Re: semi GM: chi contamina viene risarcito

[Stampa Natura e Solidarietà <md2360 at mclink.it>]

Si dovrebbe organizzare un netstrike a favore di questo poveretto!
Federico Ceratti

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "AlessandroGimona" <agimona at libero.it>
To: <pck-ecologia at peacelink.it>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 4:25 PM
Subject: semi GM: chi contamina viene risarcito


> Cari tutti,
> 
> Come forse sapete, una recente sentenza in Canada ha decretato che un 
> agricoltore sul cui terreno crescevano alcune piante GM brevettate 
> Monsanto, deve risarcire la suddetta compagnia perche' le piante erano 
> non autorizzate. 
> Questo  non ostante che i semi siano giunti sul terreno di Schmeiser 
> spontaneamente..e senza il suo consenso.
> 
> In sostanza non solo la compagnia non ha il dovere di contenere la 
> contaminazione, ma addirittura puo' beneficiarne.
> Dubito che la maggioranza degli agricoltori condivida questa sentenza.
> Non e' escluso che una sorte simile possa toccare in futuro a qualche 
> agricoltore italiano.
>  
> Riporto sotto un editoriale del RAFI a riguardo.
> 
> Saluti,
> Alessandro Gimona
> 
> 
> 
> MONSANTO VS. PERCY SCHMEISER
> April 6, 2001
> Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
> http://www.rafi.org.
> On March 29, 2001, a Canadian judge dealt a crushing blow to Farmers' 
> Rights
> by ruling that Percy Schmeiser, a third generation Saskatchewan farmer, 
> must
> pay Monsanto thousands of dollars for violating the corporation's 
> monopoly
> patent on genetically engineered (GE) canola seed.
> Under Canadian patent law, as in the U.S. and many other industrialized
> countries, it is illegal for farmers to re-use patented seed, or to grow
> Monsanto's GE seed without signing a licensing agreement. If the
> biotechnology corporations and U.S. Trade Reps get their way, every 
> nation
> in the world will be forced to adopt patent laws that make seed saving
> illegal. The ruling against Schmeiser establishes an even more dangerous
> precedent because it means that farmers can be forced to pay royalties 
> on GE
> seeds found on their land, even if they didn't buy the seeds or benefit 
> from
> them.
> Percy Schmeiser did not buy Monsanto's patented seed, nor did he obtain 
> the
> seed illegally. Pollen from genetically engineered canola seeds blew 
> onto
> his land from neighboring farms. (Percy Schmeiser's neighbors and an
> estimated 40% of farmers in Western Canada grow GE canola). Monsanto's 
> GE
> canola genes invaded Schmeiser's farm without his consent. Shortly
> thereafter, Monsanto's "gene police" invaded his farm and took seed 
> samples
> without his permission. Percy Schmeiser was a victim of genetic 
> pollution
> from GE crops--but the court says he must now pay Monsanto US$10,000 for
> licensing fees and up to US$75,000 in profits from his 1998 crop.
> The GE canola that drifted onto Schmeiser's farm was engineered to 
> withstand
> spraying of Monsanto's proprietary weedkiller, Roundup. But Schmeiser 
> did
> not use Roundup on his canola crop. After all, if Schmeiser had sprayed 
> his
> crop, the chemical would have killed the majority of his canola plants 
> that
> were not genetically engineered to tolerate the weedkiller! Schmeiser 
> didn't
> take advantage of Monsanto's GE technology, but the court ruling says 
> he's
> guilty of using the seed without a licensing agreement.
> Monsanto (acquired by Pharmacia last year) is the world's largest
> biotechnology corporation. The court ruling has far-reaching 
> implications
> for farming communities around the world. Last year, Monsanto's GE seed
> technology was planted on 41.6 million hectares (103 million acres)
> worldwide. That means Monsanto accounted for 94% of the global area 
> sown to
> genetically modified seeds in 2000. (Total worldwide area is 44.2 
> million
> hectares or 109.2 million acres.)
> Thanks in large part to Terminator technology, the Monsanto's name has
> became synonymous with GE seeds and corporate greed. Although Monsanto
> disavowed "suicide seeds" in the wake of international public protest, 
> the
> company has routinely employed Draconian measures to prevent farmers 
> from
> re-using patented seed, including the use of private police to root out
> seed-saving farmers, and toll-fee hotlines to encourage rural residents 
> to
> snitch on their farm neighbors. Monsanto has threatened to "vigorously
> prosecute" hundreds of cases against seed saving farmers, but 
> Schmeiser's
> was the first major case to reach the courts. Schmeiser courageously 
> decided
> to fight back and speak out against bioserfdom.
> In North America, where many farmers have embraced GE technology, there 
> are
> signs of resistance worth noting:
> The National Farmers Union of Canada has called for a national 
> moratorium on
> producing, importing and distributing GE food.
> A bill introduced in North Dakota (U.S.), backed by the state's wheat
> farmers, would impose a moratorium on growing genetically modified 
> wheat--a
> crop that Monsanto hopes to commercialize by 2003.
> In March 2001 the National Farmers Union (U.S.) adopted a policy 
> supporting
> a moratorium on the introduction, certification and commercialization of
> genetically engineered wheat until issues of cross-pollination, 
> liability,
> commodity and seed stock segregation, and market acceptance are 
> adequately
> addressed.
> The Indiana (U.S.) House of Representatives passed a bill last month
> defending the farmers' right to save seed.
> Oklahoma's Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Howard, recently commented:
> "After reviewing Monsanto's 2001 Technology Agreement, I would 
> discourage
> any farmer from signing this document. Not only does this contract 
> severely
> limit the options of the producer, it also limits Monsanto's 
> liability...The
> protection of the Monsanto contract is strictly one-sided and I would
> encourage producers to carefully consider this before entering into this
> agreement."
> Support Percy Schmeiser
> Percy Schmeiser has filed a counter-suit against Monsanto, but his 
> family
> faces enormous legal costs that cannot be sustained without outside
> assistance. Contributions to Schmeiser's legal defense may be sent to:
> "Fight Genetically Altered Food Fund Inc."
> CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce)
> 603 Main St. Humboldt SK Canada SOK 2AO
> Phone 306 682-2614
> For more information about Percy Schmeiser's case, go to:
> http://www.percyschmeiser.com.
> To see the 62-page decision by Canada's federal court judge Andrew
> MacKay go to: http://www.fct-cf.gc.ca
> rafi at rafi.org; http://www.rafi.org.
> 
> Alessandro Gimona
> agimona at libero.it
> 
>