The Times (London) | By Nicholas Wapshott | February 20, 2002
Monsanto, the company that sponsored experiments into genetically modified crops in Britain, is suing dozens of American and Canadian farmers for infringement of copyright.
The company claims that the farmers hold back seeds from their Monsanto crops to use in a later harvest, depriving the company of revenue.
Investigators watch farmers in their fields secretly to collect evidence of the illegal planting of Monsanto's genetically altered cotton, rape, maize and soya bean crops.
Scott Good, a soya bean farmer in Burlington County, New Jersey, recalled the day that Monsanto inspectors swooped on his farm. "They showed up at my door at 6 o'clock in the morning," he said. "They flipped a badge out. It wasn't polite what they were saying. They acted like the FBI. I was scared." Farmers who use Monsanto crops to produce seeds for planting have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for patent infringement, and some face bankruptcy.
Dozens more are being taken to court and hundreds of others have been threatened with court action. They are charged with breaking patents and copyrights, violation of intellectual property rights and "seed piracy".
The farmers claim that they are doing what farmers have done for thousands of years, keeping back seeds for planting from their own crops.
Monsanto says that its patents and sale agreements forbid farmers from harvesting seeds from the company's patented crops. Invoices for Monsanto seeds detail the restrictions on replanting in the fine print and the act of buying the seeds is legally considered to be consent to the terms. The regulations are also clearly marked on sacks of Monsanto seeds.
Some farmers claim that they are ignorant of what they are agreeing to when they buy the seeds.
When the investigators raided Scott Good's farm near Philadelphia, the company at first insisted that he hand over the whole of his 2001 soya bean crop, a demand it then altered to a fine of $ 175,000 (Pounds 122,000), later reduced to $ 125,000 (Pounds 87,000).
Gary Woodend, Mr Good's lawyer, believes the company does not want to settle but would like to use his client as an example to other farmers.
Some cases are not straightforward. A court ordered Percy Schmeiser, a rape farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada, to pay Monsanto nearly C$ 20,000 (Pounds 8,800) because of bioengineered plants found on his property. He claims that they were self-planted by pollen that drifted from genetically engineered crops on nearby farms. He is appealing against the fine.
Monsanto, which is based in St Louis, Missouri, insists that it has every right to protect its property.
Lori Fisher, speaking for the company, said: "Not only do we feel we have an obligation to the other farmers (who legally buy altered seeds), but we've obviously invested a lot of money into this technology."
The main crop that Monsanto is trying to protect is Roundup Ready soya beans, which are genetically changed to be able to survive Roundup, Monsanto's bestselling weedkiller and which cost several dollars more than ordinary soya bean seeds.
Planting Roundup Ready seeds, followed by spraying with Roundup, simplifies the farming process and produces a pure crop uncontaminated by weeds and other unwanted varieties.
Monsanto is so determined to tighten up on copyright theft that, as well as its team of investigators, it advertises a toll-free telephone number for people to inform on farmers who are using unlicensed seeds.
Farmers take a dim view of this change to their way of life. Michael Sligh, of Rural Advancement Foundation International, a farmers' pressure group, said: "It's not in the typical culture of rural communities to turn in your neighbour. You're talking about someone who's going to pull your tractor out of a ditch. That's a big cultural shift."
