| Mr.
Schmeiser, a canola farmer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
was sued by Monsanto in 1997 for allegedly planting their Roundup
Ready Canola illegally. The court battle was later moved to the
Supreme Court, but in May 2004 it ruled in favor of Monsanto Corporation.
"For
50 years, my wife and I have devoted our time to researching and
developing our own seed varieties," said Mr. Schmeiser. "I
have never bought any seed from Monsanto, I don't even know anybody
from Monsanto. Then they accused me of planting their GM canola
without license."
Mr.
Schmeiser's canola crops were contaminated with the neighboring
genetically modified (GM) canola. In 1998, Monsanto filed a patent
infringement lawsuit against him and for years, they battled it
out from the Federal Court until it reached the Supreme Court.
The judge's ruling, said Mr. Schmeiser, is what made his case
known internationally.
"The
judge ruled in favor of Monsanto," said Mr. Schmeiser. "Under
the patent law, I no longer own the seeds I saved and developed,
nor the plants that I grew. All my profits are to go to Monsanto
as they now have ownership over it too."
The
Court ruled that it does not matter that the contamination naturally
occurred.
Profit vs. Life
In
the Philippines, many farmers are also saving their seeds for
the next planting season. This tradition has spared them great
costs for inputs and it also allowed them to improve these seed
varieties and even develop new ones that are appropriate to their
needs and farm characteristics. The recent commercialization of
Monsanto's Bt-corn now poses a threat to small corn farmers. Environmental
scientists have warned the government and the farmers that since
corn is wind-pollinated, genetic contamination could easily occur
among the traditional corn varieties.
MASIPAG,
as an advocate of farmers' rights, believe that genetically modified
crops are instruments of transnational corporations (TNCs) in
gaining control over the seeds and other genetic resources which
are basic components of agricultural production. MASIPAG has always
been against the patenting of seeds and other life forms as it
gives the TNCs immense power and control over life itself.
As
shown by a research last year, Monsanto's history of dodgy cases
proves that they put more importance on profits rather than the
interest of the farmers (1). The giant company is made more powerful
by patent laws that enable them to claim ownership over the seeds
and plants that the farmers tended and cared for. Patent laws
insure that Monsanto Corporation and any other corporation for
that matter, that small farmers will always buy the seeds and
agrochemical inputs from them, thereby securing the corporations'
millions of profit.
"What
Monsanto is really after is full control over the farmers and
the production," said Mr. Schmeiser. "They control your
seeds, your profit, then your freedom. It is a clear-cut violation
of farmers' rights."
Peoples' Alternative
Maca Denito, a farmer-trainer from MASIPAG-Luzon, talked about
MASIPAG's alternative to chemically dependent farming. With the
use of traditional rice varieties suitable to the farmers' field
and organic fertilizers, farmers are spared the high cost of farm
inputs. Farming systems and innovations aim to rehabilitate first
the soil, allowing it to recover from years of chemical application
so that it may give the optimum vitamins and minerals that the
plants need to grow. MASIPAG farmers yield as much as the conventional
farming with less monetary input, and his family is secured of
a healthy and safe food.
Mr. Denito, or Tay Maca as he is fondly called, said that the
practical work of MASIPAG has always served as the best advocacy
against genetically modified crops and the chemically dependent
farming system. Street protests, lobbying and the practical work
should go hand-in-hand to attain a greater triumph for the farmers
and the agricultural sector as a whole.
Pablo Senon, a farmer-leader from Polomolok, South Cotabato also
recounted his experience with Monsanto's Bt-corn when he and 50
other residents of Sityo Kalyong fell ill simultaneously during
the flowering of the nearby Bt-corn plantation. While it has not
yet been established if the Bt-corn pollen caused the sicknesses,
the incident strengthened the suspicions of scientists and NGOs
that the GM crop is not good for the people's health. Anti-GMO
advocates, including MASIPAG, intensified the call for the stopping
of the commercialization of Bt-corn and the application of precautionary
principle in technologies being introduced in the country.
The forum is in line with the Peoples' Caravan 2004 activity of
Pesticides Action Network - Asia Pacific (PANAP) with the theme
"Asserting Our Rights to Land and Food! Resist Agrochemical
TNCs!" and co-sponsored by Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang
Luzon (AMGL), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Resistance
and Solidarity Against Agrochem TNCs (RESIST!). #
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(1) Wright, Sarah. 2003. "Selling Food.Health.Hope. The Real
Story Behind Monsanto Corporation." Published by MASIPAG.
Los Baños, Laguna.
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