Monsanto Wins Case on Genetically Altered Soybeans

[alp227]

Source: New York Times

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that farmers could not use Monsanto’s patented genetically altered soybeans to create new seeds without paying the company a fee.

The ruling has implications for many aspects of modern agriculture and for businesses based on vaccines, cell lines and software. But Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, emphasized that the justices intended the decision to be narrow.

"Our holding today is limited — addressing the situation before us, rather than every one involving a self-replicating product," she wrote. "We recognize that such inventions are becoming ever more prevalent, complex, and diverse. In another case, the article’s self-replication might occur outside the purchaser’s control. Or it might be a necessary but incidental step in using the item for another purpose.”

But Justice Kagan had little difficulty ruling that an Indiana farmer’s conduct had run afoul of the patent law.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/business/monsanto-victorious-in-genetic-seed-case.html

[onehandle]

1. Where can you buy these soybeans?

I can only find Chinese edamame.

[KamaAina]

7. You don't want 'em

the whole purpose behind "Roundup Ready" is to allow farmers to hose an entire field down with Monsatan's Roundup herbicide, which kills everything in sight except the genetically altered soybeans.

[Javaman]

12. And then this happens...

Herbicide-Resistant 'Super Weeds' Increasingly Plaguing Farmers

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/10/19/herbicide-resistant-super-weeds-increasingly-plaguing-farmers

Disease-causing bacteria isn't the only place where humans are fighting a losing battle against rapid evolution: Farmers across the country are increasingly finding it difficult to kill "super weeds" as they become resistant to the most popular herbicides.


When "Roundup ready" crops became popular in the mid 1990s, farmers were enamored with the genetically-modified seeds built to withstand glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the most popular commercial weed killer. But after years of constant exposure, certain invasive plants have also developed a resistance, leading farmers to use more of the chemical. In some cases, the weeds have grown completely tolerant to the chemical, giving farmers fits.

"I was talking to a farmer from Arkansas and he's got weeds that are now eight feet tall, they're the diameter of my wrist, and they can stop a combine in its tracks," says Gary Hirshberg, chairman of Just Label It, an organization fighting for mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods. "The only way they can stop them is to go in there with machetes and hack them out."

The problem is most pronounced in the southeast where farmers have been growing "Roundup ready," cotton for years, according to Charles Benbrook, a Washington State University researcher who studies herbicide use. Farmers who grow genetically modified crops use about 25 percent more herbicides than farmers who use traditional seeds, he says. It's no different than the overuse of antibiotics that has led to resistance from bugs such as gonorrhea in the past year.

More at link...

[Bay Boy]

27. This doesn't sound right to me...

The problem is most pronounced in the southeast where farmers have been growing "Roundup ready," cotton for years, according to Charles Benbrook, a Washington State University researcher who studies herbicide use. Farmers who grow genetically modified crops use about 25 percent more herbicides than farmers who use traditional seeds, he says. It's no different than the overuse of antibiotics that has led to resistance from bugs such as gonorrhea in the past year.

From my experience you use less herbicide when using roundup not more. Less dangerous stuff too.

[Javaman]

31. I can give you dozens more links if you like? nt

[ag_dude]

21. It's a herbicide.

If you want to kill insects you have to spray with something else.

[Javaman]

32. cause and effect.

you use that round up crap, you are going to get superweeds. so then what? build a bigger bomb? Where does it end? It doesn't.

I know plenty of organic famers that don't use herbicides or pesticides and do just fine.

[Bay Boy]

34. Are there large scale organic farmers?

My impression is that they are mostly vegetable farmers for the local farmer's markets.

[Javaman]

38. it depends on what you consider large scale...

I have two friends one farms 40 acres and the other 75.

They are doing great.

[Bay Boy]

39. In today's world that is small...

...what do they grow and where do they sell it?

I'm not aware of organic farmers who grow say corn or soybeans to sell down at the local farm co-op or elevator.

[Javaman]

40. In tomorrows world, that will be normal.

[Bay Boy]

41. I think you need to expand on that thought...

...it's an interesting comment.

