4 ms·

There's a documentary on Netflix called Food, Inc. that goes into Monsanto's vendetta against farmers, suing them for intellectual property theft if their GMO s

There's a documentary on Netflix called Food, Inc. that goes into Monsanto's vendetta against farmers, suing them for intellectual property theft if their GMO seeds blow into their fields from a neighbors field. The entire documentary made me very sad because I could not think of any solution

vikramkr 6y ago
While GMO regulation is a tough issue, this post has nothing to do with GMOs - the grapes in the post are under a standard plant patent and are non bioengineered.
gruez 6y ago
>There's a documentary on Netflix called Food, Inc. that goes into Monsanto's vendetta against farmers, suing them for intellectual property theft if their GMO seeds blow into their fields from a neighbors field. AFAIK that's not an accurate depiction of what monsanto has been doing. According to wikipedia[1] monsanto says they won't "exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seed or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertent means". I'm not sure what the exact that was discussed in the documentary, but the ones mentioned in the wikipedia article all have elements of the farmer doing something intentionally, eg. >The case began in 2007, when Monsanto sued Indiana farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman who in 1999 bought seed for his second planting from a grain elevator – the same elevator to which he and others sold their transgenic crops.[17] The elevator sold the soybeans as commodities, not as seeds for planting.[17][18] Bowman tested the new seeds, and found that ,as he had expected, some were resistant to glyphosate. He intentionally replanted his harvest of GM seeds in subsequent years, supplementing them with more soybeans he bought at the elevator. [...] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_legal_cases#As_plaintiff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_legal_cases#As_plaint...
- Dylan16807 6y ago
  > According to wikipedia[1] monsanto says they won't "exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seed or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertent means". Well that's telling, in that they still claim to have the right to shut down such a farmer.
  - bluGill 6y ago
    They can try to claim that right, but they are smart enough to know that courts will see through that argument and so they won't try.
pfdietz 6y ago
There is a whole lot of BS that goes around about what Monsanto supposedly did to poor wittle innocent farmers that's really just a tissue of lies. It's remarkable how widespread this noxious slander has been.
- berkes 6y ago
  Looking at your comment history, I cannot but wonder: 'are you paid by Monsanto?'. And if not, what are your stakes that make you defend them this fierce?
  - pfdietz 6y ago
    No, I'm not paid anything by Monsanto. I am simply outraged at the utter mendacity (or idiocy) of those propagating falsehoods about what happened.

vikramkr 6y ago

While GMO regulation is a tough issue, this post has nothing to do with GMOs - the grapes in the post are under a standard plant patent and are non bioengineered.

gruez 6y ago

>There's a documentary on Netflix called Food, Inc. that goes into Monsanto's vendetta against farmers, suing them for intellectual property theft if their GMO seeds blow into their fields from a neighbors field. AFAIK that's not an accurate depiction of what monsanto has been doing. According to wikipedia[1] monsanto says they won't "exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seed or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertent means". I'm not sure what the exact that was discussed in the documentary, but the ones mentioned in the wikipedia article all have elements of the farmer doing something intentionally, eg. >The case began in 2007, when Monsanto sued Indiana farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman who in 1999 bought seed for his second planting from a grain elevator – the same elevator to which he and others sold their transgenic crops.[17] The elevator sold the soybeans as commodities, not as seeds for planting.[17][18] Bowman tested the new seeds, and found that ,as he had expected, some were resistant to glyphosate. He intentionally replanted his harvest of GM seeds in subsequent years, supplementing them with more soybeans he bought at the elevator. [...] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_legal_cases#As_plaintiff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_legal_cases#As_plaint...

Dylan16807 6y ago
> According to wikipedia[1] monsanto says they won't "exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seed or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertent means". Well that's telling, in that they still claim to have the right to shut down such a farmer.
- bluGill 6y ago
  They can try to claim that right, but they are smart enough to know that courts will see through that argument and so they won't try.

pfdietz 6y ago

There is a whole lot of BS that goes around about what Monsanto supposedly did to poor wittle innocent farmers that's really just a tissue of lies. It's remarkable how widespread this noxious slander has been.

berkes 6y ago
Looking at your comment history, I cannot but wonder: 'are you paid by Monsanto?'. And if not, what are your stakes that make you defend them this fierce?
- pfdietz 6y ago
  No, I'm not paid anything by Monsanto. I am simply outraged at the utter mendacity (or idiocy) of those propagating falsehoods about what happened.