ORGANIC SEED GROWERS AND TRADE

ASSOCIATION (OSGATA) V. MONSANTO

The Lawsuit Challenging Patents on Transgenic Seed

ASSERTED ARGUMENTS:

Monsanto’s transgenic seed patents are INVALID

because they fail to fulfill basic requirements needed to obtain a patent.

The patents fail to meet the UTILITY REQUIREMENT of the U.S. Patent Act

because transgenic seed is not socially useful.

In addition, Monsanto seeds INCREASE the use of herbicides.

(This is the historical record.)

Monsanto seeds DO NOT INCREASE yield

as a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists has shown.

Monsanto seeds INCREASE costs to farmers

in multiple ways; they are at best only a short-term way to lower costs.

Monsanto seeds have been linked to a variety of human and animal illnesses.

(Studies in several nations have shown this.)

Monsanto’s transgenic seed patents CAN NOT BE INFRINGED by plaintiffs under established court rulings needing to be more widely recognized above the conventionally-utilized “strict liability” standard.

If they were, organic farmers would not be held to have infringed patents on Monsanto’s seeds when their farms become contaminated through no fault of their own.

Monsanto’s transgenic seed patents should be understood to be UNENFORCEABLE under established court doctrine.

Monsanto has MISUSED its patents on transgenic seed to achieve and maintain

anti-competitive and monopoly benefit.

Over 85% of all corn, soybeans, sugar beets, cotton and canola grown in the U.S.A. contain Monsanto-patented genes.

This has diminished consumer choice and slowed innovation.

Monsanto uses ABUSIVE LITIGATION PRACTICES.

Monsanto uses ANTI-COMPETITIVE LICENSING AGREEMENTS.

Any contamination of the plaintiff’s land by Monsanto’s seeds represents a trespass which wrongfully interferes with the plaintiff’s rights to possess, enjoy, and use their property.

Monsanto should NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY REMEDY against contaminated plaintiffs under the established legal doctrine being asserted.

Monsanto suffers no loss or damages if Monsanto seeds contaminate an organic or other nontransgenic farmer’s property; it is the farmer who is harmed.

Monsanto should have no right to shut down or assume rights to a farm contaminated by its seed, pollen, and genes.

THE 83 PLAINTIFFS TAKING ON MONSANTO ARE: 

33 Farms and Individual Farmers:

Alba Ranch (Kansas); Wild Plum Farm (Montana); Gratitude Gardens (Washington);

Richard Everett Farm, LLC (Nebraska); Philadelphia Community Farm, Inc (Wisconsin);

Genesis Farm (New Jersey); Chispas Farms LLC (New Mexico);

Kirschenmann Family Farms Inc. (North Dakota); Midheaven Farms (Minnesota);

Koskan Farms (South Dakota); California Cloverleaf Farms (California);

North Outback Farm (North Dakota); Taylor Farms, Inc. (Utah);

Jardin del Alma (New Mexico); Ron Gargasz Organic Farms (Pennsylvania);

Abundant Acres (Missouri); T & D Willey Farms (California); Full Moon Farm, Inc. (Vermont);

Common Good Farm, LLC (Nebraska); American Buffalo Company (Nebraska);

Radiance Dairy (Iowa) ; Quinella Ranch (Saskatchewan); Nature’s Way Farm Ltd. (Alberta);

Levke and Peter Eggers Farm (Alberta); Frey Vineyards, Ltd.(California);

Bryce Stephens (Kansas); Chuck Noble (South Dakota); LaRhea Pepper (Texas);

Paul Romero (New Mexico); Brian Wickert (Wisconsin); Bruce Drinkman (Wisconsin);

Murray Bast (Ontario); and, Donald Wright Patterson, Jr. (Virginia)

14 Seed Businesses and Companies:

FEDCO Seeds Inc. (Maine); Adaptive Seeds, LLC (Oregon); Sow True Seed (North Carolina);

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (Virginia); Mumm's Sprouting Seeds (Saskatchewan);

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., LLC (Missouri);Comstock, Ferre & Co., LLC (Connecticut);

Seedkeepers, LLC (California); Siskiyou Seeds (Oregon); Countryside Organics (Virginia);

Wild Garden Seed (Oregon); Cuatro Puertas (New Mexico); Seed We Need (Montana);

and, Interlake Forage Seeds Ltd. (Manitoba).

36 Agricultural Organizations:

(with hundreds of thousands of total members)

Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA);

Organic Crop Improvement Association International, Inc. (OCIA);

OCIA Research and Education Inc.;

The Cornucopia Institute;

Demeter Association, Inc.;

Center for Food Safety;

Beyond Pesticides;

Navdanya International;

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association;

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York;

Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter;

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire;

Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island;

Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut;

Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont;

Rural Vermont;

Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association;

Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers Inc.;

Southeast Iowa Organic Association;

Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society;

Mendocino Organic Network (California);

Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance;

Midwest Organic Dairy Producers Alliance;

Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance;

Canadian Organic Growers;

Manitoba Organic Alliance;

Peace River Organic Producers Association (Alberta and British Columbia);

Union Paysanne (Quebec);

Family Farmer Seed Cooperative;

Sustainable Living Systems (Montana);

Global Organic Alliance;

Food Democracy Now!;

Family Farm Defenders Inc.;

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund;

Weston A. Price Foundation;

The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

     Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut beets into wedges if large, or in half or quarters if small. Arrange in an ovenproof casserole dish. Dot the beets with 1 to 2 Tablespoons butter or drizzle with 1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Cover the ovenproof dish with a cover or with foil if you don't have a cover. Bake at 400 for 50 to 60 minutes until tender. I like to put my baking potatoes in the oven at the same time, as they cook at the same temperature and take the same amount of time.

Serve with salt and apple cider vinegar, or I like it with Ranch Salad Dressing as a dip.

Megan

Click here for our Wood Prairie Organic Vegetables