🚀 go-pugleaf

There is a story in the Dominion today that should strike frear in the
heart of all of us. 

Monsanto's modified plants contaminated this guy's seed stock through
pollen drift and he now has to pay Monsanto compensation. 

April 3rd, page 7

"GM RULING AGAINST FARMER BRINGS SHOCKWAVES"

A Canadian court decision ordering a farmer to pay chemical giant
Monsanto NZ$170,000 because its modified canola plants were found
growing in his field is generating shackwaves in New Zealand.

Percey Schmeiser tesitified to the Royal Commission on Genetic
Modification last December that his GM-free farm had been accidentally
contaminated when pollen from modified plants had blown from nearby
farms. 

In his ruling, federal judge W Andrew MacKay concluded that a farmer had
no right to grwo crops with a patented modified gene unless he had an
agreement with the company that owned the patent. 

The judge ruled that it did not matter whether or not the farmer took
advantage of the patented gene. Mr. Schmeiser did not. 

The decision prohibits Mr. Schmeiser from using his seed again and
requires him to pay Monsanto NZ$20,000 for its user fees and up to
NZ$150,000 in profits from his 1998 crop. 

It is understood that dozens of similar lawsuits have been filed against
farmers throughout the United States, but the Canadian case is the first
to go to trial. 

New Zealand groups organic groups representative Gareth Bodle sid
yesterday that he was "extremely concerned" about a decision that made
no allowances for unintended pollen drift. "This affects the integrityof
farmer's ownership in a very fundamental way. We assume that [the
decision] is commercially driven so this is pretty worrying."

William Rolleston, chief executive of the Life Sciences Network,
representing pro-modification groups, said he was pleased with a
decisions "in favour of the rights of owners of patents to collect
royalties when their products are being used, and preventing farmers
from breaching......their contracts."


-- 
 Regards,

 Steve Withers
 swithers@paradise.net.nz
 Registered Linux user #24688
 http://counter.li.org

 "First, they ignore you. Then they
 laugh at you. Then they fight you.
 Then you win." Mahatma Ghandi