Monsanto and its food patents may be the most important issue at the center of the new food movement. The powerful company has singlehandedly transformed farming into what it is today. For those who do not know, here is the basic situation is this: Monsanto produces genetically modified seeds, notably Round-Up Ready Soybeans, which are bred to be resistant to pests and disease. Because they are genetically modified Monsanto claims the seeds as intellectual property meaning that farmers cannot save seeds from year to year, but must buy new seeds every season. Further problems arise when genes from Monsanto plants drift into non-Monsanto crops, in which case Monsanto claims them as intellectual property.
A number of court cases have brought up against Monsanto, however, its tactics have always been upheld as legal. However, for the first time the Supreme Court will look at a case of an Indiana Farmer vs. Monsanto. Many claim that Monsanto constitutes a monopoly of the seed market, and it is possible that the Supreme Court ruling will result in significant policy change.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/16/162949288/farmer-tackling-monsantos-seed-policy-gets-a-day-in-supreme-court
No comments:
Post a Comment