Justices skeptical of farmer who planted patented Monsanto seeds

[riderinthestorm]

25. But they are producers of seeds that are being sold like this under the Burpee name

Seminis, Park Seed, John Sheeper etc as Monsanto has slowly begun buying up other seed companies. I read somewhere that Monsanto now owns the patents on something like 40% of the veggies being grown now. Aside from their massive corn/soybean monopoly, they are slowly encroaching on the vegetable scene.

These are backyard gardeners, small scale growers, heck even larger scale growers - all of these are "typical sales", all of them will now be in jeopardy of being sued by Monsanto for saving and re-using seeds if Monsanto wins this case. Monsanto isn't going after these growers - yet. There's been absolutely NONE of this kind of lawsuit threatened by the other seed companies who have been patenting and selling seeds for decades. This would be unprecedented. These other companies haven't ever looked at their patented seeds as akin to a "song" or a "vaccine" and yes, you could reproduce multiple copies for your own and others' use.

If Monsanto wins this, it will transform how farmers have historically (and I mean centuries now) improved their own produce independently by saving genetically superior seeds for future propagation. Besides, its damn dangerous for one company to own so much of our food source as a monopoly (or nearly so).

Its a terrible precedent. I hold out little hope that the Monsanto-SCOTUS will do anything other than vote in Monsanto's favor but its a terrible precedent when it comes to seeds.

Food monopolies, at the seed level, are an entirely bad idea.