It’s time we ask ourselves: How long will we tolerate the growing monopolization and genetic engineering of seeds by an aggressive cabal of chemical and pesticide corporations who pose a deadly threat to our health, our environment and the future of our food? And when does “how long” become “too late?”
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a seed patent infringement case that pits a small farmer from Indiana against biotech goliath Monsanto. The case made national headlines as the press and the public fixated on the sticky legal arguments, and the classic David vs. Goliath nature of the fight. But what few reporters commented on is the absurdity – and the danger – of allowing companies to patent living organisms in the first place, and then use those patents to attempt to monopolize world seed and food production.