Scotland: Private firm plans hospital with ‘five-star hotel’ service - fine-dining and organic food in an attempt to attract patients to the private market

Besuchen Sie OrganicPortal Newsroom Deutschland
NEW - Organic - Conferences - Events - Fairs