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Title: Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear
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URL Source: http://warofillusions.wordpress.com/
Published: May 1, 2008
Author: Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele
Post Date: 2008-11-29 13:08:32 by OliviaFNewton
Keywords: Monsanto, seeds, RoundupReady, milk
Views: 251
Comments: 19
Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination. by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele May 2008 No thanks: An anti-Monsanto crop circle made by farmers and volunteers in the Philippines. By Melvyn Calderon/Greenpeace HO/A.P. Images. Gary Rinehart clearly remembers the summer day in 2002 when the stranger walked in and issued his threat. Rinehart was behind the counter of the Square Deal, his “old-time country store,” as he calls it, on the fading town square of Eagleville, Missouri, a tiny farm community 100 miles north of Kansas City. The Square Deal is a fixture in Eagleville, a place where farmers and townspeople can go for lightbulbs, greeting cards, hunting gear, ice cream, aspirin, and dozens of other small items without having to drive to a big-box store in Bethany, the county seat, 15 miles down Interstate 35. Everyone knows Rinehart, who was born and raised in the area and runs one of Eagleville’s few surviving businesses. The stranger came up to the counter and asked for him by name. “Well, that’s me,” said Rinehart. As Rinehart would recall, the man began verbally attacking him, saying he had proof that Rinehart had planted Monsanto’s genetically modified (G.M.) soybeans in violation of the company’s patent. Better come clean and settle with Monsanto, Rinehart says the man told him—or face the consequences. Rinehart was incredulous, listening to the words as puzzled customers and employees looked on. Like many others in rural America, Rinehart knew of Monsanto’s fierce reputation for enforcing its patents and suing anyone who allegedly violated them. But Rinehart wasn’t a farmer. He wasn’t a seed dealer. He hadn’t planted any seeds or sold any seeds. He owned a small—a really small—country store in a town of 350 people. He was angry that somebody could just barge into the store and embarrass him in front of everyone. “It made me and my business look bad,” he says. Rinehart says he told the intruder, “You got the wrong guy.” When the stranger persisted, Rinehart showed him the door. On the way out the man kept making threats. Rinehart says he can’t remember the exact words, but they were to the effect of: “Monsanto is big. You can’t win. We will get you. You will pay.” Scenes like this are playing out in many parts of rural America these days as Monsanto goes after farmers, farmers’ co-ops, seed dealers—anyone it suspects may have infringed its patents of genetically modified seeds. As interviews and reams of court documents reveal, Monsanto relies on a shadowy army of private investigators and agents in the American heartland to strike fear into farm country. They fan out into fields and farm towns, where they secretly videotape and photograph farmers, store owners, and co-ops; infiltrate community meetings; and gather information from informants about farming activities. Farmers say that some Monsanto agents pretend to be surveyors. Others confront farmers on their land and try to pressure them to sign papers giving Monsanto access to their private records. Farmers call them the “seed police” and use words such as “Gestapo” and “Mafia” to describe their tactics. When asked about these practices, Monsanto declined to comment specifically, other than to say that the company is simply protecting its patents. “Monsanto spends more than $2 million a day in research to identify, test, develop and bring to market innovative new seeds and technologies that benefit farmers,” Monsanto spokesman Darren Wallis wrote in an e-mailed letter to Vanity Fair. “One tool in protecting this investment is patenting our discoveries and, if necessary, legally defending those patents against those who might choose to infringe upon them.” Wallis said that, while the vast majority of farmers and seed dealers follow the licensing agreements, “a tiny fraction” do not, and that Monsanto is obligated to those who do abide by its rules to enforce its patent rights on those who “reap the benefits of the technology without paying for its use.” He said only a small number of cases ever go to trial. Some compare Monsanto’s hard-line approach to Microsoft’s zealous efforts to protect its software from pirates. At least with Microsoft the buyer of a program can