Organic growers lose decision in suit versus Monsanto over seeds

Organic growers lose decision in suit versus Monsanto over seeds

www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - Monsanto Co. on Monday won another round in a legal battle with U.S. organic growers as an appeals court threw out the growers' efforts to stop the company from suing farmers if traces of its patented biotech genes are found in crops.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous ruling that found organic growers had no reason to try to block Monsanto from suing them as the company had pledged it would not take them to court if biotech crops accidentally mix in with organics.

In its ruling Monday, the appellate court said the organic growers must rely on Monsanto assurances on the company's website that it will not sue them so long as the mix is very slight.

(visit the link for the full news article)

It sure looks like money talks and farmers walk. I guess when you have deep pockets like Monsanto rulings will almost always sway in your favor.

Monsanto seems to be able to spin whatever type of story they deem in a court of law.

I wonder if anyone has the links/PDF's to the rulings for this case.

In its ruling Monday, the appellate court said the organic growers must rely on Monsanto assurances on the company's website that it will not sue them so long as the mix is very slight.

So farmers will have to bow down to Monsanto and hope they will not sue them? wth!


What are your thoughts ATS members?

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Realtruth


This is why you can not even trust the darn courts in this country anymore along with the governmente they are all whores to big interest, our nation is nothing but a nest of corruption and dirty money

Monspanto have lots of dirty money to go around, I wonder if their affiliations to NSA give them leverage to blackmail the judges in order to get rulings on their favor but nah is all about the money.

Crocks all nothing but darn crocks.

Corrupt politicians, corrupt judges, corrupt corporations. Where once was the greatest country in the world, now is just another festering sore of corruption on the planets surface.

Day by day whatever might be left of my faith in America dwindles.

reply to post by marg6043



Marg,

I swear rulings like this and everything else that is going on is almost fricken surreal.

Maybe I am just over-reacting and these types of rulings are ok and we should just trust our court system.

So organic farmers are worried about being sued by Monsanto if their crops get contaminated by GMO seeds. Shouldn't they also be worried about being sued by consumers who were eating their crops labeled as "Organic" only to find out they were GMO?

Originally posted by Carreau
So organic farmers are worried about being sued by Monsanto if their crops get contaminated by GMO seeds. Shouldn't they also be worried about being sued by consumers who were eating their crops labeled as "Organic" only to find out they were GMO?

Good point.

The slippery slope effect here will stop at the farmers, so yes they can get sued, but you can bet your behind Monsanto will have immunity.

Fun stuff huh?

reply to post by Realtruth


It is about money our nation is now a nation for sell corporation can buy anything as long as they provide the highest bid.

Courts are the same, judges are human and also easy to corrupt.

DRILL DRILL DRILL

please disperse
This is an unauthorised gathering of anti government sentiment
We are here for your protection
As leader said
"If you can't trust us ......we're gonna have some problems"
This includes our judicial system

Thank you for your co-operation

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Everything's bought and paid for
Face it
We're all screwed

I do not trust the court system for good reason. It amazes how far Monsanto can go with their quest to dominate the market. It goes to show that the courts will rule in favor of who has the money.

Unless we can right the ship, she'll go down. Another day passes and another court ruling takes us one step closer to a full blown tyranny.

Originally posted by Realtruth
It sure looks like money talks and farmers walk.

Did you bother to do any research at all before you started this thread? This, as the article says, is an appeal of a court decision that has been discussed on ATS before.

TextThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous ruling that found organic growers had no reason to try to block Monsanto from suing them as the company had pledged it would not take them to court if biotech crops accidentally mix in with organics.

The issue revolves around the hypothetical example of Monsanto suing organic growers for copyright violation, at some undefined time in the future.

1. The court agrees that you cant sue somebody for something that they may possibly do in the future.
2. The court agrees that it cannot make a decision on a case that may happen in the future.
3. The Organic growers, depite arguing for the contamination issue, could not provide a single example of any case where the "suing" issue has ever occurred in the past.

Thus, the court agreeing that it cant be a mind reader or future time traveller, is a very sound one.

Originally posted by Carreau
So organic farmers are worried about being sued by Monsanto if their crops get contaminated by GMO seeds.

Yes, apparently they are worried about this.

