Monsanto Sues Farmer Who Says He Never Bought Roundup Ready Seed

Monsanto Sues Farmer Who Says He Never Bought Roundup Ready Seed CROPS Miscellaneous 23-3-5 Percy Schmeiser, Bruno, Sask., is one of approximately 525 farmers in the U.S. and Canada who have been sued by Monsanto for allegedly replanting the company's patented, gene-altered seeds. What makes Schmeiser's case unusual is that he denies ever having bought seed from Monsanto, claiming that pollen or seed must have blown onto his farm, possibly from a neighbor's farm. Monsanto's crop-testing detectives took a sample of crops from Schmeiser's farm. When they detected Roundup Ready canola and found no record that Schmeiser had ever purchased seed, they sued. The problem, Schmeiser says, is that there are a lot of plants in the area with Monsanto's gene in them. Roundup Ready pollen from other fields is blowing everywhere in the wind, he says, and he's also seen big brown clouds of canola seed blowing off loaded trucks as they speed down the road around harvest time - spilling more than enough to incriminate an innocent farmer. Schmeiser's attorney, Terry J. Zekreski, says Monsanto is trying to "own a piece of Mother nature that naturally spreads itself around". Most of the farmers already sued by Monsanto have been paying customers who signed an agreement that they would not save seed from year to year. Schmeiser's is one of the first cases where the company is going after a non-paying customer. (Excerpted from the Washington Post)

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