Monsanto Wins Lawsuit against Indiana Soybean Farmer

By Carey Gillam
Monsanto Co., the world's largest seed company, has prevailed in another lawsuit against a U.S. farmer, earning a ruling from a federal appeals court that protects Monsanto's interests even when its patented seeds are sold in a mix of undifferentiated "commodity" seeds.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington issued its ruling Wednesday, affirming the lower court decision that favored Monsanto.

The St. Louis, Mo.-based company sued Indiana soybean farmer Vernon Bowman in 2007, accusing Bowman of patent infringement for planting and saving seeds that contained Monsanto's genetically altered Roundup Ready technology even though Bowman said he bought those seeds as part of a mix of commodity seeds.

Commodity seeds come from farms that use Roundup Ready technology as well as those that do not without differentiation. No licensing agreements are required with the sale of such seeds. 

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Upcoming Northern California Millions Against Monsanto Events

As part of OCA's Millions Against MonsantoTruth-in-Labeling Campaign we are encouraging activists in our network to plantheir own campaign events with others in their area. This email is to informyou that there is an upcoming event near you, organized by grassroots organizerswho care about the GE-labeling issue as much as you do.

Food Activist Pamm Larry, who is spearheading the effort to get GMO Labeling onthe California Ballot in 2012 (labelGMOs.org), is speaking at a series ofinformational events in your area. The goal is to pass a voterinitiative on the November 2012 ballot that would require all foods containingGMOs to be labeled.

These meetings are for activists to come together to learn about theinitiative, how we suggest being activists in your community and organizinginto a new cohesive group. We will be asking for folks to think aboutcommittees they want to be on and assign a point person.

 

Please come ready to "roll up your sleeves" and get to work onwhat we're
sure will be a historic ballot measure.

 

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Upcoming SoCal Millions Against Monsanto Events

As part of OCA's Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-LabelingCampaign we are encouraging activists in our network to plan their own campaignevent with others in their area. This email is to inform you that there is anupcoming event near you, organized by grassroots organizers who care about theGE-labeling issue as much as you do.

 

Food Activist Pamm Larry, who is spearheading the effort toget GMO Labeling on the California Ballot in 2012 (labelGMOs.org), is speakingat a series of informational events in your area.

These meetings are for activists to come together to learn about theinitiative, how we suggest being activists in your community and organizinginto a new cohesive group. We will be asking for folks to think aboutcommittees they want to be on and assign a point person.

 

Pasadena

Thursday,July 14 - 7:30pm - 9:00pm

BeantownCoffee Bar, 45 North Baldwin Ave, SierraMadre

 

SantaBarbara

Monday, July 25 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Holistic Health Center of SB, 411 E. Canon Perdido, Suite 17, Santa Barbara

 

W. LosAngeles

Saturday, July 30 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Planet Raw, 609Broadway St, Santa Monica

 

ThousandOaks

Sunday, July 31 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Pizza Salad, 1655 E.Thousand Oaks Blvd #104, Thousand Oaks

 

Otherevents:

 

Pasadena - Free Movie - The Future of Food

Wednesday,July 13 - 7:30pm - 9:30pm

MemorialPark, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd,Sierra Madre (Pasadena)

 

ThousandOaks - Rally to Label GMOs

Saturday,July 16 - 11:00am - 1:00pm

Corner of TO Blvd and Moorpark, ThousandOaks

Bringa sign, a hat and some water. 

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Family Farmers Amplify Legal Complaint Against Monsanto's GMOs

New York: New threats by Monsanto have led to the filing of an amended complaint by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) in its suit on behalf of family farmers, seed businesses, and organic agricultural organizations challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed.

"Our clients don't want a fight with Monsanto, they merely want to be protected from the threat that they will be contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified seed and then accused of patent infringement," said PUBPAT Executive Director Daniel B. Ravicher. "We asked Monsanto to give our clients reassurances they wouldn't do such a thing, and in response Monsanto chose to instead reiterate the same implicit threat to organic agriculture that it has made in the past."

Over the years Monsanto has sued farmers alleging they have stolen the corporation's intellectual property by saving their proprietary seed rather than purchasing new seed each year that would include a "technology fee." Because pollen, and genetics, can be spread through the wind, or by insects, farmers are vulnerable to having their crops contaminated and then subsequently being sued by Monsanto.

Soon after the March filing of the lawsuit, Monsanto issued a statement saying that they would not assert their patents against farmers who suffer "trace" amounts of transgenic contamination. In response, and in the hope that the matter could be resolved out of court, PUBPAT attorneys wrote Monsanto's attorneys asking the company to make its promise legally binding.

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Home Canners Wield Pickles Against Food Giants

Is food preservation a political act? Many of the people surveyed by two social scientists for their academic study "Saving Food: Food Preservation as Alternative Food Activism" think so, according to The Irresistible Fleet of Bicycles, the blog of the hard-hoeing young farmers known as the Greenhorns.