use it over and over again. But farmers who buy Monsanto’s seeds can’t even do that. The Control of Nature For centuries—millennia—farmers have saved seeds from season to season: they planted in the spring, harvested in the fall, then reclaimed and cleaned the seeds over the winter for re-planting the next spring. Monsanto has turned this ancient practice on its head. Monsanto developed G.M. seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup, offering farmers a convenient way to spray fields with weed killer without affecting crops. Monsanto then patented the seeds. For nearly all of its history the United States Patent and Trademark Office had refused to grant patents on seeds, viewing them as life-forms with too many variables to be patented. “It’s not like describing a widget,” says Joseph Mendelson III, the legal director of the Center for Food Safety, which has tracked Monsanto’s activities in rural America for years. Indeed not. But in 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a five-to-four decision, turned seeds into widgets, laying the groundwork for a handful of corporations to begin taking control of the world’s food supply. In its decision, the court extended patent law to cover “a live human-made microorganism.” In this case, the organism wasn’t even a seed. Rather, it was a Pseudomonas bacterium developed by a General Electric scientist to clean up oil spills. But the precedent was set, and Monsanto took advantage of it. Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds are required to sign an agreement promising not to save the seed produced after each harvest for re-planting, or to sell the seed to other farmers. This means that farmers must buy new seed every year. Those increased sales, coupled with ballooning sales of its Roundup weed killer, have been a bonanza for Monsanto. This radical departure from age-old practice has created turmoil in farm country. Some farmers don’t fully understand that they aren’t supposed to save Monsanto’s seeds for next year’s planting. Others do, but ignore the stipulation rather than throw away a perfectly usable product. Still others say that they don’t use Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds, but seeds have been blown into their fields by wind or deposited by birds. It’s certainly easy for G.M. seeds to get mixed in with traditional varieties when seeds are cleaned by commercial dealers for re-planting. The seeds look identical; only a laboratory analysis can show the difference. Even if a farmer doesn’t buy G.M. seeds and doesn’t want them on his land, it’s a safe bet he’ll get a visit from Monsanto’s seed police if crops grown from G.M. seeds are discovered in his fields. Most Americans know Monsanto because of what it sells to put on our lawns— the ubiquitous weed killer Roundup. What they may not know is that the company now profoundly influences—and one day may virtually control—what we put on our tables. For most of its history Monsanto was a chemical giant, producing some of the most toxic substances ever created, residues from which have left us with some of the most polluted sites on earth. Yet in a little more than a decade, the company has sought to shed its polluted past and morph into something much different and more far-reaching—an “agricultural company” dedicated to making the world “a better place for future generations.” Still, more than one Web log claims to see similarities between Monsanto and the fictional company “U-North” in the movie Michael Clayton, an agribusiness giant accused in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit of selling an herbicide that causes cancer. 
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#1. To: OliviaFNewton, *Agriculture-Environment* (#0)
Same tactics used by the railroad monopolies back in the 1800s against the Grange. This is why the Grange is a fraternal organization.
I had no idea. Thanks.
It was the Grange's fight against the railroads that created anti trust law. Someone recently won a court case against Monsanto. I'll look and see if I have it saved.
Well I'll be darn. Someone recently won a court case against Monsanto. I'll look and see if I have it saved. Love to see it!
Farmers protected against Monsanto
And thank g-d (and his prophet, Barack Obama) for that!
Outstanding! A ray of sunshine. Thanks for posting that!
Have your kids eat up! Finish your plate.
My children, and Barack's children will only eat the best food, flown in from organic farms all the world over, staffed by the useless eaters we deem to keep alive (until they have their verichips turned off) to work for us until their "expiration date".
