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The little guys win some gold from Goliath. From AP News:
A federal court jury has ordered the German conglomerate Bayer CropScience to pay $1.5 million to farmers in Arkansas and Mississippi whose rice seed was contaminated with a genetically altered strain.
Friday's verdict was the second against Bayer CropScience for losses sustained by farmers when an experimental variety of rice that the company was testing infiltrated crops. Read more...
Here's my question. OK, I have a few questions.
Monsanto can win proprietary infringement lawsuits when Monsanto seeds drift on to a farmer's land. But what happens when Monsanto GMO seed drifts on to certified organic land? As organic ag expands, this is bound to happen.
Doesn't this scenario set the stage for a class action suit pitting organic farmers against Monsanto? If Roundup Ready soybeans wind up on a certifed organic soybean farmer's field -- whose organic certification specifically forbids GMO seeds -- can't that farmer claim damages from Monsanto for pollution, now that Monsanto has argued and proven that it owns its Roundup Ready pollen drift? Read more...
It's Father's Day, so I don't have much time to blog today, but I wanted to get the word out that Smithfield Foods (featured prominently in Food, Inc and in recent swine flu news) is threatening the maker of new documentary Pig Business with a defamation lawsuit. I heard about this from the person tweeting for Pig Business on Twitter. Read more...
A new foodumentary, Bananas! (trailer), has Dole Food Co.'s full attention. From the LA Times: Read more...
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As the media picks up the story about the dismissal of the class action suits against Aurora Organic Dairy, I'll be compiling some of the more interesting quotes, reactions, and links here. I really do believe that this case was landmark due to the number of suits filed (52), implying a broad base of consumer outrage, so the judge's dismissal will have an impact on consumer trust in the organic market.
This article from Longmont Times-Call goes into more detail about Judge Weber's decision: Read more...
The lawsuit against Aurora Organic Dairy, alleging that the company defrauded consumers by not actually adhering to USDA organic dairy standards, has been dismissed according to the Northern Colorado Business Report.
Attorneys representing 52 consumers in a lawsuit against Boulder, Colorado-based Aurora Organic Dairy and some of the nation's largest retailers had been facing off for over a year in the Eastern District of Missouri, with Judge Richard Webber presiding. Read more...
An article in today's Strib outlines a David and Goliath story that mirrors Why We Fight here at FFF:
A lawsuit alleging collusion between grocery giant Supervalu and one of its competitors in the wholesale grocery business says neighborhood supermarkets and their customers pay more because of a deal between the two companies that limits competition. Read more...
