UPDATE - Canadian organic farmers sue Monsanto on GM crops
Date: 11-Jan-02
Country: CANADA
Author: Kanina Holmes
"Organic farmers in Saskatchewan have said that the time has come for this legal
challenge and we're here today to let the world know that," Marc Loiselle, a
board member of the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD), a group representing
organic producers in the province, told a news conference.
"We claim that the two companies, Monsanto and Aventis, are responsible for GE
(genetically engineered) contamination on multiple grounds and we're confident
that this will be proven in the court of law," Loiselle told reporters in
Saskatoon.
Two organic farmers filed the class action lawsuit in Saskatoon court on behalf
of all organic farmers in the province, the heart of Canada's bread basket. The
legal action is also aimed at halting plans to introduce transgenic wheat in the
region.
There are about 1,000 organic growers in Saskatchewan, whose farms represent
about 1 million acres (405,700 hectares). SOD alleges that genetically engineered
crops threaten the environment and their industry.
"Any kind of science, whatever it is, if it's infringing on our rights, they
don't have a right to do it, said Arnold Taylor, an organic grower and president
of SOD.
The amount of compensation being sought has yet to be determined, but Taylor
estimates it will be "in the millions."
Organizations that certify crops as organic have zero tolerance for genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) in the seed supply. They also prohibit organic farmers
from applying most crop chemicals. Instead, organic farmers rely on crop
rotation, which includes the staggered planting of canola and wheat, to control
weeds.
SWITCH TO TRANSGENIC CANOLA
Many farmers across Western Canada have switched to transgenic canola since GM
varieties were introduced in Canada in the mid 1990s, citing better weed control
and yields. Today, about 60 percent of the canola grown in Saskatchewan is
genetically modified to resist weeds.
Canola, the Canadian variant of rapeseed, is used mainly to produce processed
food ingredients, cooking oils, and livestock feed. Canada is the world's largest
canola exporter.
Organic producers say that pollen from GM canola, which is patented by Monsanto
and Aventis, is blowing on to their fields, contaminating their crops and their
seed supply, and driving away premium-paying customers, most of whom are in
Europe.
"They're trying to make these companies pay for their losses that were sustained
by them from having removed a crop, an entire crop from their selection of
crops," Terry Zakreski, the farmers' lawyer told Reuters, noting that this is
believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind in Canada.
"They want to stop them from introducing another crop that could economically
destroy them if it's allowed to happen," said Zakreski.
Agricultural sciences company, Monsanto, which produces Roundup Ready canola, one
of the most widely grown GM varieties, has recently conducted field trials across
Western Canada to develop genetically modified Roundup Ready wheat.
The plants are genetically modified to be unaffected when the herbicide Roundup
in used on the fields to control weeds.
"To me it's just a matter of continuing to give farmers choice in terms of what
they grow. And farmers make choices whether they grow organic or conventional or
transgenic, and they make those choices based on what works for them on their
farm," said Monsanto Canada spokeswoman Trish Jordan.
Monsanto has said that it will not commercially release GM wheat until concerns
about segregation and market acceptance are addressed.
SOD announced its intention to sue the biotech companies last year, but said new
legislation in Saskatchewan permitting class action lawsuits paved the way for
Thursday's announcement.