Updated below with Correction
Organic farmers from around the country — including David Zuckerman and Rachel Nevitt of Full Moon Farm in Hinesburg — are taking their lawsuit against seed giant Monsanto to the next level.
Having lost round one in federal court in February, the farmers have appealed the case and are asking another court to pre-emptively block Monsanto from suing them for patent infringement should their crops become cross-pollinated with the agri-giant’s genetically-engineered seed.
The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), representing 83 farmers and farm organizations that claim more than 300,000 members, argue that they are forced to sue Monsanto pre-emptively to protect themselves from the company’s “abusive lawsuits” against unsuspecting farmers whose organic crops become contaminated.
In February, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York sided with Monsanto and dismissed the case, saying the organic farmers’ fears about contamination “do not amount to a substantial controversy and that there has been no injury traceable to defendants.”
Last week, OSGATA appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. The Northeast Organic Farmers Association of Vermont and Rural Vermont are co-plaintiffs in the case. Click here to download the farmers’ appeal brief.
Zuckerman, a former state legislator who runs Full Moon Farm with his wife Rachel Nevitt and daughter Addie (pictured), says OSGATA’s lawyers made a strong case for an appeal. While the family’s 151-acre vegetable and poultry farm isn’t at risk of cross-pollination from Monsanto seeds, such he says, “There are a couple of plaintiffs who have very clearly stopped growing because of a fear of being sued by Monsanto. One farmer in Iowa is surrounded by geo-engineered soybeans. When 90 percent of the soy and corn in this country are grown using generally engineered technology, there’s not a whole lot of places you can go to grow without that risk.”
(Correction: Zuckerman said his farm hasn’t been subjected to cross-pollination that he knows of, but that he takes steps to avoid contamination from GMO crops, such as limiting where he grows corn. Seven Days regrets the error.)
Zuckerman notes that the farmers’ appeal isn’t without risk: If they lose in appeals court, the plaintiffs could be liable for paying Monsanto’s attorneys’ fees.
“There are some people writing that ‘Zuckerman is doing this for publicity.’ No were are not,” the former lawmaker says. “And now we’re taking a risk that we’ll have to come up with a couple grand in defense costs if we lose the appeal.”
According to OSGATA, Monsanto every year investigates 500 farmers for patent infringement. To date, 144 farmers have been sued by Monsanto, while another 700 have settled out of court for undisclosed sums, OSGATA says.
Monsanto has strenuously denied suing farmers over what it calls “trace amounts” of cross-pollination. Before serving the lawsuit on Monsanto in 2011, OSGATA asked the company for a legally-binding promise that it would not sue should their members’ crops become cross-pollinated with Monsanto’s patented seed. According to OSGATA, Monsanto refused to provide such assurances but responded with a statement that read, “Monsanto’s policy never has been, nor will be, to exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of its patented seeds or traits are present in a farmer’s fields as a result of inadvertent means.”
This article appears in Jul 11-17, 2012.
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Liable if Monsanto chose to sue for attorney fees and if prove the suit is frivolous. Yeah….. this could be considered a frivolous lawsuit. Especially considering the courts ruling.
“While the family’s 151-acre vegetable and poultry farm isn’t at risk of
cross-pollination from Monsanto seeds, he says . . .”
. . . um, then he has absolutely, positively no business being a “plaintiff” in this lawsuit.
He denies his participation in this nonsense is a publicity stunt. But that’s exactly what it is. He’s wasting the taxpayer’s money in the court system on a publicity stunt. But, then again, this is the same guy who took legislative perdiems he wasn’t entitled to.
Zuckerman comes off as a bitter, jaded farmer with the deck stacked against him.
Standing up to Monsanto is exactly what we need more of. They can not be allowed to have a monopoly on food! I applaud the local farmers standing up for what is right.
Organic farmers should NOT have to worried about being sued by Monsanto. They should be considered the victim when Monsanto GMO pollen invades their fields, contaminating and lowering the value of their crops!
I applaud Zuckerman and Rachel for going out on a limb for organic and non GMO planting farmers and for consumers who want to and have a right to be able to grow and buy organic vegetables, fruit and meats/poultry.
Monsanto goes hunting for farmers to sue to scare off farmers from growing organically by intimidating them with the threat of lawsuit, when the fact is that it is Monsanto that should be sued for destroying organic farmers qualifications ~ because it is Monsanto whose genetically modified plants’ pollen and seeds migrate in to organic farmers’ fields! Monsanto is destroying the fields and products of non GMO using farmers!
Organic and non GM farmers should be protected form Monsanto, not the other way around! Monsanto is an aggressive company who seduces legislators (and judges) into doing their bidding all the while destroying our land, our eco system, the health of consumers and sustainable agriculture! AND undermining our democracy. Oh, that’s right, they have platinum membership in the Corporate-ocracy Club and Lounge and just can’t possibly live without that perk.
Zuckerman and Rachel have guts and a conscience. Where can we contribute to their efforts?
Go for the gold. We need more people aware of this and acting on it. We are responsible for what we eat and use, let’s remember where we put our dollars as well. Buy Local organic so we create more organic farmers and less conventional farming. Change starts inside and moves out. Start with ourselves and our families and move from there.