Many of you may have heard about this case:

Percy Schmeiser, a small farmer in Canada, was being sued by the megacompany Monsanto , in one of the most ludicrous and opportunistic lawsuits of the century (in my humble opinion.)

The agrochemical company Monsanto took Mr. Schmeiser to court for growing their genetically modified canola without paying them. Problem being, he never wanted to grow any genetically modified crops in the first place. He wanted just the opposite. Monsanto’s unwanted seeds blew onto his farm and began to grow.

This is one of the problems with genetically modified organisms - they are not containable. Seeds can blow for hundreds of miles, infecting presumed organic crops. But to be sued for a company’s environmental neglect? That’s just plain greedy.

Positive news? Mr. Schmeiser won the lawsuit. He will be reimbursed a measly $660. BUT the message is clear: agricultural chemical companies will be held responsible (ideally) for their contamination and do NOT have the right to sue based on their own disservice.

Both Percy and his wife Louise have become heros in their own right, winning the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” The couple was honored “for their courage in defending biodiversity and farmers rights and for challenging the environmental and moral perversity of current interpretations of patent laws.”

Percy Schmeiser’s website

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