Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Supreme Court Screws Up Again... But Who's Counting? Monsanto.

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
News / Agriculture
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When the times arrives when the government can no longer function because of the incompetence of the persons holding their elected or appointed offices, then the voters need to remedy this negative result with positive pro-action. 

Congress defers to the Executive Branch to make laws and decisions, its supposed to make for the people. Now the Judaical Branch is now blind to their own law books.  

Do we need a new Constitution and Bill of Rights? No. We need new leadership.

Americans are tired of their leadership being unable to fulfill their basic job duties. Case in point:

In Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) et al v. Monsanto, family farmers and seed growers wanted a decision that made the corporate giant finally responsible for inappropriately patenting seeds as well as contaminating other farmers with their precious rings... seeds. 

Instead of obtaining some sanity to the world, the American people were stonewalled. The Supreme Court deferred to a lower court's decision. Some of the decisions were good. Some were equally reckless.
"While the Supreme Court’s decision to not give organic and other non-GMO farmers the right to seek preemptive protection from Monsanto’s patents at this time is disappointing, it should not be misinterpreted as meaning that Monsanto has the right to bring such suits,” said Daniel Ravicher, executive director of the Public Patent Foundation and lead counsel to the plaintiffs in OSGATA et al v. Monsanto.

"Indeed, in light of the Court of Appeals decision, Monsanto may not sue any contaminated farmer for patent infringement if the level of contamination is less than one percent,” Ravicher explained. “For farmers contaminated by more than one percent, perhaps a day will come to address whether Monsanto’s patents may be asserted against them. We are confident that if the courts ever hear such a case, they will rule for the non-GMO farmers."
The decision of the courts toward farmers is a case of blaming the victim. Just for juxtaposition, say a man went out sexually assaulting women. When the women came forward, the man was awarded monetary compensation for the women who became pregnant because the women were using his seed against his so-called "patent." 

Same difference with Monsanto contaminating thousands of acres of virgin farmland with their genetically modified seeds and then suing innocent farmers when Monsanto cannot control their own product.

In reality, all those farmers should be taking Monsanto to task in the courts and winning. Yet the opposite philosophy is maintained by the courts that somehow magically farmers are ripping of Monsanto. The American people need to clean out the judiciary as soon as possible. The burden is not on farmers; the burden is on Monsanto.
"The Supreme Court failed to grasp the extreme predicament family farmers find themselves in,” said Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, president of lead plaintiff OSGATA.
“The Court of Appeals agreed our case had merit. However, the safeguards they ordered are insufficient to protect our farms and our families.” “This high court which gave corporations the ability to patent life forms in 1980, and under Citizens United in 2010 gave corporations the power to buy their way to election victories, has now in 2014 denied farmers the basic right of protecting themselves from the notorious patent bully Monsanto,” said Gerritsen.
The plaintiffs in this case are not customers of Monsanto and these farmers sought a Declaratory Judgment Act to protect them from Monsanto. With a one percent contamination threshold, the Courts keep missing the point about the burden of proof remains on Monsanto, not local farmers. 

Still the injustices continue against everyone but Monsanto:
Significant contamination events, including Starlink corn and LibertyLink rice, have already cost farmers and the food companies nearly $2 billion dollars. In the past year alone, the discovery of Monsanto’s illegal GMO wheat in an Oregon farmer’s field and GMO alfalfa in Washington state sent foreign markets, where GMOs are not wanted, reeling. In both instances farmers’ economic livelihoods were put at risk as buyers in foreign markets refused to buy the GMO contaminated crops.

“If Monsanto can patent seeds for financial gain, they should be forced to pay for contaminating a farmer’s field, not be allowed to sue them,” said Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now! “Once again, America’s farmers have been denied justice, while Monsanto’s reign of intimidation is allowed to continue in rural America.”

“Monsanto has effectively gotten away with stealing the world’s seed heritage and abusing farmers for the flawed nature of their patented seed technology,” said Murphy. “This is an outrage of historic proportions and will not stand.”
It seems that all the arguments in the world cannot save the Earth from the greed and unethical behavior of the Judicial system... and Monsanto too.
  
Shame on you, Supreme Court, for your continued blasphemy against America, the Constitution, and our civil rights. 

When are you going to grow some professional gavels and return the land to the small farmers? Right after Monsanto owns it all? Nice. 

Source: EcoNews