Monsanto vs. Percy Schmeiser

Here is one of the largest and most controversial cases Monsanto has had to deal with. it's Monsanto vs. Percy Schmeiser. Attached is also a link of a video that has Percy talking out against Monsanto!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPKoSrc99p4

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto is one of the bigger cases of Monsanto suing small farmers. Percy Schmeiser is a canola farmer from Bruno, Saskatchewan, Canada. Percy has been growing canola on his farm in Bruno for over 40 years. He has also served as Mayor of the Town of Bruno from 1966-1983 and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Watrous constituency in the Provincial Legislature from 1967-1971.

The case began in 1997, when Monsanto’s genetically modified canola was found on Mr. Schmeiser’s farm. Mr. Schmeiser had never purchased the genetically modified seeds from Monsanto but more than 320 acres of his farm had been contaminated. When Monsanto found out that he had the seeds on his farm they sued him for illegally planting Monsanto’s canola without paying the $37-per acre fee for the seeds. Most lawsuits with Monsanto against small farmers are settled out of court but Mr. Schmeiser decided to fight back. According to a 1999 article from the Vancouver Sun, “He's been experimenting, developing his own varieties, using his own seed and generally prospering with canola and reaping the benefits derived from growing an increasingly popular crop. So when Monsanto, the giant multinational agro-chemical company that is at the forefront of developing genetically modified foods, accused him of patent infringement and demanded restitution for its seeds, his pride was hurt. He chose to fight rather than roll over and take it." Monsanto claimed that Percy illegally bought the Roundup Ready seeds from other local farmers and then used them in his 1997 crop, then kept some of that year's seed to plant in 1998. Percy claim that he planted his 1997 crop with seed saved from 1996, and insists that any Roundup Ready growing on his land was spread by wind or by grain trucks travelling on roads adjacent to his fields.

On August 10, 1999 they tried to settle the dispute without going to trial but failed. The very next day, Schmeiser launched a $10 million lawsuit against Monsanto, accusing the company of a variety of wrongs, including libel, trespass and contamination of his fields with Roundup Ready. The trial finally started on June 5, 2000 in Federal Court in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and it lasted three weeks. On March 29, 2001 the court ruled in favor of Monsanto. Mr. Justice Andrew MacKay of the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Mr. Schmeiser "knew or ought to have known" his 1998 seed was resistant to Roundup. He said it was more likely that he planted the seed himself than that he came by it innocently. Judge MacKay awarded Monsanto the equivalent of Mr. Schmeiser's profits on his 1998 canola crop which was $19,832 as well as legal costs estimated at $153,000. In 2002, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the ruling. According to the Organic Consumers Association, “In 2003, the government of Ontario intervened in Schmeiser's Supreme Court case, saying it has "important implications for the development of public policy in Ontario including the delivery of health care to its residents." Ontario argued a gene molecule can be patented, but not the genetic information within the molecule.”

Mr. Schmeiser has been asked to speak all over the world about the dangers of genetically modified crops. Schmeiser believes that “the case revolved around a conflict of two set of rights. One set of basic "plant breeders' rights" allows Canadian farmers to buy seed and then plant offspring for one more year. On the other side, Canadian patent law allows companies to patent genes and then insert them into plant varieties and enter into contracts with farmers not to replant them.”
Here is another article about Monsanto vs. Percy Schmeiser. This is one of the biggest situations Monsanto has been involved with and has motivated Mr. Schmeiser to speak out against Monsanto. Attached is a video of Percy speaking against Monsanto. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPKoSrc99p4

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto is one of the bigger cases of Monsanto suing small farmers. Percy Schmeiser is a canola farmer from Bruno, Saskatchewan, Canada. Percy has been growing canola on his farm in Bruno for over 40 years. He has also served as Mayor of the Town of Bruno from 1966-1983 and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Watrous constituency in the Provincial Legislature from 1967-1971.

The case began in 1997, when Monsanto’s genetically modified canola was found on Mr. Schmeiser’s farm. Mr. Schmeiser had never purchased the genetically modified seeds from Monsanto but more than 320 acres of his farm had been contaminated. When Monsanto found out that he had the seeds on his farm they sued him for illegally planting Monsanto’s canola without paying the $37-per acre fee for the seeds. Most lawsuits with Monsanto against small farmers are settled out of court but Mr. Schmeiser decided to fight back. According to a 1999 article from the Vancouver Sun, “He's been experimenting, developing his own varieties, using his own seed and generally prospering with canola and reaping the benefits derived from growing an increasingly popular crop. So when Monsanto, the giant multinational agro-chemical company that is at the forefront of developing genetically modified foods, accused him of patent infringement and demanded restitution for its seeds, his pride was hurt. He chose to fight rather than roll over and take it." Monsanto claimed that Percy illegally bought the Roundup Ready seeds from other local farmers and then used them in his 1997 crop, then kept some of that year's seed to plant in 1998. Percy claim that he planted his 1997 crop with seed saved from 1996, and insists that any Roundup Ready growing on his land was spread by wind or by grain trucks travelling on roads adjacent to his fields.

On August 10, 1999 they tried to settle the dispute without going to trial but failed. The very next day, Schmeiser launched a $10 million lawsuit against Monsanto, accusing the company of a variety of wrongs, including libel, trespass and contamination of his fields with Roundup Ready. The trial finally started on June 5, 2000 in Federal Court in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and it lasted three weeks. On March 29, 2001 the court ruled in favor of Monsanto. Mr. Justice Andrew MacKay of the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Mr. Schmeiser "knew or ought to have known" his 1998 seed was resistant to Roundup. He said it was more likely that he planted the seed himself than that he came by it innocently. Judge MacKay awarded Monsanto the equivalent of Mr. Schmeiser's profits on his 1998 canola crop which was $19,832 as well as legal costs estimated at $153,000. In 2002, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the ruling. According to the Organic Consumers Association, “In 2003, the government of Ontario intervened in Schmeiser's Supreme Court case, saying it has "important implications for the development of public policy in Ontario including the delivery of health care to its residents." Ontario argued a gene molecule can be patented, but not the genetic information within the molecule.”

Mr. Schmeiser has been asked to speak all over the world about the dangers of genetically modified crops. Schmeiser believes that “the case revolved around a conflict of two set of rights. One set of basic "plant breeders' rights" allows Canadian farmers to buy seed and then plant offspring for one more year. On the other side, Canadian patent law allows companies to patent genes and then insert them into plant varieties and enter into contracts with farmers not to replant them.”