There are many reasons to question GMOs in our food supply. One such
issue being our freedom of choice. When GM crops are grown next to
non-GM crops we often see issues of contamination. This contamination
may be due to many factors including human error, wind, birds, bees and
floods. Contamination has continually posed a problem in the
agricultural sector and in many cases has resulted in lawsuits where
farmers suffer under the hand of corporations hiding behind the guise of
‘patent infringement.’ You may remember the case of Canadian farmer, Percy Schmeiser
who was charged with patent infringement by Monsanto. Schmeiser stood
up to Monsanto and obtained a settlement out of court for Monsanto to
clean up his land. The result was seemingly in his favor, however,
Schmeiser was left with weighty legal bills and the legal framework was
left unchanged with the Federal Court of Canada upholding the validity
of Monsanto’s patent.
How has this happened? How is it that a farmer’s property can be
invaded by uninvited, unwanted genetically modified seeds and or pollen,
and then the farmer has to pay? What about the farmer’s right to grow
GM-free crops?
And consequently, what about our rights as consumers to
buy GM-free foods? Do we all just have to bow down to the corporate
world and pay them for contaminating our food? It’s time we stand up and demand protection for our food system.
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