Ruling may give agribusiness greater control of food supply

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 02, 2013

~~<p>The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard a case that is likely to expand the power and reach of a U.S. patent. The case, Bowman v. Monsanto Co., 11-796, concerns a farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, who entered into a contract with Monsanto to purchase its relatively expensive genetically modified soybean seeds that are resistant to Roundup herbicide. Like 90 percent of U.S. soybean farmers, when the crop grew, he sprayed the herbicide that killed the weeds but not the soybeans. The contract prohibits Bowman from reusing the seeds from that crop for another season.</p>
<p>The problem arose when he bought cheaper seeds from a grain elevator to plant a less predictable late-season crop. The grain elevator product is typically used for animal feed but not to grow crops. His choice was based on the assumption that what he purchased was probably mixed with second-generation GMO seeds and regular seeds and that much of the crop likely would still be resistant to Roundup. It worked as planned. He did this for several years and was eventually sued by Monsanto, which won a judgment for $84,456.</p>
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The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard a case that is likely to expand the power and reach of a U.S. patent. The case, Bowman v. Monsanto Co., 11-796, concerns a farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, who entered into a contract with Monsanto to purchase its relatively expensive genetically modified soybean seeds that are resistant to Roundup herbicide. Like 90 percent of U.S. soybean farmers, when the crop grew, he sprayed the herbicide that killed the weeds but not the soybeans. The contract prohibits Bowman from reusing the seeds from that crop for another season.

The problem arose when he bought cheaper seeds from a grain elevator to plant a less predictable late-season crop. The grain elevator product is typically used for animal feed but not to grow crops. His choice was based on the assumption that what he purchased was probably mixed with second-generation GMO seeds and regular seeds and that much of the crop likely would still be resistant to Roundup. It worked as planned. He did this for several years and was eventually sued by Monsanto, which won a judgment for $84,456. Login for more...