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Wood
Prairie Farm
In This
Issue of The Seed Piece:
Seed
Piece Newsletter
Monsanto Threats.
Organic
News
and
Commentary
Recipe: Crispy Rosemary
Potato Chips.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Special Offer: FREE Organic Fertilizer.
What Did I Miss?
Our Mailbox: Productive
Potatoes and
Solidarity Forever.

Native Mainer Prairie
Blush . Prairie
Blush is a delicious clonal
variant found growing on Wood Prairie Farm in 2001.
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Monsanto
Threats.
FAMILY
FARMERS AMPLIFY COMPLAINT AGAINST MONSANTO'S
GMOs, REINFORCING THEIR ARGUMENTS WITH TWO DOZEN ADDITIONAL PLAINTIFFS:
Monsanto's Failure to Provide Binding Legal Covenant to Protect Family
Farmers Threatened by GMO Contamination Necessitates Amended Complaint.
NEW
YORK -
June 1, 2011 - New threats by
Monsanto have led to the filing of an amended
complaint by the Public
Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) in its suit on behalf of family farmers,
seed
businesses, and organic agricultural organizations challenging
Monsanto’s
patents on genetically modified seed. Twenty-three
new
plaintiffs have joined with the original 60 in the amended complaint,
bringing
the total number represented in the case to 83.
The plaintiffs in the suit, titled Organic Seed Growers and Trade
Association
(OSGATA), et al. v. Monsanto and pending in the Southern District of
New York,
now include 36 family farmer, food, agricultural research, food safety,
and
environmental organizations representing hundreds of thousands of
members
including
several
thousand certified organic, biodynamic, or otherwise non-transgenic
family
farmers.
“Our clients
don’t want a fight with
Monsanto, they just want to be protected from the threat they will be
contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed and then
be
accused of patent
infringement,” said PUBPAT Executive Director Daniel B.
Ravicher.
“We asked
Monsanto to give our clients reassurance they wouldn’t do
such a
thing, and in
response they
chose instead to reiterate the same implicit threat to organic
agriculture made
in the past.”
Soon after the March
filing of
the lawsuit, Monsanto issued a statement saying they would not assert
their
patents against farmers who suffer “trace” amounts
of
transgenic contamination.
In response, and in the hope the matter could be resolved out of court,
PUBPAT
attorneys wrote Monsanto’s attorneys asking the company to
make
its promise legally
binding. Monsanto responded to PUBPAT’s request by hiring
former
solicitor
general, Seth P. Waxman, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of
WilmerHale, who rejected PUBPAT’s request and instead
confirmed
Monsanto may
indeed make claims of patent infringement against organic farmers who
become
contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed. Copies
of
both letters
are available as exhibits at the end of the amended
complaint.
“Monsanto’s
letter was an empty, indefensible, and
self-evident evasion showing they
are
only interested in spinning propaganda without taking serious steps to
resolve
the problem created for organic and non-transgenic
agriculture,”
said one of
the co-plaintiffs in the suit, Don Patterson of Virginia. “With
the Monsanto
letter signed by Waxman, the company rolled out their biggest legal
cannon, but
they fired off only fluffy wadding and smoke,” as he views
it.
“The letter
shows Monsanto wanting to protect their freedom to threaten farmers
with patent
infringement suits,” he states; “Both the threats
and the
lawsuits are clearly
important to their marketing strategy and business model.”
“The serious
issues being
engaged in this case require a constructive and socially-acceptable
response
from the defendant in the public interest,” adds Maine farmer
Jim
Gerritsen,
President of OSGATA, the lead plaintiff in the suit. “In the
absence of that,
we reassert the essential importance of the arguments stated in March
and
reinforced now by the additional evidence of the Monsanto
intransigence.
Monsanto’s utter failure to act reasonably to address our
concerns has only
reaffirmed the need for our lawsuit.”
The amended Complaint
elaborates
a fear tangibly vexing many family farmers: “Monsanto
continued
in the
statement to perversely characterize this suit as an
‘attack,’ when Plaintiffs
seek no money from and no injunction against them. All
Plaintiffs seek is peace of mind if they
are ever
contaminated by Monsanto’s transgenic seed, the company could
never sue them
for patent infringement. This is not an attack by the Plaintiffs and to
characterize it that way only further evidences Monsanto’s
aggressive and
threatening attitude with respect to its patents. Thus, the statement
made by
Monsanto in response to this suit has only served to heighten
Plaintiff’s fear
that Monsanto will seek to enforce its patents against them should they
ever be
contaminated by Monsanto’s transgenic seed.”
