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Monsanto Wins Case Over Patented Canola

Posted by michael on from the blowing-in-the-wind dept.

c writes "The Supreme Court of Canada says that you're liable if a plant with a patented gene infects your property. If you recall, Schmeiser claims (and research supports) that Roundup Ready canola seeds infected his own crops. Monsanto prosecuted him for patent infringement." Some other links: Monsanto's press release, Globe and Mail story.

4 of 599 comments (clear)

  1. Wait a minute... by Punboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Shouldn't this situation be reversed? The defendant should sue the other guy for damaging his crops!

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  2. Killing Roundup Ready Plants by zentinal · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Would it be legal for someone to come up with a material that only kills Roundup Ready©® plants?

  3. no, we're not surprised... by zogger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ..what we are surpirsed is that 99% of the population has no clue about the food they eat other than it comes from the supermarket automagically.

    We've been lobbying against this stuff for years, for that very reason, it infects our stuff, and then they claim ownership? Huh? Howzzat again?

    Just wait. If you are just hearing about roundup ready and cross pollination and infection, wait to you hear about terminator genes and cross pollination. Ohh, that's a goody. Makes a plant live one year, then all it's offspring is infertile. Think on that one for a bit. Think about the winds, how they cross borders, let alone mere fields and counties. Give it a few years once they start using that sort of seed, you'll have one company "owning" the planets food supply, then their stuff will get borken and--not much food at all. It very easily could happen, you aren't stopping the wind.

    Lotta groovy short term profits though, until that happens.

    After that, can't say. Most likely world class famine at a minimum.

  4. Re:So, it spreads itself... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Just manipulating DNA in things does NOT automatically render them sterile as far as reproduction goes. This is what does lend danger to the man made stuff mixing into the natural crops. A real possibility, I would guess, is that long term, we might lose the 'real thing' having been contaminated by the man altered stuff.

    Heck, we have lots of crops that really aren't available today...if not for people dedicated to protecting 'heirloom' vegetables. Notice how tomatoes nowdays pretty much have no flavor, but, are nice and uniform in color and size?

    I went to a farm up north just outside of NH last year where they specialize in heirloom tomatoes. Man, I'd forgotten what they used to really taste like in my youth...and the different colored ones...some with yellow, tiger striped ones, purple ones....and many in non uniform shapes and sizes. But, flavor was the MAIN thing that stood out on these...

    I really used to think the 'organic' foods movement was pretty much a crock...but, this started me thinking a little different...

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