Monsanto Keeps on Moving Toward a Lock on the World’s Food System

www.globalresearch.ca - February 18th, 2013

Arguments are scheduled to begin next week before the U.S. Supreme Court about whether an Indiana farmer is right when he claims that the seeds he planted should not be considered under the control of Monsanto, the giant transnational chemical and seed monopoly, through its patenting of the seeds.

Some are calling it a “David versus Goliath” contest but the farmer, Vernon H. Bowman, of southeastern Indiana, told The Guardian that he sees it as a question of right and wrong. In that, he is up against the power of Corporate America and the various parts of that power are arrayed against Bowman.

A lower court heard the case against Bowman v. Monsanto, one of the most powerful corporations (St. Louis, Mo.-based) in the most powerful nation in the world, and found in favor of Monsanto. The U.S. protects its corporations like it protects nothing else. It does not protect the individual in the same way and, in this case it is protecting the right of corporate hegemony over a single farmer.

Bowman, 75, who works the same land as his father, bought soybean seed from a local dealer, and the seed contained some of Monsanto’s patented “Roundup Ready” soybean seed, mixed in with other seeds. Monsanto maintains that such seeds can be used for feed, but cannot be used to plant a second crop, which is what Bowman was doing. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented seeds must sign an agreement that they will not save seed for planting in a subsequent year, but will buy new seeds every year from the company. They also pay a per-acre “royalty” for using the company’s seeds.

Monsanto typically enters a farmer’s land (some would call it trespassing) and takes samples (some would call it stealing), and then has the samples DNA-tested for their patented genes. If any appear, they sue the farmer and, since farmers are notoriously outgunned, legally and financially, they end up settling for an undisclosed amount with the company. The amount is undisclosed because, along with the settlement, there is a gag order and the farmer is coerced into agreeing not to discuss the case with anyone. Few farmers have enough money to take on the corporation.

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The War On Small Farms

www.thebetterhealthstore.com - February 11th, 2013

An unseen war has been waged against small farms and buying clubs across the country. It has put the sustainable farming industry on thin ice and threatens the entire real food system and infrastructure.

The Washington Times | Adam Helfer | There is just something comforting about frequenting a local farmers market or passing the small farms on a weekend jaunt through the countryside. It's a genuine slice of Americana that's not only aesthetically pleasing and soothing, but the standard in how we should feed ourselves and families in this country.

Though a dark secret brewing is that an unseen war has been waged against these very small farms and buying clubs across the country. It has put the sustainable farming industry on thin ice and threatens the entire real food system and infrastructure.

Filmmaker Kristin Canty initially got interested in healthy food when one of her sons fell sick with multiple allergies. She found that farm fresh grassfed raw milk healed and restored him to perfect health. In getting the fresh foods from various farms to keep her family healthy, she started learning about numerous issues being posed by local and federal government along with armed raids on farm buying clubs and health food co-ops across the entire nation- the very foods that restored her son to perfect health have been under attack. This incensed Canty (who had no prior filmmaking experience) to document the harsh treatment against small farms and allow the general public to become more aware of the iniquitous situation.

Farmageddon documents the personal accounts small farmers and clubs being affected and highlights the urgency of food freedom and a review and modifications of the policies and laws that are the crux of the issue.

Canty discovered there are "one sized fits all" policies that favor large agribusiness and industrial factory farms over small family-operated farms selling fresh foods to the local communities.

Instead of a focus on the source of the food safety problems (most often the industrial food chain) policymakers and regulators implement and enforce solutions that target (and often drive out of business) small farms that have proven themselves more than capable of producing safe, healthy food, but buckle under the crushing weight of government regulations, paperwork, and excessive enforcement actions.

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