In addition to
supplementing the
complaint with Monsanto’s most recent clarifying statement
confirming its
threat to the plaintiffs and GMO-free agriculture, the new group of 23
organizations, seed
companies,
farms and individual farmers includes fourteen organizations: Weston A.
Price
Foundation, Center for Food Safety, Beyond Pesticides, Northeast
Organic
Farming Association of Rhode Island, Northeast Organic Farming
Association of
New Hampshire, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut,
Northeast
Organic Farming Association of New York, Western Organic Dairy
Producers
Alliance, Manitoba Organic Alliance, Michael Fields Agricultural
Institute
(Wisconsin), Midwest Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, Florida Organic
Growers,
Peace River Organic Producers Association (Alberta and British
Columbia) and
Union Paysanne (Quebec); two seed companies: Seed We Need (Montana),
Wild
Garden Seed (Oregon); and seven farms or individual farmers: Common
Good Farm,
LLC (Nebraska), American Buffalo Company (Nebraska), Full Moon Farm,
Inc.
(Vermont), Radiance Dairy (Iowa), Brian L. Wickert (Wisconsin), Bruce
Drinkman
(Wisconsin), and Murray Bast (Ontario).
These
plaintiffs join the 60 plaintiffs from the
original filing of the lawsuit in March including twenty-two
organizations:
Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association; Organic Crop Improvement
Association International, Inc. (OCIA); OCIA Research and Education,
Inc.; The
Cornucopia Institute; Demeter Association, Inc.; Navdanya
International; Maine
Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association; Northeast Organic Farming
Association/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc.; Northeast Organic Farming
Association
of Vermont; Rural Vermont; Ohio Ecological Food & Farm
Association;
Southeast Iowa Organic Association; Northern Plains Sustainable
Agriculture
Society; Mendocino Organic Network (California); Northeast Organic
Dairy
Producers Alliance; Canadian Organic Growers; Family Farmer Seed
Cooperative;
Sustainable Living Systems (Montana); Global Organic Alliance; Food
Democracy
Now!; Family Farm Defenders, Inc.; Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund;
twelve
seed 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); Cuatro
Puertas (New
Mexico); Interlake Forage Seeds, Ltd. (Manitoba); and, twenty-six farms
and
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;
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); 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); and, Donald Wright Patterson,
Jr.
(Virginia).
“The issues
raised in the
lawsuit are critical, not just to organic farmers and others who do not
want to
grow genetically-modified (transgenic) crops,” Gerritsen
says,
but “also to the
safety of food and everyone who eats—and that includes
everyone
concerned about
environmental protection and public health.” As Gerritsen
sees
the lawsuit,
“This is not just a minor dispute between a few family
farmers
and a powerful
corporation accustomed to getting its own way; it is a debate over who
offers
the best and most responsible way to feed the people of the world over
the
decades and centuries ahead.” Monsanto offers an expedient
short-cut with
enormous long-term risks and consequences for public health and
environmental
degradation, he says; “This, we intend to prove in
court.”
“The USDA, the
White House, and
the Congress have evaded responsibility to protect the public from the
potential and unstudied dangers of transgenic food, not even requiring
careful,
long-term, independent testing nor the clear GMO labeling long-demanded
by the
overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens,” states Bryce
Stephens, a
Kansas wheat
farmer, who is OSGATA’s vice-president. “President
Obama
said he wanted to see
mandatory GMO labeling during his 2008 presidential campaign, but he
has not
provided it,” Stephens reminds us. “We need someone
to act
in the public’s
defense if our officials will not,” he says, and that is part
of
the motivation
for Stephens’s decision to join the case as an individual
plaintiff alongside
his participation in plaintiff organizations.
“When
GMO crops were first given the green light
to enter the market in 1992 by the Bush-Quayle administration, they
were
declared ‘Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)’
based almost
entirely on
internal industry studies and industry-sponsored research done under
controlling company contract,” Stephens states.
