The Supreme Court has declined to hear this appeal (see article below), letting the lower court rulings stand. NOFA Chapters were among the plaintiffs challenging Monsantos patents and their ability to sue farmers whose crops were contaminated by GE seed for possessing the patented property without permission. Currently, there is an expanded public comment period (until March 4th) to address USDAs coexistence policy to address GMO contamination between organic/non-GMO farmers and biotech farmers. However, through their Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture (AC 21), USDA has already framed the contamination issue solely to one of enhanced communications and crop insurance mechanisms for coexistence -- not to polluter pays. There is no prevention strategy in this approach (especially when USDA approves promiscuous crops like canola, alfalfa, sugar beets, corn etc) and the patent holder is once again let off the hook for any responsibility or liability. ...If USDA prevails in this, organic and non-GMO farmers will continue to bear the brunt of any coexistence policy -- but with added crop insurance costs to go along with their ongoing economic damages, loss of market value and potential loss of certification when contamination persists in certain areas. Further, the AC21 Committee placed great stock in promoting neighborly communications -- where farmers can voluntarily alter their planting schedules to prevent cross-pollination of adjoining crops. But in 2013, thanks to shifting climate anomalies there were numerous reports of greatly narrowed weather-related planting windows -- necessarily placing GMO and non-GMO crops on the same pollination schedules -- and resulting in increased contamination. With more climate dislocations on the horizon expected, however, this approach does not adequately address prevention. -Steve Gilman, NOFA Policy Coordinator
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 13:59:12 +0000
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