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5 Million Farmers Sue Monsanto for $7.7 Billion
Natural Society / News Report
Published: Tuesday 5 June 2012
“Will endless lawsuits from millions of seriously affected individuals will be the end of Monsanto?”
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 Associted 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 began 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 will be the end of Monsanto?
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ABOUT Anthony Gucciardi
Anthony is an accomplished investigative journalist whose articles have appeared on top news sites and have been read by millions worldwide. A health activist and researcher, Anthony’s goal is informing the public as to how they can use natural methods to revolutionize their health, as well as exploring the behind the scenes activity of the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA.
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15 comments on "5 Million Farmers Sue Monsanto for $7.7 Billion"
June 05, 2012 5:31pm
Thes farmers are not growing corn for human comsumpstion anyway they are growing it for corn sweetners and cattle feed that kills the cows eventually.
Grow something else for less profit but less on the conscience. The system we have now needs to put people back to work ie: if you are on welfare open up rural or city property to grow your own food the same for unemployed so these people can help feed themselves not to be mean but to allow for the transformation of our lands to be used for the benifit of all. Socially it is a good idea for community and it can be done for poultry as well even trouffles
which command a good price. We need food that is picked when it is ripe not sprayed when it is not ripe and shipped before it is ripe ie allar on apples.
I wonder if the obesity problem is because the kids now a days only eat un ripened fruit so it tastes like unripened fruit cardboard. Not only will the people working these small farms help themselves it will put an option for people to buy from someone other than the devil.
June 05, 2012 5:04pm
DOWN with the entire biotech industry! They should all be made to work in a chaingang on an organic farm!
June 05, 2012 4:43pm
How can a corporation be given a patent for something nature created itself? Tweaking life should never qualify for patent protection.
Also, all organic farmers should unite and file suit against Monsanto for contaminating their crops.
If there is a Satan here on earth, it certainly is Monsanto. It is time to put this evil out of business!
June 05, 2012 2:21pm
The legal tack should be that they have made a tiny change to an enormously complex organism. Unless they can show they have Also created the ability of a plant to create more seeds, their claim is invalid. And they sure can't show that. They have no idea how it happens. They are tinkering in a vast and unknown area called life. Perhaps they can charge for the initial tinkering but they can't charge for Life.
June 05, 2012 2:16pm
7 billion is a drop in the bucket for Monsanto. It's pin money. Won't affect them even if they lose in our rightwing appellate courts, which is unlikely (See "Trips for Judges" on google about that.) 70 billion might begin to touch their short term profits.
June 05, 2012 1:44pm
Monsanto should not have been allowed to patent genetically altered seed to begin with. But we have a Fascist supreme court so wadyagonnado?
San Francisco, Ca
June 05, 2012 1:18pm
ONE SMALL STEP.
We recently submitted over 970,000 signatures requesting that an initiative be placed on the ballot for the November Election in California. It would require that all foods containing GMO foods be labeled as such. It is one small step in the larger struggle, but if passed by the voters it could set a precedent for other States in our efforts to break the stranglehold these companies have on our food supply. Please visit our websites at:-
www.carighttoknow.org
www.labelgmos.org
Thank you.
Patrick Monk.RN. Noe Valley. SF. Ca.
June 05, 2012 12:13pm
Why does Obama and the Democratic Leadership allow this; they have been in power for almost four years??? Are they really for the people or just for their Wall Street Campaign Contributors???
June 05, 2012 2:23pm
Timmy Geithner: "Jump, Obama, jump! Jump for your banker masters!"
Obama: "How high?"
Not that Romney would be any better. As a Bankster himself, he'd be even worse.
So it's a choice between a Bankster and a Bankster-puppet. Not much of a choice.
June 05, 2012 2:11pm
Just one more reason to break-up the LARGE CORPORATE OVERREACH OF THE OLIGARCHY!!!! Why are laws that are currently on the books rarely upheld? Someone in politics is benefiting! Why would the Supreme Court initiate something as ridiculous as "Citizens United"? OMG...politicians are lining their own pockets and their large corporate CEO buddies with the corporate profits by squashing small business...no, could it be so? Really? With the help of LARGE CORPORATE CONTROLLED NEWS CENTERS? Oh YES IT IS SO!!!
June 05, 2012 1:40pm
Being a Democrat no longer means what it once did. Not since Bill Clinton and his third way.
Republicans? They're even worse, if you can imagine that. I will not say what I think a good citizen should do.
June 05, 2012 2:28pm
Clinton was a bum. He allowed deregulation, pushed globalization, and both ruined the economy. Now, when the economy is shot and we need a social safety net, we also have to recall that Clinton trashed welfare and screwed the poor (while feeling their pain, of course) Southern Presidents are really Republicans in Dem clothing. Look at Carter. We blame Reagan for this hate-the-government foolishness (which is foolish since we're a democracy so hating government is hating ourselves.) But Carter got elected on a hate-the-government bandwagon (that's Southern code for refighting the civil war by stealth). Reagan only perfected what Carter started.
So Southern Democrats have not been good as Presidents. Oddly, Johnson did more for the poor than anyone, got the boot for Vietnam, yet we've had Bush and Obama involved in Wars of Choice that are just as stupid, and accepted it.
Sad to say, Nixon was more liberal than the Democrats of today. Yes, Nixon. Look at his record. He created EPA, OSHA, strengthened Social Security and even floated the idea of a guaranteed annual wage. Today's Dems would shriek that was socialism, lest Rush Lamebrain say bad words on them
June 05, 2012 11:53am
A return to traditional farming is the best answer. Monsanto is trying to control the world food supply. Once their super weeds and insects take over they will be the only company that can control them.
June 05, 2012 11:23am
The unmitigasted audacity of Monsanto!
I'm surprised that Monsanto doesn't sue people who have personal gardens in their backyards containing plants grown from seeds they save every year.
(Give 'em time, I know.)
June 05, 2012 11:01am
This lawsuit is long overdue. Suit needs to be brought in the US and every other country where Monsanto (read the Rockefellers) are selling their Frankenseeds.