Thirty-one family farmers, plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit OSGATA et al v. Monsanto, travelled to Washington, DC from across America to attend the US Appeals Court hearing and protest on January 10 to demand the right to farm without the threat harassment by the world’s largest biotech seed company, according to Food Democracy Now, an NGO that supports sustainable food production.
Monsanto has sued or settled in court with more than 844 family farms since 1997 years over ‘patent infringement’ after their seeds naturally spread to nearby farms.
“Family farmers need and deserve the right to farm. We have a right to grow good food and good seed for our families and our communities without the threat of trespass and intimidation,” Jim Gerritsen, an organic potato farmer from Maine, and representing OSGATA, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit told the enthusiastic crowd. “We need Court protection so that our families will be able to carry on our farming tradition and help keep America strong,” said Gerritsen.
The following is a brief history, provided by Food Democracy Now:
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.
For more information, please check out Food Democracy Now.
A look at the issue – January 2012
