Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

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On 1/18/2012 at 9:31 PM Gianni Ortiz <gianni@gianniortiz.com> wrote:

>Dear Friends,
>
>A group of farmers and organic agricultural organizations have filed a
>lawsuit challenging Monsanto' seed patents and the perverse laws that allow
>victims of GMO pollen drift or seed contamination to be sued by Monsanto
>for
>patent infringement!  An important court hearing is scheduled for January
>31st in Manhattan and the plaintiffs feel that it would be very helpful if
>a
>lot of people turned up for this hearing.  If people in this area are
>interested in learning more, Don Patterson, one of the plaintiffs, will
>hold
>an informational meeting this coming Sunday, January 22nd, at 10 am at the
>Hawthorne Valley Farm Learning Center in Harlemville, NY.  If you are
>interested in attending this informational meeting, please contact me ASAP,
>malcolm9@verizon.net.
>
>General information about the importance of this lawsuit for both producers
>and consumers is contained in the document attached to this message.
>Information about the importance of the upcoming court hearing in Manhattan
>is found below.  If you would like to attend this hearing, please read the
>information below and contact Gianni Ortiz (gianni@gianniortiz.com).
>
>Sincerely yours,
>Malcolm Gardner
>(518-828-1797)
>
>From: "Gianni Ortiz" <gianni@gianniortiz.com>
>Subject: January 31st Gathering Notice
>
>If you are in The Hudson Valley, Connecticut, Western Massachusetts,
>Vermont
>or NH or know people who are and would need bus service into NYC the day of
>the hearing from a location in the Hudson Valley, January 31st, please
>contact me directly. We will make those arrangements based on need, which
>seems to be significant. Please email me if you are able to make a
>contribution to help cover the cost of the bus.
>
>Thanks very much, Gianni
>
>Farmers and Seed Distributors Defend Right to Protect Themselves From
>Monsanto Patents
>Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) vs. Monsanto
>
>
>The Federal District Court of Southern New York
>500 Pearl Street,
>New York, NY 10038
>January 31, 2012, 9am
>Gathering, 8 am, Location TBD but near this location
>
>From the opening remarks of OSGATA
><http://www.pubpat.org/assets/files/seed/OSGATA-v-Monsanto-Complaint.pdf>
>v. Monsanto:
>
>1.     Society stands on the precipice of forever being bound to transgenic
>agriculture and transgenic food.1 Coexistence between transgenic seed and
>organic seed is impossible because transgenic seed contaminates and
>eventually overcomes organic seed. History has already shown this, soon
>after transgenic seed for canola was introduced, organic canola became
>virtually extinct as a result of transgenic seed contamination. Organic
>corn, soybean, cotton, sugar beet and alfalfa now face the same fate, as
>transgenic seed has been released for each of those crops, too. Transgenic
>seed is being developed for many other crops, thus putting the future of
>all
>food, and indeed all agriculture, at stake.
>
>
>In July Monsanto submitted a motion to dismiss this case on grounds that it
>is merely a political, hypothetical and publicity seeking lawsuit (read
>frivolous), rather than a serious judicial matter that would address real
>harm to real people, animals, property and markets. Judge Naomi Buchwald
>has
>given the plaintiffs the opportunity to further make their case with oral
>arguments for her thorough consideration of the merits of the case.
>Basically, this hearing will determine whether Organic and Biodynamic
>practitioners, eaters and dedicated organizations will get their day in
>court or not.
>
>Between 1997 and 2011 Monsanto filed 144 lawsuits and settled out of court
>with well over 700 farmers (1) for undisclosed dollar amounts, but we do
>know it is in the many tens of millions of dollars. This number remains
>elusive because when a farmer succumbs and pays the settlement they are
>then
>required to sign a gag order. Many farmers targeted by these lawsuits have
>lost their farms as a result of being bankrupted by them. Monsanto's
>infringement investigations have intensified of late, so these numbers have
>only risen. Their patent infringement investigation department is staffed
>by
>75 full time employees whose sole purpose is to find farms that have been
>contaminated by their unwanted seed. This is one of the most aggressive
>campaigns of 'patent enforcement actions' on record, according to Attorney
>Dan Ravicher, Executive Director of  <http://www.pubpat.org/> PUBPAT and
>counsel for the plaintiffs. The Center For Food Safety published a report
>detailing some of these lawsuits and damages in
><http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/campaign/genetically-engineered-food/cro
>ps/other-resources/monsanto-vs-u-s-farmers-report/> 2005, which was updated
>in
><http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/Monsanto%20November%202007%20update
>.pdf> 2007. It is a truly heartbreaking read.
>
>This is a ground breaking court case in an epic David and Goliath struggle.
>Testimony and oral arguments on January 31st will determine if this case
>will be able to go forward, establish standing and then move on to
>discovery
>or will be dismissed. The are many 'firsts' associated with this case, but
>most importantly - this is the first time farmers, organic or otherwise,
>have had legal representation with the financial and professional resources
>to fully pursue a lawsuit against the biotech giant, challenging Monsanto's
>right to prosecute and bankrupt farmers who never wanted GMOs in their
>fields in the first place. All of this could have easily been avoided had
>Monsanto agreed to sign a legally binding document stating that they would
>not sue organic farmers in the future. They refused.
>
>Homeowners who have fruit and/or vegetables growing on their property are
>equally threatened, as Monsanto has bought up many different kinds of seed
>companies, including organic. Many of our favorite garden varieties are now
>exposed to genetically modified 'drift'. A list of brands owned by Monsanto
>and other large corporations, most still marketed under their original
>names, is available  <http://saveourseeds.com/?p=78> here.
>
>OSGATA's Attorney Dan Ravicher and PUBPAT represented the plaintiffs in the
>landmark human gene patent case against Myriad Genetics and won. Myriad
>held
>the patent to two genes that are associated with breast and ovarian cancer.