[ag_dude]

45. Not sure why you replied to me.

I was replying to the statement that Roundup "kills everything in sight".

It doesn't do anything to pests.

[BlueToTheBone]

22. Almost all soybeans in the world are GMO

Even edamame.

[carla]

23. I am an organic farmer

and I grow edamame soybeans from heirloom seeds. NOT ALL soybeans are GMO. Truthfully, the amount is very high, nearly 95%. But there remain unaltered stocks of soy and corn and many vegetables. Want to fight the good fight? Cultivate your own crops, save your own seeds, start a seed exchange with other gardeners and farmers and interested parties. We can beat Monsatan if we choose wisely and do our part to re-democratize agriculture. Join me, please, I can't do it alone.

[BlueToTheBone]

25. Welcome to DU

and I realize that there are a few organic farmers who have escaped the GMOs and I'm happy to hear you have too. I don't have enough land to farm but do grow much of my own food, buy from local farmers and try to leave as much corp food in the stores as possible. I doubt though that gmo will go away. Commercial farmers the world over hate "weeds" and can't understand weed suppression rather than elimination. Sad all that.

[lunasun]

28. March against Monsanto all over the world May 25,2013

state capitals, town halls here in NA,and world wide Africa Europe Asia SA Australia
//www.facebook.com/MarchAgainstMonstanto
or
http://www.march-against-monsanto.com

An organizer for the march in Athens, Greece, Roberta Gogos, spoke about the importance of the events in austerity-impacted South Europe. “Monsanto is working very hard to overturn EU regulation on obligatory labeling (questionable whether it's really enforced in any case), and no doubt they will have their way in the end. Greece is in a precarious position right now, and Greece's farmers falling prey to the petrochemical giant is a very real possibility.”

Josh Castro, organizer for Quito, says he wants to protect Ecuador against Monsanto’s influence, too. “Ecuador is such a beautiful place, with the richest biodiversity in the world. We will not allow this Garden of Eden to be compromised by evil multinational corporations like Monsanto. Biotechnology is not the solution to world hunger. Agroecology is.”

[Kelvin Mace]

2. Another win

for Monsatan.

[tavalon]

4. Ha!

I thought you misspelled. I like that. I think I would capitalize the s for clarity but otherwise, kudos. They are the meanest corporation on the block.

[tavalon]

3. I'm glad I switched to Almond Milk

I really, really hate Monsanto and I don't trust GMOs. I think we are playing with technology before we know the longterm results for consumption. It may be fine but no data yet, and likely not ever in my lifetime. I play guinea pig plenty, I'll not do it for Monsanto. Soy milk was the only soy product I used in any great amount.

[kentauros]

5. If you have a blender, you can make your own almond milk.

I don't know how cost-effective it is, but when I make it with my VitaMix, I don't strain out the pulp. Then again, I use a lower almond to water ratio (1 part almonds to 8 parts water) due to not straining the pulverized almonds. It tastes just as good, though you do have to stir the mixture if you don't use it all right away.

And you can make milk from any of the nuts

[Poll_Blind]

6. This is one of those fake-out cases where you think it's going to mean something big but...

...when all the dust settles, the issue isn't the crux of the matter but some rather thin sliver, only tangentially related to the bigger issue of, in this case, self-replicating seeds. I realize many cases are like this but I'm surprised that the Supreme Court even heard the appeal. I'm also surprised this Indiana farmer was able to legally battle it out with Monsanto for five years and eventually able to retain the services of an attorney in Washington state to argue the case in front of the Supreme Court. Maybe the lawer did it for free- it's his field and who wouldn't want a chance to argue before The Court?

But, still, for the bulk of those five years it's hard to imagine legal counsel would advise the pursuit of this case (on the farmer's part) as a course of action likely to lead to success.

Meh.

It may be that the court is hoping to eventually drop their balls on this issue and so took on this case in order to have a well-rounded series of opinions for when they deal with the bigger issues later.

PB

[msanthrope]

37. The patent issue, as opposed to Monsanto, was the reason the case was taken. It doesn't fit the

meme here, but it has very little to do with Monsanto, and very much to do with how patent theory is evolving.