BUT you cannot get courts to make decisions on things that havnt happened yet.

Example: I'm worried that my next door neightbour might shoot me.
1. He's never shot anyone before.
2. He has stated many times he has no intention of shooting me.
3. I cant provide any evidence that he has ever shot anyone or ever intends to do so.

Q: How do you think it would look if I asked a court to make a ruling against him for shooting me?
No, the court would dismiss it. As it should.

reply to post by alfa1


Monsanto has sued farmers and have taken farms watch Food Inc.

I do not have time to link you actual cases where Monsanto won against a small farm, they are out there.

You sound like a disInfo agent attempting damage control on Monsanto's behalf.

Originally posted by alfa1

Did you bother to do any research at all before you started this thread? This, as the article says, is an appeal of a court decision that has been discussed on ATS before.

Yes, and that's wonderful that is has been discussed on ATS before.

But it's OK for Monsanto to try to slip immunity in for themselves.

mysticpolitics.com...

Monsanto to Gain Immunity from Federal Law?

The Secretary of Agriculture would be required to grant a permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, regardless of environmental impact. While many Americans were firing up barbecues and breaking out the sparklers to celebrate Independence Day, biotech industry executives were more likely chilling champagne to celebrate another kind of independence: immunity from federal law. A so-called “Monsanto rider,” quietly slipped into the multi-billion dollar FY 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill, would require – not just allow, but require – the Secretary of Agriculture to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed. All the farmer or the biotech producer has to do is ask, and the questionable crops could be released into the environment where they could potentially contaminate conventional or organic crops and, ultimately, the nation’s food supply.

For those people who wish to get past the HEADLINES and do some background reading on this case, then this link is the pdf of the previous court decision that this current appeals court upheld.

Plaintiffs have not alleged that any of them have actually grown or sold contaminated seed

At most they allege that they “could . . . be accused of patent infringement in the near future if and when they become contaminated by Monsanto’s transgenic seed.”

This is the same sort of intangible worry, unanchored in time, that the Federal Circuit has found “insufficient to support an ‘actual or imminent’ injury for standing without any specification of when the some day will be.

reply to post by alfa1


Judging by all of your previous post it appears you are a big supporter of Monsanto, since most of us stand on the opposite side.

Kudos to you and your efforts.

Originally posted by jrod
Monsanto has sued farmers and have taken farms watch Food Inc.

I do not have time to link you actual cases where Monsanto won against a small farm, they are out there.

Yes they are out there.
Yes this has happened.
BUT these are not examples of "wind blown contamination" that this specific court case is about.
Even the organic growers could not put forward any such example in court. Read the pdf file from my previous post.

Originally posted by jrod
You sound like a disInfo agent attempting damage control on Monsanto's behalf.

As I've said before

Oh, the classic old "ad hominem" argument surfaces.
Its much like Godwins laws, but for GMO discussions.

"As an online GMO discussion grows longer, the probability somebody being told they must work for Monsanto approaches 1."

reply to post by alfa1


I don't know why you responded to me like I was defending this court case, I wasn't. I only care about proper labeling. If it's labelled "Organic" I want it to be 100%. If it's GMO I want it labeled as well. I said in the very next line of my post that farmers should be worried about being sued by consumers over false labels not a "it could happen" Monsanto scenario.

Originally posted by Realtruth
Judging by all of your previous post it appears you are a big supporter of Monsanto, since most of us stand on the opposite side.

As I've said before, I'm on the side of truth and reality, not hyperbole and sensationalism.

To quote some previous postings of mine:

I dont care about Monsanto. They can burn in hell as far I'm concerned. Their factories can burn down, fall over and sink into swamps. I'm only interested in the reality of the situation when it comes to discussions like the one we're having. What actually happened. Not fiction.

Every time the topic of GMO crops comes up on ATS, I keep saying the same thing. There should be easily enough material available on what evil the corporations have ACTUALLY done that there should be no need to invent bogus falsehoods to throw at them as well.

Originally posted by Realtruth
But it's OK for Monsanto to try to slip immunity in for themselves.

mysticpolitics.com...

Good point.
THAT is one of the many things that people should be attacking Monsanto for.

Too bad you had to completely abandon the topic of this thread to make that good point though.