European Referendum Initiative – Monsanto
| GUEST BLOG – European Referendum Initiative | 21 May 2013 |
| Here is our latest selection of the key health and politics news stories from around the world. You can read the entire newsletter online on our website. To go straight to any individual story, just access its title below.This week, we report on how the United States Supreme Court has ruled that a 75-year-old farmer in Indiana violated Monsanto’s patent rights when he purchased a mix of seeds that are typically used for animal feed and then planted them without seeking a license. The mix had included patented soybean seeds manufactured by Monsanto, which the farmer argued he could do whatever he wanted with since he had purchased them lawfully and the terms of Monsanto’s licensing agreement under the patent did not apply to him.Court cases like this one are the inevitable consequence of biotech companies like Monsanto manipulating the genetic material of seeds and taking out patents on them. Using this approach, fruits and vegetables are increasingly being appropriated as the private property of multinational corporations, thus forming the basis for a multi-billion dollar investment industry. Clearly, therefore, with the vast profits of the pharmaceutical investment industry similarly being based on patents, and multinational corporations having essentially now claimed the entire human genome for profit, the abolition of the patent principle as applied to food, health and life is now an international task of the highest priority. In a separate development, tens of thousands of activists around the world will “March Against Monsanto” onMay 25. With global outrage rising over the fact that organic and small farmers are increasingly suffering losses while Monsanto continues to seek to control the world’s food supply, it’s significant that marches are currently being planned on six continents, in 36 countries, and in over 250 cities. To help put additional pressure on Monsanto, the march organizers are advocating that people vote with their wallets by boycotting all Monsanto-owned companies that use GMOs in their products. Notably, therefore, the launch of the “Buycott” app, which we also report on in this edition of the newsletter, will make this easier than ever before to do. Designed to enable ordinary people to scan barcodes in shops and trace the ultimate ownership of a product back to its parent company, there can be little doubt that, if this type of app becomes as popular as some people are predicting, Oil and Drug Cartel companies may soon be quaking in their boots! Best wishes The Dr. Rath Health Foundation | |