Turtle, is that you?!?!????? Someone is playing games. NO one can possibly be this stupid. Not even in america
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files Nehemiah 4:14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Who We Are A commitment to agriculture Additional Info Business: Agriculture Employees: 17,000 NYSE: MON Contact Info Monsanto Company 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63167 (314) 694-1000 Email: Contact Us Commitment to Youth Monsanto is an agricultural company. When farmers succeed, we succeed. Using the tools of modern biology, we help farmers grow more yield sustainably so they can produce more and conserve more. Afterall, it is the world’s farmers that truly feed, clothe and fuel our growing world. We produce leading seed brands in large-acre crops like corn, cotton, and oilseeds (soybeans and canola), as well as small-acre crops like vegetables. We also produce leading in-the-seed trait technologies for farmers that are aimed at protecting their yield, supporting their on-farm efficiency and reducing their on-farm costs. We're constantly looking at ways to maximize the potential of seed -- both its yield potential and the technology used to protect it -- so farmers can get more out of each seed. Today, farmers use our innovative seed-based products to help them protect their crops and produce healthier foods and better animal feed. As a company, we remain committed to broadly licensing our seed and trait technologies to other companies throughout the world. This approach ensures that farmers can access our products in the varieties that mean the most to their farm. In addition to our seeds and traits business, we also manufacture the world's best-selling herbicide, Roundup®, and other herbicides used by farmers, consumers and lawn-and-garden professionals. http://www.monsanto.com/who_we_are/default.asp Monsanto is a famliy corporation, sir. Employing many farmers the world over. Watch your tongue. There are stupid everywhere, the people who voted for that white man Mccain and those others (like chuck baldwin) who are trying to destroy this country for americans!
It's your standard troll. Here's a pooper for his kind.
I kiss the ground upon which Barack Obama (PBUH) walks. How dare you bismirch his good name!
Turtle is massively brained and highly evolved and everything he speaks is Truth with a capital T!
Pugs rule, all other dogs drool.
Dude! Is that OJ???!!
Nope. It's Dubya's successor. The whole story:
Nope. It's Dubya's successor. If it was O.J. he'd have a knife in one hand and his wife's head in the other. Sorry, couldn't resist.
Pugs rule, all other dogs drool.
eww.. :P I bet they have a pooper of him though. You have to check the link!
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss — The Who
#2. To: OliviaFNewton (#0)
Monsanto relies on a shadowy army of private investigators and agents in the American heartland to strike fear into farm country. They fan out into fields and farm towns, where they secretly videotape and photograph farmers, store owners, and co-ops; infiltrate community meetings; and gather information from informants about farming activities. Farmers say that some Monsanto agents pretend to be surveyors. Others confront farmers on their land and try to pressure them to sign papers giving Monsanto access to their private records. Farmers call them the “seed police” and use words such as “Gestapo” and “Mafia” to describe their tactics.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss — The Who
#3. To: farmfriend (#2)
Same tactics used by the railroad monopolies back in the 1800s against the Grange. This is why the Grange is a fraternal organization.
#4. To: OliviaFNewton (#3)
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss — The Who
#5. To: farmfriend (#4)
It was the Grange's fight against the railroads that created anti trust law.
#6. To: OliviaFNewton (#5)
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss — The Who
#7. To: OliviaFNewton (#0)
Most Americans know Monsanto because of what it sells to put on our lawns— the ubiquitous weed killer Roundup. What they may not know is that the company now profoundly influences—and one day may virtually control—what we put on our tables.
#8. To: farmfriend (#6)
#9. To: Obama4America (#7)
And thank g-d (and his prophet, Barack Obama) for that!
#10. To: OliviaFNewton (#9)
Have your kids eat up! Finish your plate.
#11. To: Obama4America, Turtle (#7)
#12. To: PSUSA (#11)
Turtle, is that you?!?!????? Someone is playing games. NO one can possibly be this stupid. Not even in america
#13. To: PSUSA (#11)
#14. To: OliviaFNewton (#13)
#15. To: PSUSA (#11)
Turtle, is that you?!?!?????
#16. To: OliviaFNewton (#13)
#17. To: Lady X (#16)
(Edited)
Is that OJ???!!
#18. To: OliviaFNewton (#17)
Is that OJ???!!
#19. To: Turtle (#18)
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