[pinto]

8. Kick (nt)

[bemildred]

9. Sorry.

[pinto]

10. No biggie.

[midnight]

11. Farmers should boycott Monsanto....

[Buzz Clik]

18. They will...

... just as soon as they no longer desire Monsanto's products.

[NickB79]

20. And buy seeds from who else?

Cargill? Syngenta?

Every major seed producer these days sells a product similar to Monsanto, and would fight a similar case in court.

There are precious few suppliers of non-hybrid and non-GM seeds left in the US, and they have their hands full supplying the organic farmers these days.

[midnight]

26. For the farmers sake, and ours, I hope this changes....

[The Stranger]

13. If theyh were going to affirm, why even take the case?

The whole "limited" opinion is bullshit.

Any time they write, anyone and everyone is going to use it to their advantage.

Why do that for Monsanto?

[proverbialwisdom]

14. Disgraceful.

Multiple embedded links at DK.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/13/1208838/-Supreme-Court-and-Monsanto-Kick-75-Year-Old-Farmer-Squarely-in-the-Beans#

Mon May 13, 2013 at 12:45 PM PDT.
Supreme Court and Monsanto Kick 75 Year-Old Farmer Squarely in the Beans


Today the Supreme Court sided with Monsanto in a case against a 75 year-old farmer in Indiana who was charged with planting Monsanto's proprietary seeds without paying a fee.

Vernon Hugh Bowman bought the seeds at a grain elevator which sold soybeans for other purposes (animal feed for example) than planting. Then he planted them.

Monsanto contended that Bowman's actions violated its patents and sued him in 2007, seeking $84,000 in damages. Monsanto won the case in district court in 2009, and Bowman appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Bowman's argument was that once he purchased the seeds, he was free to do whatever he wanted with them.

Bowman is hardly the first to be targeted by Monsanto lawyers. The company devotes $10 million a year and 75 staff members to "investigating and prosecuting farmers."

Monsanto has won every single court case of copyright infringement it has pursued against farmers.

<>

Here's another case in the pipeline.

http://fooddemocracynow.org/farmers-vs-monsanto/

A Brief History: OSGATA vs Monsanto


Family farmers and farm organizations originally filed a lawsuit against Monsanto in March 2011 in an effort to invalidate Monsanto’s patents and protect organic and non-GMO family farmers from unwanted genetic contamination of their crops and from Monsanto’s aggressive patent infringement lawsuits.

Monsanto filed a motion to dismiss the case, which was heard in Federal District Court in New York City on January 31st, 2012. In February 2012, Federal Judge Naomi Buchwald dismissed the case, ruling that the farmers lacked legal standing regarding the concerns over genetic contamination and resulting economic harm.

In March 2012, Plaintiffs appealed the District Court's decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which scheduled oral argument in the case to be heard on January 10, 2013.

Lawyers from the Public Patent Foundation, who are representing the farmers have identified numerous reversible legal and factual errors committed by the judge which they assert caused her to mistakenly dismiss the case.

What’s at Stake

OSGATA vs Monsanto is a landmark legal case attempting to protect family farmers from Monsanto’s aggressive patent infringement lawsuits and unwanted genetic contamination that results when Monsanto’s patented, GMO pollen blowing across farmer’s fences and contaminates their crops against their wishes. In an effort to enforce their legal patents on their genetically engineered genes, Monsanto regularly sends their seed police out in rural America to trespass on farmer’s fields and steal their plants to take them back to their labs for testing.

Since 1997, one year after the approval of Monsanto’s GMO Roundup Ready soybeans, the world’s leading chemical and biotech seed company admits to filing 150 lawsuits against America’s family farmers, while settling another 700 out of court for undisclosed amounts. During this time, Monsanto has investigated an average of more than 500 family farmers each year.

Due to these aggressive lawsuits and investigations, Monsanto has created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy.

