To be fair, most of the Monsanto cases that I have read are dealing with farmers that grow conventional crops saving seeds or admitting to knowing about the Round Ready gene in their seed and trying to clean. save, and replant the seed which violates the intellectual property/patent.

Usually its soybeans as till there was Round Up beans were tough to grow without heavy cultivation as 24D killed them.  While there are cases much like pesticide exposure to bees in field spraying, where there is cross contamination with organic (certified and non) a majority of the cases involve farmers wanting the Round-Up ready gene so they can spray glyphosate without have to pay for the privilege of doing so.

I am all for farmers wanting to save seed and sustainably produce a non-sprayed crop, but those farmers, for as much noise as we hear are not the ones being effected by the litigation efforts.

As a farmer that grows both conventional and organic corn crops AND cleans and saves his own seeds I can tell you that I have never broken the law and have saved PLENTY of seed...that was NOT Round-Up ready.  I make sure that my plots meet organic standards and have windbreaks and are planted well before or well after my neighbors crops once we discuss what his varieties are and maturity dates.  A lot of these guys are knowingly saving seeds that are modified so they can do three thousand acres of spray crops...not 6 acres of organic for market cornmeal.

I will argue that a lot of this is poor education of the masses.  I love Michael Pollan, on part, because he is an add agency for my honey and produce without demanding a payment from me but on the other hand he and others, especially those associated with groups like Acres, USA have done a good job muddying the waters when it comes to painting a clear picture of what is happening.

Now ask me how I feel about Monsanto's patenting of existing non-GMO seed lines that were in production by other smaller seed companies and then controlling them and/or the smaller seed companies and I will get very preachy...but that isn't what we are discussing.  :)

Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855

(513) 967-1106
http://www.carriagehousefarmllc.com
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