One 75 year old farmer stands alone to protect us all.
Will he win against the all powerful Monsanto?
~ Cynthia G. Creel
April 16, 2013
My Story:
I waited on the phone to hear a human voice. A mistake had been made, but I was guilty before I even picked up the phone to make the call to get a correction.
Finally, a real person answered the phone and I was stuck explaining my innocents and how their company had made the mistake, they not only were wrong, they broke a law. As I talked on the phone after having talked to the manager of the store, I just felt this is like talking to a brick wall. Is there any one above the owner?
Yes, the corporate office would be the next step. I quickly thought is this going to be about the same result, a big company with a shallow caring knowing that one customer didn’t make that much difference. There was no choice the owner didn’t care about breaking the law. Nothing was offered me to me except a reason that didn‘t fit the situation. Just a nice way of telling me to go away.
If they did this to me what if it was a little elderly lady that every penny counted would she be able to fight this fight? Most likely she would just have to accept the illegal actions of the company covered in a half truth maybe with out an ability or knowledge to change anything.
After 3 days of preparation and several conversations with the owner the next stop was corporate offices, all over a $5.00 gift card and the possibility I was not the only one. Another 3 hours of explaining with the corporation including documentation and the problem was solved.
My reward was knowing I may have changed things just a little to help the person that couldn’t help themselves and a $20.00 gift card. That would be around 50 cents per hour for me. Hopefully a change in the way the business operated that would keep the business following the law and not taking advantage of there costumers.
All of this because a business wasn’t being fair and following the law. It was time that I should have never had to allocated to such a ludicrous adventure. It should have been a few minute exchange and everyone gone about there business instead of hours of work.
Farmers fight against big business:
This is not the first time US agrochemical monster business Monsanto was taken to court (starting in 2001 the possibility of a negative affect on the environment). Monsanto is well known for selling roundup an herbicide. According to the BBC (1) Monsanto was found guilty of false advertising saying that roundup was “biodegradable” with claims it “left the soil clean.”
France’s highest court ruled that Monsanto didn’t tell the truth and was fined US$22,400. Not much money for such a large company to pay out. However in October of 2009 Monsanto also reported losses of $233 million due to sales dropping in roundup.
Even though Monsanto has lost in France’s court another fight is still going on. As reported by Nation of Change (2) on April 16, 2013 the US. Supreme Court will hear the case of one 75 year old Indiana farmer’s appeal against Monsanto claiming they have a patent on second generation seed (the next generation from seeds Genetically Modified (GM) that were part of a mixture of grain purchased from a grain elevator and used to grow new crops.) Virtually this is over a right to patent life ensuring the ability to collect payments on any GM seed’s protection in future generations vs. the 1000’s year old practice of saving seed and growing crops from those seeds each year).
Monsanto is aggressive in protecting itself and picking on the small farmer that has gained Monsanto settlement after settlement with 410 farmers and 56 small farm businesses mostly settling out of court with a few farmers fighting and loosing the battle in the long run. Monsanto has a advantage with a legal standing of a patent and access of the funds to fight the battles. (3)
Does this make Monsanto right?
It all comes down to a decision that passed by one person’s yes vote in the Supreme court decision over 30 years ago in 1981 which determined every seed and their new generations of GM seed and self-replicating technology is considered the company that created it, in this case Monsanto’s property even if a bird or the wind carries the seed away and grows somewhere else including another farm. This puts all farmers at risk of being sued by Monsanto.
With control there is power to charge what you want. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (5) reports
The argument can also be made that this “new and improved seeds” are losing the battle against nature as described in a recent report that Herbicide-resistant crop technology brought about a 527 million pound increase of herbicide used in the United States between 1996 and 2011 with and increase overall in pesticides use around 404 million pounds or 7%.
Final words:
This fight for what is right will have long term affects of what life can be patented. Shortly we will see if life can be controlled by a corporation and the ramifications of that decision in the courts. The trend of increased used of herbicides and pesticides, even with these enhanced seeds, seem to be pointing out there is something going very wrong.
With the trend of Monsanto wining what will happen to the small farmer who has no control over the pollination of crops (pollinators pollinating GM crops then their non GM crops on other lands or farms or just the wind or birds bringing unwanted seeds to their land. This unwanted seed mimics a weed taking hold just as it has happened in nature for 1000‘s of years. One thing is clear Monsanto can only have power over most of the farming farmers buy GM seeds, herbicides and pesticides.
The legal landscape may end up changing for us all beyond farming and seeds. The solutions for farmers is quite simple, return to the roots of farming, using 100% pure seeds from nature that may create a major decrease in the use of herbicides and pesticides. If there are any 100% pure seeds left that is. A difficult leap of faith that will take courage from the ones who feed our nation and the world. It many come down to one farmer to create path for a little bit better world for all of us.
Discover a new world. Help yourself, help the world, step on to the Path of True Health and vote with your dollars to create a world you will love to live in. I do and I like the world I am creating. Together we can create a better life.
By Design ~ “Life is good By Design”
Photo creation by Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013
Second generation seeds that have no patented on the DNA from the first generation of seeds grown last year on the By Design Farm. Only seeds with a seal of approval from nature. I use these seeds on this years crops on the By Design Farm.
all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered. This article is not saying anyone person in a leadership position is unhealthy or healthy, it is just a possibly of many and is only speaking in general terms. .Note: No company mentioned in this article is considered to serve “healthy or unhealthy” food, any examples given was only used as an example of how business works though their history and public information. The focus is only to help explain a idea. Statements and conclusions of any study authors that are presented are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Cynthia G. Creel or any means the information is published. There is no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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Sources:
(1) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308903.stm
(2) http://www.nationofchange.org/how-one-75-year-old-soybean-farmer-could-deal-blow-monsanto-s-empire-today-1361373405
(3) http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/why-does-monsanto-sue-farmers-who-save-seeds.aspx
(4) http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/02/do-gmo-crops-have-lower-yields
(5) http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx#.UWxpZaJ4z4s
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