Lawsuit seeks to invalidate Monsanto's GMO patents
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24103
Some points/quotes:
The suit points to studies citing harm caused by Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, including human placental damage, lymphoma, myeloma, animal miscarriages, and other impacts on human health.
The suit also confronts the propaganda that transgenic seeds improve yield and reduce pesticide use, citing reports on failure to yield and increased pesticide use. The complaint mentions a 2010 lawsuit by West Virginia after several studies contradicted yield results claimed in Monsanto's ads. And, it notes the growth in glyphosate-resistant superweeds.
This means, should the court agree, that all transgenic seeds fail this test of patent law:
"A new invention to poison people ... is not a patentable invention."
- Lowell v. Lewis, 1817
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"Over 85-90% of all soybeans, corn, cotton, sugar beets and canola grown in the U.S. contains Monsanto's patented genes."
The suit then concludes, "Monsanto's transgenic seed patents are thus invalid for violating the prohibition against double patenting."
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Contamination:
Monsanto admits that its product contaminates natural crops. That must be why it recently altered its Technology Stewardship Agreement to transfer liability for its products to the farmers who buy them.
The suit logically asserts that genetic contamination amounts to trespass on the property of those who do not want GE seeds, causing them substantial economic harm.
We saw that when Bayer's transgenic seeds contaminated a third of the US rice supply, causing the European Union to close its market to US rice. Bayer has faced 6,000 lawsuits due to that contamination and market closure. On top of lawsuits already lost or settled, last month, Bayer lost a $137 million lawsuit by Riceland Foods. The new suit notes that, "The worldwide total economic loss due to the [2006 GM rice] contamination event was estimated at $741 million to $1.285 billion."
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Noah - All the knocks against GMOs are coming out in this lawsuit. The mainstream media seems to be loathe to report on any of that.
One of the indications of "something darn near criminal" going on with GMOs is the fact that Non-GMO products CANNOT BE LABELED AS SUCH [if you sell a Non-GMO product, you cannot say so on the label, by LAW!!}.
This lawsuit alerts us to the fact that 90% of corn, canola, sugargbeets and cotton are GMO. Who knew? - nobody said a thing to consumers. We have been eating GMOs and we didn't know it.
Another reason this lawsuit is significant is that it mentions the health effects on humans. The lawsuit introduces as evidence the studies have been done that conclude GMOs causes lymphoma and myeloma, putting that information into the "official public sphere" for this first time. {our fabulous health authorities do not say anything to consumers of GMO products - whats up with THAT?? }