<>

[Buzz Clik]

19. The Osgata suit is the one that annoys me to no end.

Monsanto is being nothing short of predatory in that case and those similar (arbitrary contamination by GMO genes). It's hard to conceive how they win these suits if the farmers' claims are true.

[carla]

24. Sad

but true. That is why I say we must fight this menace with other means. Boycotts for a start, find the list of companies owned by Monsatan and REFUSE to buy from ANY of them. The info is online... https://www.facebook.com/OurAscension/posts/262403463840448.
Next, start a garden with heirloom seeds from one of the many small, organic seed producers/farmers exchanges (Corpus Christi Farmers Market has a Facebook page and they have excellent resources for seeds). Even if you can only grow a gutterful of something, the fact of seed-saving and exchange will begin to level the field. 3rd, avoid buying mainstream seeds from the BIG guys. It is a guaranteed way to get them to consider their policies. And, finally, WRITE LETTERS to all parties involved expressing your support for organicism or your rejection of GMO crops. Good luck, do what you can and keep the faith. We CAN beat them.

[Tippy]

16. When this all started....It was sad...Monsanto had the money behind them

They made a lot of promises in the early days, all the farmers wanted was increase ther yield...They painted a bright picture....I guess todays mega farms are doing ok but the little guys are almost a thing of the past....

[Moondog]

17. This really is an extraordinarily narrow ruling.

And, if Congress dislikes it, they have the power to prospectively alter it via the legislative process.

I sincerely doubt that they will do so.

[lunasun]

29. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court,I see

Remember when Kagan submitted a "friend of the court" brief to the Supreme Court in favor of Monsanto's appeal in Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms case? That did not thrill me back then

As Solicitor General, Kagan was supposed to represent the interests of the American people in matters that come before the Supreme Court. Instead, she went to bat for Monsanto....

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/05/elena-kagan-toward-a-pro-gm-supreme-court/56587/
Kagan's office interceded on Monsanto's behalf even though the government was not a defendant in the appeal.
The original suit was brought by Geertson Seed Farms and a collection of environmental groups, who claimed that pollen from Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa could contaminate neighboring plots of conventional alfalfa, causing irreparable harm to Geertson's non-GMO business.

[Freddie Stubbs]

36. And she managed to hoodwink poor Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor into agreeing with her

It appears that this was a no-brainer, as the opinion of the court was unanimous. All of the liberals agreed with all of the conservatives.

It's the job of the court to rule on cases abiding by the laws that Congress has enacted, not the laws that some people wish Congress had enacted.

[midnight]

30. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, Monsanto has the right to control our food supply.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/16348-on-the-news-with-thom-hartmannaccording-to-scotus-m

[onenote]

33. That's a rather bizarre claim to make based on this case

The plaintiff in this case wanted to use Monsanto's seeds. Nothing is stopping him from using non-Monsanto seed.

[midnight]

35. Based on conversations up thread, many farmers don't have much of a choice... So I don't know how

this claim is so bizarre?

[onenote]

42. he deliberately tried to cull out the non-monsanto seed so he only would have monsanto seed.

How does that equate to the Supreme Court saying Monsanto can control the food supply. Nothing in the decision says that Monsanto can force someone to use their products.

[midnight]

43. Maybe you don't think once this farmer pays for the seed it's his to do with what he wants...

[onenote]

44. Doesn't matter what I think. Every SCOTUS justice agrees that its not under the current patent law.

If you want to blame me for the current patent law, feel free, although I had absolutely no more to do with it than you.

[midnight]

46. What you think matters....

"I think all [...] farmers and citizens should be concerned," said Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA).

OSGATA along with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is embroiled in a similar suit against the seed giant. The organic groups are suing Monsanto in a "pre-emptive strike" on behalf of organic farmers to protect against accusations of patent infringement in the case that their organic crops become contaminated by genetically modified (GM) seeds.

Such contamination can easily occur when GM seeds or pollen are carried by winds or pollinators to adjacent organic farm fields.

According to Gerritsen, since 1997 Monsanto has sued or settled in court with over 844 family farms over alleged infringement after their seeds spread to nearby farms, the Portland (ME) Press Herald reports.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/05/14-6