>This prohibited women and their doctors - as well as researchers - from
>even
>looking at these genes without paying Myriad $3,000 to do so. It is
>currently slated to be considered by the Supreme Court.
>
>occupymonsanto
>.courteously! We are asking those who support this pursuit of food
>sovereignty, integrity and justice to gather outside the courthouse at 8 am
>on the morning of January 31st. Details and guidelines are available at
><http://www.osgata.org/> www.osgata.org, which is the best source for up to
>date information. Judge Buchwald is due a good deal of gratitude for
>granting this hearing and any gathering should be respectful of the court.
>Courthouse security has expressed concern about disruptive behavior, not
>just because Monsanto is so broadly 'unloved', but this courthouse has been
>the site of many extremely controversial cases, including big ticket
>international terrorism cases. I'd like to make clear that this is an
>entirely separate action from the legal case. Bring your creativity,
>enthusiasm, signs, costumes, props, etc. but please leave your (even if
>well
>deserved) ire and frustration at home.
>
>Please feel free to share this widely - the time is short.
>
>The following is a summary of some important developments up to this
>point.
>Best,
>Gianni
> <mailto:gianni@gianniortiz.com> gianni@gianniortiz.com
>
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4swW9OFmf8> Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr.
>Huber about GMO (Part 1 of 2) - YouTube
>
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENmc9kHnvbo> Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr.
>Huber about GMO (Part 2 of 2) - YouTube
>
>From the January issue of The Atlantic:
>
><http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/the-very-real-danger-of-g
>enetically-modified-foods/251051/> The Very Real Dangers of Genetically
>Modified Foods
>
>Footnotes
>1.) Farmers and Seed Distributors Defend Right to Protect Themselves From
>Monsanto Patents,
><http://www.osgata.org/farmers-defend-right-to-protect-themselves-from-monsa
>nto-patents>
>http://www.osgata.org/farmers-defend-right-to-protect-themselves-from-monsan
>to-patents
>
>  _____
>
>Farmers and Seed Distributors Defend Right to Protect Themselves From
>Monsanto Patents
>
>Judge Buchwald has now set oral arguments on Monsanto's dismissal motion
>for
>January 31st, 2012, and this is more important than it might seem, because
>it has to do with our standing to bring our lawsuit before the court. We
>hope to have lots of support at the courthouse on that day. We requested
>the
>opportunity to present oral arguments, and the judge granted the request
>even though she did not have to hold any oral arguments on the matter. She
>could have written her decision based on the written filings. Now, the
>ruling could follow a couple of months after the oral arguments or about a
>year after the case was originally filed.
>
>We know Monsanto will follow this pre-trial motion with two more, so we may
>not get to the substance of the case until next winter. Meanwhile, this
>judge has a record of being thorough and careful in the preparation of her
>rulings, and this is one of the more complex cases to come before any
>judge.
>Most work judges do is simple by comparison with this case.
>
>New York - August 11, 2011 - The eighty-three family farmers, small and
>family owned seed businesses, and agricultural organizations challenging
>Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed filed papers in federal
>court today defending their right to seek legal protection from the threat
>of being sued by Monsanto for patent infringement should they ever become
>contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified seed. The Public Patent
>Foundation (PUBPAT) represents the plaintiffs in the suit, titled Organic
>Seed Growers & Trade Association (OSGATA), et al. v. Monsanto and pending
>in
>the Southern District of New York. Today's filings respond to a motion
>filed
>by Monsanto in mid-July to have the case dismissed.
>
>"Rather than give a straight forward answer on whether they would sue our
>clients for patent infringement if they are ever contaminated by Monsanto's
>transgenic seed, Monsanto has instead chosen to try to deny our clients the
>right to receive legal protection from the courts," said Dan Ravicher,
>PUBPAT's Executive Director. "Today's filings include sworn statements by
>several of the plaintiffs themselves explaining to the court how the risk
>of
>contamination by transgenic seed is real and why they cannot trust Monsanto
>to not use an occurrence of contamination as a basis to accuse them of
>patent infringement."
>
>Plaintiffs Bryce Stephens, who farms in Kansas, Frederick Kirschenmann, who
>farms in North Dakota, C.R. Lawn, who is founder and co-owner of Fedco
>Seeds
>in Maine, Don Patterson of Virginia, and Chuck Noble, who farms in South
>Dakota, each submitted declarations to the court describing their personal
>experiences with the risk of contamination by genetically modified seed and
>why those experiences have forced them to bring the current suit asking the
>court to declare that Monsanto could never sue them for patent infringement
>if they were ever contaminated by Monsanto's GMO seed. As summarized by the
>accompanying brief filed by PUBPAT on the plaintiffs' behalf, "Monsanto's
>acts of widespread patent assertion and plaintiffs' ever growing risk of
>contamination create a real, immediate and substantial dispute between
>them."
>
>Twelve agricultural organizations also filed a friend-of-the-court amici
>brief supporting the right of the plaintiffs to bring the case. In their
>brief, the amici describe some of the harmful effects of genetically
>modified seed and how easily GMOs can contaminate an organic or
>conventional
>farmer's land. The organizations filing the amici brief were Farm and Ranch
>Freedom Alliance, Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Carolina
>Farm Stewardship Association, Ecological Farmers of Ontario, Fair Food
>Matters, International Organic Inspectors Association, Michigan Land
>Trustees, Natural Environment Ecological Management, Nebraska Sustainable
>Agriculture Association, Organic Council of Ontario, Slow Food USA, and
>Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association. (The full text of
>the filings can be found at:
> <http://www.pubpat.org/mtdoppfiled.htm>
>http://www.pubpat.org/mtdoppfiled.htm )
>
>
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