For their study (pdf), Melissa Click and Ronit Ridberg collected survey results from 902 respondents in 42 of the 50 states after reaching them through gardening and food networks. Here's their "participant profile":

Our survey respondents reported behaviors that are consistent with the rhetoric of alternative food activism, indicating that they frequent farmers markets (80.5 percent), buy local food (79.9 percent), buy organic food (77.6 percent), and maintain their own vegetable gardens (72.7 percent). Respondents' answers to an open-ended survey question, "describe how your views about food have influenced the way you spend money on food," consistently demonstrated that our survey respondents believe that the way they spend their money is a political act. For instance, survey respondents offered the following: "As consumers we have a voice and our dollars speak volumes"; "The way I spend my money is the best representation of my morals in this society"; and "We vote with our dollars, so I am OK with spending more money on food that I know was produced within my community with love and sustainable methods."  

Fewer survey respondents directly connected their views about food with behaviors considered more traditionally political, some arguing that they wanted government regulation out of food altogether   and some asserting that they did not see a connection between food and politics   . Other survey respondents saw a direct connection between food and environmental policy (e.g., "Food and the environment are inseparable, so I always vote for the candidate most likely to approve or make legislation to protect the environment"); between food safety and government regulation ("The federal government needs to provide adequate funding for regular and thorough inspections of food processing facilities in the USA and of imported food products to ensure public safety"); and between food and specific government policies ("I pay attention to the Farm Bill and to agricultural and food policy in general. I favor policy and candidates that support a diversified agriculture and more local and regional food systems"). 


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Square Lohkoh - French Hip Hop Against Monsanto

Square Lohkoh
Straight to the Source

For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Resource Center on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology or our Millions Against Monsanto Campaign page.

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Battle Against Chicken Factory Farms Making Progress

By Keith Good, ed.
FarmPolicy.com, Aug 12, 2010
Straight to the Source

Erik Eckholm reported in today’s New York Times that,

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States Make Anti-Union, Preemptive Strike Against EFCA

By Jonathan J. Cooper
Common Dreams, August 12, 2010
Straight to the Source

PHOENIX - With Washington silent for now on legislation championed by unions, the debate is playing out instead in the states.

With a measure approved Wednesday by its Republican-controlled Legislature, Arizona became the fourth state that will ask voters this year to undercut proposed federal legislation aimed at making it easier for workers to unionize. Arizona voters will decide in November whether the state constitution should require a secret ballot for workers deciding whether to create a union; South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah residents will be asked similar questions.

If passed, the secret ballot initiatives would have little immediate effect because federal law already allows employers to require a secret ballot.

Rather, the ballot measures are an attempt to pre-emptively undermine the proposed federal law known officially as the Employee Free Choice Act - dubbed "card check" by opponents.

EFCA would allow a majority of employees to create a union by signing a card. Unions say workers, not their employers, should get to decide how to form a union.

Businesses have the advantage in a union election because management has unfettered access to employees and can intimidate them by changing work schedules and assignments or threatening to fire them, said Bill Samuel, government affairs director for the AFL-CIO.


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Protect Yourself Against Hearing Loss

It's estimated that 10 million Americans suffer with noise-induced hearing loss. In fact, noise is one of the most common occupational hazards today, with as many as 30 million Americans being exposed to harmful noise levels at work.

We register sound through little hairs that vibrate in our inner ears in response to different noises. When these hairs are exposed to a sudden burst of very loud noise or to a steady stream of fairly loud noise, they can get damaged, resulting in hearing loss.

Sound pressure is measured in decibels (dB). Here are some everyday sounds and their average decibel rankings:

SoundDecibels (db) Very faint, rustling leaves5Whisper20Rainfall50Typical speech60Washing machine75Busy city traffic85Hair dryer90Leaf blower, rock concert, chainsaw110Ambulance, jack hammer120Jet plane from 100 feet130Fireworks, gunshot14012-gauge shotgun165

How loud is too loud?

Steady exposure to noise that reaches 85 dB can produce hearing loss. A one-time exposure to very loud noises like a gunshot at 140 dB can also cause hearing loss. Listening to a discman or mp3 player at a standard volume level of 5 for 15 minutes a day is enough to cause permanent damage.

Since it's not practical to walk around with a meter that allows you to measure dB, a good rule of thumb is that if you have to raise your voice in order to be heard by a person who is a couple of feet away, the noise level is considered hazardous.

Another practical measure is to carefully observe for ringing in your ears or if sounds feel flat or dull after leaving a noisy environment. If either of these conditions are present, you were probably exposed to a hazardous level of noise.

If you are exposed to potentially harmful noises at work or home, I recommend that you strongly consider using expandable or pre-molded earplugs. You can find them at almost any pharmacy.

An alternative is to use earmuffs, although they might not provide the same level of protection as earplugs that sit snug in your external ear canal.

If you have children who like to listen to music on their mp3 players or in their cars, please share this article with them so that they're aware of how their choices today may affect them in the future.

For more information about noise-induced hearing loss and what you can do to prevent it, please visit the website for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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