From the linked article:
[div class="excerpt" style="border:solid 1px #000000"]The lawsuit, Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, was filed this week on behalf of 12 seed businesses, 26 farms and farmers, and 22 agricultural associations, all of whom question whether Monsanto should have the right to sue farmers for patent infringement if GM seeds inadvertently end up on their property.
The suit, filed by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), explains:
PUBPAT is asking Judge Buchwald to declare that if organic farmers
are ever contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified seed, they
need not fear also being accused of patent infringement. One reason
justifying this result is that Monsanto's patents on genetically
modified seed are invalid because they don't meet the "usefulness"
requirement of patent law, according to PUBPAT's Ravicher, plaintiffs'
lead attorney in the case. Evidence cited by PUBPAT in its opening
filing today proves that genetically modified seed has negative economic
and health effects, while the promised benefits of genetically modified
seed --increased production and decreased herbicide use--are false.
Translation: According to the farmers, not only is Monsanto's patent policy out of control, but its patents aren't even useful in the first place--they're harmful. The lawsuit couldn't come at a better time for the organic farming industry; GM alfalfa, a crop whose pollen can travel via wind up to five miles, has been approved by the U.S government. And GM sugar beets, which can easily cross-contaminate with non-GM sugar beets, were also recently approved. Having protection against Monsanto's lawsuits will be a necessity for these farms in the coming years.
It's about patent infringement litigation, not health. Enough with the straw men, already.
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