75 family farmers, seed businesses, and agricultural organizations representing over 300,000 individuals and 4,500 farms filed a brief today with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., asking the appellate court to reverse a lower court’s decision from February dismissing their protective legal action against agricultural giant Monsanto’s patents on genetically engineered seed.
Plaintiffs brought the pre-emptive case against Monsanto in March 2011 in the Southern District of New York to defend ourselves from Monsanto’s most aggressively asserted patents on GMO seed.
In an attempt to sidestep the challenge, Monsanto moved to have the case dismissed, saying that the plaintiffs’ concerns were unrealistic. In February 2012, the district court took Monsanto’s side and dismissed the case, ridiculing the farmers in the process.
“Monsanto is known for bullying farmers by making baseless accusations of patent infringement,” said attorney Dan Ravicher of the not-for-profit legal services organization Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), which represents the plaintiffs in the suit. “They’ve sued and harassed many other farmers who wanted nothing to do with their genetically modified seed and now that organic and conventional farmers are fighting back, they claim they would never do such a thing without backing up their words
with an enforceable promise.”
Read the full press release.
may be historic preservation act is the way to go. As Monsanto is destroying historic seed populations
Julie, how can Europe give evidence on the ecmoinocs of GM crops when they don’t allow their farmers to grow them? Its like a bloke giving evidence on the experience of pregnancy.This article is wrong when it talks about GM crops being planted for the first time in 2008. Australia has been growing GM cotton since 1996… and yes cotton is a food crop – cottonseed oil is present in virtually all vegetable oils.One could also argue that every other crop is genetically modified in less precise ways…. and yes it can cross species barriers but what do you call mutagenesis?
Thanks Julie, I had tried to get onto that petition the other day but coludn’t, I’m glad you reminded me. Monsanto is indeed vile. BTW Have you read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver – it’s brilliant, I’m sure you’d find it very interesting.Deb
Thank you so much for stepping forrawd against Monsanto. My head is still reeling over the factthat a company can win a court battle over patent infringement when IT is the one doing the contaminating. Something is horribly wrong in the courts when I see that this is actually possible!As a mother and paralegal student, I struggle everyday to keep up with the expense of organic food, and having to also know what products I can use that are safe. I should not have to work so hard to know whatfood is genetically-modified and what food isn’t.If you sell seed, I will be buying it from you.Thank you again for stepping forrawd. If there is any field work that needs to be done, I would be glad to help.Ms. Baumgartner