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Monday was a sad day for people who love organic food -- and for anyone who hates it when the Big Guy crushes the Little Guy.
A group of farmers, the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, brought a lawsuit against the giant agriculture and chemical company Monsanto. In a nutshell, they're worried that if their crops get contaminated by Monsanto's patented seeds, Monsanto will sue them. Oh what, that sounds like a looney thing to do? YES IT IS -- but Monsanto has sued small family farmers before. So the farmers are suing as a pre-emptive move. Basically, Monsanto is just too powerful.
Anyway, the judge threw out the case. So what does this mean for your food?
First, a little background on Monsanto. They're this giant company that basically owns all the seeds in the world -- or at least it seems that way. And they make chemical fertilizers. And especially, they make genetically-modified seeds. Guess who doesn't use genetically-modified seeds? Organic farmers. So: long and contentious history between Monsanto and organic farmers. And basically any farmer who doesn't dance to Monsanto's fiddle.
Here's what the farmers' lead attorney said about the decision: "While I have great respect for Judge Buchwald, her decision to deny farmers the right to seek legal protection from one of the world's foremost patent bullies is gravely disappointing."
As far as I'm concerned, Monsanto embodies everything that's wrong with the world: Too much money in the wrong hands, big corporations crushing small businesses, profits before people, asshats getting away with asshat behavior. But back to the food.
Going into the details would take me about 20 posts, so I'll put it simply: Monsanto makes it hard for farmers to 1) produce organic and non-GMO food and 2) make that food affordable. They also make it harder for YOU to make an informed choice about the food YOU EAT. They're standing in the way of our freedom to choose our food.
Worst case scenario: Monsanto eventually takes over everything, and all our food is GMO. I hope I never see that day. The farmers are counter-suing, and I hope this time they win.
How much do you know about GMOs? Do you care about having a choice about buying food without GMOs?
Image via MillionsAgainstMonsanto/Flickr
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