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Schmeisers Battle for the Seed

press-release

 

The Institute of Science in Society

Science Society Sustainability

http://www.i-sis.org.uk

 

General Enquiries sam

Website/Mailing List press-release

ISIS Director m.w.ho

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Schmeiser’s Battle for the Seed

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What makes a farmer from a small rural community in Saskatchewan stand up to

Monsanto? And possibly, win? Dr. Mae-Wan Ho reports.

 

Percy Schmeiser, now in his early seventies, a soft-spoken, mild-mannered

Canadian farmer from the small rural community of Bruno some 80km east of

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, never dreamt he would be catapulted to the status of a

contemporary folk- hero. He had been farming for 40 years when he was taken to

court by biotech giant Monsanto in August 1998. The company claimed he had

illegally planted its genetically engineered Roundup Ready canola without paying

a $37-per-hectare fee for the privilege.

 

Schmeiser was not alone. Monsanto had accused scores of farmers of patent

infringing on its genetically engineered seed. But, instead of settling out of

court with Monsanto like the others, Schmeiser fought back. He had been sowing

each crop with seeds saved and selected from the previous harvest for years, and

had never purchased seed from Monsanto. Even so, he found more than 320 hectares

of his land contaminated by Monsanto’s Roundup Ready canola.

 

Schmeiser insisted that any Roundup Ready growing on his land was spread by wind

or by grain trucks travelling on roads adjacent to his fields.

 

On 10 August 1999, mediation talks to settle the dispute ended in failure. The

next day, Schmeiser launched a $10 million lawsuit against Monsanto, accusing

the company of a variety of wrongs, including libel, trespass and contaminating

his fields with Roundup Ready canola. But Schmeiser’s lawsuit against Monsanto

won’t be dealt with until the original lawsuit has been resolved. Little did he

know what a long, hard battle he has taken on.

 

It is a battle for the seed, for every farmer’s right to save and resow

harvested seed, to freely share and exchange without restriction, as farmers

have been doing for at least 15 000 years since agriculture began.

 

The trial was heard in June 2000, in the Federal Court in Saskatoon. At the

trial, Monsanto presented evidence from two dozen witnesses and samplers that

Schmeiser’s eight fields were all more than 90% Roundup Ready. Monsanto had

performed no independent tests, however; the tests were all performed in house

or by experts hired by the company.

 

In defence, Schmeiser presented his own farm-based evidence, that the fields

ranged from nearly zero to 68% Roundup Ready, which was confirmed independently

by research scientists at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Schmeiser’s

defence also contained evidence that he did not knowingly acquire Monsanto’s

product, nor did he segregate the contaminated seeds for future use or spray his

canola crops with Roundup

 

But the Federal Court ruled against Schmeiser. Justice Andrew McKay upheld the

validity of Monsanto’s patented gene. In a key part of the ruling, the judge

agreed a farmer can generally own the seeds or plants grown on his land if they

blow in or are carried there by pollen; but this is not true in the case of

genetically modified seed.

 

It didn’t matter how the Roundup Ready canola got to his fields. He was deemed

to have infringed Monsanto patent, and was fined $15/acre x 1030 acres licence

fee, plus the value of his entire crop, $105,000 (including fields that did not

have any Roundup Ready canola), plus $25,000 for punitive and exemplary damages.

 

" Where does Monsanto’s rights end and mine begin? " Percy Schmeiser asked. He

refused to abide by the judgement, and launched an appeal, which was heard in

May 2002 in Saskatoon.

 

Unfortunately, all three judges ruled against him yet again. By this time, he

and Louise, his wife of 50 years, had already spent $ 200 000 in legal fees. He

had ceased to plant canola, for any canola crop he planted would belong to

Monsanto.

 

Monsanto had kept up a constant campaign of harassment and intimidation all

through the trial in 1999 and 2000. And in 2001, Monsanto brought a new case

against Schmeiser for $1 million in ‘court costs’: $750 000 for their lawyers,

$250 000 for ‘disbursements’ which included travel expenses, payments for expert

witnesses and $15 000 ‘lawyer’s night entertainments’.

 

Undaunted, Percy Schmeiser took his case to the Supreme court, and in May 2003,

when I caught up with him at the Biodevastation 7 meeting held in Monsanto’s

hometown St. Louis, Missouri, he just got the good news that he has won his

right to be heard in the Supreme Court. There were loud cheers in the hall.

 

Percy Schmeiser has been tireless in travelling the world to tell his story.

Everywhere, farmers are fighting for their lives and livelihoods. Monsanto

winning would be the very last straw, not just for farmers, for everyone.

Schmeiser has come to symbolise our collective struggle against corporate

serfdom. Just as independent scientists are oppressed and victimised, farmers

are subject to the same or worse treatment.

 

Monsanto’s tactics are well known. The company gets farmers to sign away all

their rights in an unbelievable technology contract. The farmer must not use his

or her own seed, must buy seed and chemicals from Monsanto. Monsanto can send

inspectors onto your fields for three years even if you grow the company’s crops

for only one year.

 

Monsanto also openly advertises for people to tell on their neighbours if they

are suspected of having GM crops without licence. The company’s representatives

can trespass onto your fields even when you are not at home, or fly over your

field and spray Roundup to see if the crop dies.

 

Immediately after Monsanto had obtained its judgement against Percy Schmeiser,

the company had declared war on all Saskatchewan farmers. Schmeiser received

hundreds of phone calls from farmers who have been contacted by Monsanto

representatives and received demand letters saying that they have unauthorised

GM crops growing in their fields and must pay so many thousands of dollars to

avoid lawsuit. Many of the farmers who called Schmeiser were in the same

circumstances: they never bought any seed from Monsanto or signed any contract.

 

But things may be turning Schmeiser’s (and our) way at long last.

 

In June 2002, a report from the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee said

that the Patent Act should be amended to permit farmers to save and sow seeds

from patented plants such as genetically engineered (GE) crops.

 

It also said that farmers who find GE plants growing in their fields through

" the adventitious spreading of patented seed or patented genetic material or the

insemination of an animal by a patented animal " should be considered as innocent

bystanders and not be liable to prosecution.

 

While biotechnology developments are patentable, the report said the holder does

not have " the right to market or even use the invention. This is because some

applications of the technology may pose risks to human or animal health or to

the environment, challenge the capacity of current approaches to protecting

health and the environment and or raise other serious social and ethical

questions that must be addressed. "

 

The report suggests that the farmer be allowed to use the seed of a GE crop or

the offspring of a GE animal for his or her own use but not for commercial

purposes.

 

Better yet, in December 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the

genetically engineered Harvard oncomouse is not patentable (see " Canada rejects

patents on higher forms of life " , ISIS Report, March 2003 ). This opens the

door to revoking patents on GM seeds, such as Monsanto’s Roundup Ready canola.

This could be the last nudge to get GM crops off our globe.

 

Help Percy fight Monsanto and get patents on life revoked for a GM-Free world.

Make a donation on his website: www.percyschmeiser.com

 

 

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General Enquiries sam

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