Percy Schmeiser case

Yesterday, May 21, 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that Percy Schmeiser, a canola farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada, was guilty of stealing genetically-modified seeds from Monsanto. Schmeiser maintains that he did not steal the seeds, but that seeds and pollen from Monsanto's GMO crops blew onto his land and invaded his seed stocks. The implications of this decision, for Native and non-Native people in the Americas, is enormous. A minor victory was achieved for Schmeiser when he was relieved of a $200,000 fine that was imposed by a lower court. Monsanto's legal position that it can genetically modify plant life, allow its Frankenseeds to invade other fields/seed stocks/crops, and and claim that Monsanto's seeds were then "stolen" by a farmer harvesting all of the seeds on his lands -- including Monsanto's trespassing seeds, is incredible. This is a case of the expansion of corporate imperialism in the realm of agriculture, with potentially catastrophic impacts on the future of food production for the entire planet. Full article here

Percy Schmeiser's website: click

Also, see this excellent article by Vandana Shiva on Monsanto's biopiracy:click