300k Organic Farmers To Sue Monsanto For Seed Patent Claims

microphage writes "Monsanto went after hundreds of farmers for infringing on their patented seed after audits revealed that their farms had contained their product — as a result of routine pollination by animals and acts of nature. Unable to afford a proper defense, competing small farms have been bought out by the company in droves. As a result, Monsanto saw their profits increase by the hundreds of millions over the last few years as a result. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto tackled 144 organic farms with lawsuits and investigated roughly 500 plantations annually during that span with a so-called 'seed police.'"

Comments

Re:I hate to defend Monsanto somewhat, but

[Rary]

"Monsanto has never developed or commercialized a sterile seed product."

They're being a bit weasely in their words, though. They didn't technically "develop" a sterile seed product— they merely acquired a company that had already developed one. And they didn't technically commercialize a sterile seed product— yet. Due to public backlash, they backed off. But according to the VP of the company that developed the technology, they still plan to commercialize it.