Monsanto is once again in the courts, this time over a patent infringement issue. The company is accusing an Indiana farmer of using Monsanto soybean seeds without the proper authorization. Monsanto Co. won the case against farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman in a Federal Circuit appeals court.
Bowman has appealed to the Supreme Court, which has consented to hear the case.
The genetically modified seeds manufactured by Monsanto - which are Roundup Ready and resistant to herbicides - are engineered in such a way that a farmer has to buy new seeds for each planting. Bowman used seeds from a previous planting, going against license agreements and creating a new batch of herbicide-resistant seeds. Monsanto requires the farmer's assurance that he would not use a second-generation seed.
According to Sustainable Business, Monsanto does this because the Roundup resistance is replicated in each generation of seeds - if farmers can use the second-generation seeds, it will lose a huge source of revenue.
Bowman has been buying cheaper soybean seeds from a grain elevator which accepts harvests from farmers who use Monsanto seeds. He claims that the seeds were no longer under the patents law because they were bought from an elevator, and were not a part of his own harvest.
Monsanto is currently heavily involved in stopping Proposition 37, which requires the labeling of GM food in California. So far, the company has invested more than $12 million in 'No on 37', the anti-Prop 37 coalition.
Monsanto is joined by DuPont, another seed company, and others like Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., and so on. Together, they have invested more than $30 million in launching media campaigns to convince consumers that labeling can result in a food price hike.
The opposition, on the other hand, has managed to pull in an investment of $4 million, and has the support of almost 90 percent of Californians.
Monsanto and the Indian Farmer
A documentary movie has accused Monsanto of being responsible for farmer suicides in India.
In his documentary, "Bitter Seeds", film-maker Micha X Peled accuses Monsanto's GM seeds as a cause of farmer suicides in India, reports First Post. Monsanto's non-renewable seeds, which are at the core of the Bowman patents infringement case, have forced many farmers in India to the brink of bankruptcy. They cannot afford to buy a new batch every year. Moreover, Monsanto seeds require more water and fertilizers than the farmers can provide.
Monsanto's aggressive marketing has resulted in a phaseout of local varieties of seeds in many parts of India. The farmers have no choice but to buy the GM seeds, according to First Post.
No matter which country it may be located in, Monsanto Co. is definitely not making many friends.
