It’s been named the “David & Goliath” story of agriculture in Canada: one small farmer, Percy Schmeiser, versus one international mega-corp, Monsanto. It started in 1997, when drift from a neighbor’s Roundup-Ready canola contaminated Schmeiser’s own field. Monsanto sued him for planting patented seeds without paying for them (Schmeiser saves seeds from year-to-year) and won. But Schmeiser fought back, and has now won a case against Monsanto, asserting that if Monsanto owns the patented plants, it should pay for the genetic contamination and damage to Schmeiser’s canola fields.
Monsanto does have a program in which it removes unwanted “volunteer” plants from fields. But it also requires to sign a release form with a confidentiality clause. Schmeiser refused and took the company to court, and on March 19, 2008, Monsanto agreed to pay the $660 it took to have the offending plants removed.
It seems like a small victory, to be sure, but it sets a precent of responsibility (in addition to ownership) of genetically altered and patented plants to the companies that purport to own them. And if GM crops ever contaminate wild, organic, or heirloom crops, companies like Monsanto should have to pay for the clean-up.
On a related note, organic food is apparently just as productive (in terms of yield) as conventional ag, and is a whole hell of a lot nutritious as well. Here’s the original article on the Daily Grist.
Planning meeting for my gardening collaboration on Monday. Am really excited. Will hopefully have time to read up on companion planting beforehand.
Also, just finished reading “Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally” by the B.C. creators of the 100-Mile Diet. It was pretty awesome, actually. I highly recommend it. I’m also reading a history of kitchens as the center of the American home during the 20th Century. It’s pretty interesting so far.
And yes, I’ve finally learned that I’m a bit of a foodie. And that I kind of want to be a culinary historian. *grin*
