Launching a lawsuit against the very company that is responsible for a farmer suicide every 30 minutes, 5 million farmers are now suing Monsanto for as much as 6.2 billion euros (around 7.7 billion US dollars). The reason? As with many other cases, such as the ones that led certain farming regions to be known as the ‘suicide belt’, Monsanto has been reportedly taxing the farmers to financial shambles with ridiculous royalty charges. The farmers state that Monsanto has been unfairly gathering exorbitant profits each year on a global scale from “renewal” seed harvests, which are crops planted using seed from the previous year’s harvest.
The practice of using renewal seeds dates back to ancient times, but Monsanto seeks to collect massive royalties and put an end to the practice. Why? Because Monsanto owns the very patent to the genetically modified seed, and is charging the farmers not only for the original crops, but the later harvests as well. Eventually, the royalties compound and many farmers begin to struggle with even keeping their farm afloat. It is for this reason that India slammed Monsanto with groundbreaking ‘biopiracy’ charges in an effort to stop Monsanto from ‘patenting life’.Jane Berwanger, a lawyer for the farmers who went on record regarding the case,
told the Associated Press:
“Monsanto gets paid when it sell the seeds. The law gives producers the right to multiply the seeds they buy and nowhere in the world is there a requirement to pay (again). Producers are in effect paying a private tax on production.”
The findings echo what thousands of farmers have experienced in particularly poor nations, where many of the farmers are unable to stand up to Monsanto. Back in 2008, the Daily Mail covered what is known as the ‘GM Genocide’, which is responsible for taking the lives of over 17,683 Indian farmers in 2009 alone. After finding that their harvests were failing and they started to enter economic turmoil, the farmers began ending their own lives — oftentimes drinking the very same insecticide that Monsanto provided them with.
As the information continues to surface on Monsanto’s crimes, further lawsuits will begin to take effect. After it was ousted in January that Monsanto was running illegal 'slave-like' working rings, more individuals became aware of just how seriously Monsanto seems to disregard their workers — so why would they care for the health of their consumers? In April, another group of farmers sued Monsanto for ‘knowingly poisoning’ workers and causing ‘devastating birth defects’.
Will endless lawsuits from millions of seriously affected individuals be the end of Monsanto?
Do your part to end the madness and join a March Against Monsanto near you on 10/12/13
Source: Raw For Beauty
Natural Society
why isn't this on the world news. it sickens me that we are all brain washed to think that we live in a great country but little do we know they are killing us and making money all aroud. I was laid off in April and only now that I have the time to do some reading I never imagined its this bad. and organic is Not available at every grocery store .. I pray we can all put a stop to monsanto ..
ReplyDeleteI have chills trading this. I am so proud of these farmers for taking a stand against this corrupt disgusting company... LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteI have chills trading this. I am so proud of these farmers for taking a stand against this corrupt disgusting company... LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteThey don't have to buy the GM seed, when they do they enter a contract.
ReplyDeleteSTFU Moron
DeleteIn many cases the farmers' private crops are cross-pollinated with nearby Monsanto crops
Deleteby bees ... the same bees that are dying from the pesticides. Monsanto is then "claiming"
these cross-pollinated crops as their rightful property.
The bigger question we might ask is, "Are we okay with five corporations OWNING this planet's food supply?" There are now places in Europe where you need to get a permit to grow a plant in your backyard.
Listen! We all need to go to www.GMOAnswers (A PRO-GMO site created by them) and SLAM THEM! They have people who are paid by the GMO giant companies commenting on each forum thread talking about how GMO's aren't proven unsafe - That's only because Monsanto does NOT allow ANY testing on human health. All tests documented on animals are EXTREMELY HARMFUL AND DEADLY.
ReplyDelete"...lawsuit against the very company that is responsible for a farmer suicide every 30 minutes..."
ReplyDeleteThe blame for farmer suicides on the business practices of agrotec companies, like Monsanto, is without justification. Not only is it just as misdirecting as blaming MacDonald's for fat people, or Budweiser for wife-beating, but policy research has found no reliable link between them and the incidence of farmer suicide; most notably in India. If you'd like to read for yourself, I can send you a 2008 analysis by the International Food Policy Research Institute that undermines such claims.
To the point of the lawsuit: it would actually be unfair to the corporations if the courts denied their legal rights to royalties from their patents. Farmers freely enter contracts with these companies, as eager to make profit as anyone else. A stipulation of the agreement is a production fee.