“Given the
serious potential
long-term dangers and only minimally and briefly-studied risks, this
was
reprehensibly irresponsible, and the government has not shown any more
prudence
over the years since 1992,” Stephens charges. “With
the
long-term health
consequences of GMO food yet to be understood and in the absence of
objective
studies, we have all been involuntarily co-opted into a giant biotech
industry
experiment,” he concludes; “Our citizens and the
people of
the world deserve
better than that.”
Read the entire story on the Wood Prairie Farm website by clicking
here.
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Crispy Rosemary Potato Chips
Photo
by Angela Wotton
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Recipe:
Crispy
Rosemary Potato Chips
2
1/2 c vegetable oil
1
pound Butte
potatoes, scrubbed
1
tsp chopped fresh rosemary
Sea
salt and freshly ground
pepper
In
a medium saucepan fitted with
a candy thermometer, heat
oil to 325F. Using a mandoline, slice potatoes widthwise into
paper-thin
slices.
In
batches, fry potatoes heated
in oil, 1 to 2 minutes,
making sure not to overcrowd pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a
paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
While
still hot, sprinkle each
batch with rosemary and salt
and pepper to taste.
Source:
Country Living Magazine, February 2011
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Special
Offer: FREE Organic Fertilizer.
Now that much of the garden is planted take a look and see if
the
potatoes and other crops need an extra punch of organic fertilizer.
With all the rain many of us have had it could be that nutrients have
leached out and a little boost is in order.
Here's your chance to get a FREE 3
lb bag of organic fertilizer ($9.95 value) - your choice of Potato,
All-Purpose, Fish Meal or Pelletized Poultry compost. earn a FREE
bag
with your next purchase of $45 or more.
Please use Promo Code 1025. FREE
Organic
Fertilizer must ship with order and entire order must ship by June 30,
2011. Offer ends Monday 6/6/11 so hurry! Call or click today.
Click here for Wood
Prairie Organic Fertilizers.
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What
Did I Miss?
With lots going on we're using regular posts on our Facebook
wall to keep you tuned into the
Wood Prairie Organic Community.
Here are some such highlights since our last Seed Piece that you won't
want to miss. Jim & Megan.
* YouTube
Video - Unloading Truckload of Organic Fertilizer in the rain.
* Yes
Organic Can Feed the World
* Thorough
article on the issues involved in the lawsuit challenging Monsanto's
patents by Frank Barrie of Knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom.com
* Stunning
long list of seed companies bought out by Monsanto.
Please
click here to become a Friend of
Wood Prairie Farm on Facebook and
keep connected.
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Our
Mailbox: Productive Potatoes & Solidarity Forever
Q. Excellent.
Keep up the good
work. The lawsuit against Monsanto should be tried up there among Maine
farmers.
By the way, your seed potatoes grew -
every one of
them. We are routinely getting 20lbs of potatoes per seedling. What is
producing this remarkable crop is unclear, but it is happening. This is
the best year for home gardening that I have seen in the last 40 years.
Thanks a million.
BP
Houston TX
A. Those
are quite the Texas
yields! Glad our seed is working well for you. Jim.
Q.
Thank
you Megan. I'm so excited to get the potatoes. We've been looking for a
farm for TWO YEARS and just finally found one. That's why we're so late
ordering potatoes.
Thank you both for all you do. You're in my prayers and I know you will
win the case against Monsanto.
PI
Micaville NC
A. So
glad that you've found
your farm. now the fun begins! Thanks for your words of support. We're
all in this together and we are grateful you are behind us.
Megan.
Q.
Great
job!!!! Filing suit against Monsanto!! Keep it up & let us know
the
results. Thank you,
SS
Oxnard CA
A. We
are prepared for this
lawsuit to be a drawnout fight. We promise to keep you informed and
connected by using :
1) Our Seed Piece Newsletter
2) Our Facebook
Wall
3) The Red Button News Link named 'Organic Lawsuit Against Monsanto'
and located on the top navigation bar of our website (https://www.woodprairie.com/wpf_news)
Thanks for the support.
Jim & Megan.
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Wood Prairie Farm Quick
Links
   
Jim
& Megan Gerritsen
Wood
Prairie Farm
49
Kinney Road
Bridgewater,
Maine 04735
(800)829-9765
Certified Organic, Direct from the Farm
www.woodprairie.com
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