[hkarthik]

The issues around Monsanto that get people fired up are more around their enforcement of their seed patents and the wide reach they've got on the seed industry as a result.

Monsanto has systematically worked to destroy access to seeding machines (which take mature crop and harvest the seeds from them) to prevent anyone from using standard farming techniques to build mature seeds. This in effect forces the average soybean farmer to buy ALL his seeds from Monsanto, because they control the supply to seeds.

Additionally, there's a presumption that anyone using non-Monsanto seeds is using a 2G seed that infringes their patent. Farmers are basically bullied away from approaching another source for their seeds.

Lastly, Monsanto is only able to effectively enforce these patents in the US. Soybean farmers throughout the rest of the world regularly use confirmed 2G seeds and their governments don't side with Monsanto. As a result, US farmers are forced to pay the cost of higher seed prices due to the "IP theft" going on in the rest of the world.

[coldtea]

>As a result, US farmers are forced to pay the cost of higher seed prices due to the "IP theft" going on in the rest of the world.

"IP theft"? The only IP theft is allowing Monsanto, a private company, to patent seeds.

[dougk16]

He was just being sarcastic...that's why he put it in quotes.

[mkr-hn]

We need a new symbol to represent air quotes.

[dougk16]

It should be a gif animation of a hand doing the bunny ears on both sides of the word/term.

[randomdata]

> Monsanto has systematically worked to destroy access to seeding machines (which take mature crop and harvest the seeds from them)

Wait, you mean the combine? They are not hard to come by at all. You will find one on most grain farms.

> Farmers are basically bullied away from approaching another source for their seeds.

Monsanto already licenses the technology to anyone you might buy seeds from.

> Lastly, Monsanto is only able to effectively enforce these patents in the US.

I believe Canada was the first location for the successful test of the validity of the patent.

[protomyth]

> Wait, you mean the combine?

hkarthik probably meant "seed cleaning equipment" which is quite different from a combine.

> Monsanto already licenses the technology to anyone you might buy seeds from.

No, that would be false. In fact, they go a step farther and claim that if your neighbor has Monsanto seeds and it drifts into your plots, you need to pay them. Instead of a time honored "you contaminated my land - pay me" we get the reverse complete with bully lawyers.

> I believe Canada was the first location for the successful test of the validity of the patent.

Yep, and it was a horrifically stupid ruling[1].

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeis...

[randomdata]

> hkarthik probably meant "seed cleaning equipment" which is quite different from a combine.

That had crossed my mind, but he was quite explicit about the machine that does the harvesting of the seeds. It is not very common for farmers to clean their own seeds anyway, even predating these patent issues. Monsanto has been so successful with this because it has no real impact on most farms.

> No, that would be false.

I mean you are not going to be buying GMO seed from your neighbour, but any business in the business of producing seeds will have the technology available. Monsanto is not the only vendor of RR products.