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GM WATCH daily list
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1.GMO Seeds: 'MNCs Gaining Total Control Over Farming'
2.Ontario Grower Ordered to Pay Monsanto $160 Per Acre=20

NOTE: Friedrich Vogel, when head of BASF's crop protection business, once de=
scribed the future brought about by GM crops as one involving farmers in str=
ict contracts that dictate production methods and severely limit the farmer'=
s share of any added value the new crops offer to food processors and retail=
ers.=20
http://ngin.tripod.com/farming.htm

Compare and contrast with the quote in the article below:  =20

''[Multinational companies] are also entering into contracts with food produ=
cers (farmers) that will determine what is produced, how it is produced, for=
 whom it is produced and at what price and quality'' - Javier Souza Casadinh=
o of the Centre for Studies on Appropriate Technologies in Argentina=20
---
---
1.GMO Seeds: 'MNCs Gaining Total Control Over Farming'
by Anil Netto
IPS News, December 12 2007=20
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=3Dva&aid=3D7602=20

Food security campaigners are now more concerned than ever that farmers are=20=
turning dependent on large multinational corporations (MNCs) for seeds, fert=
ilisers, pesticides and other inputs while also becoming more vulnerable to=20=
pressures to produce genetically engineered crops.

Gathered here over the weekend, for the Pesticide Action Network (PAN)'s 25t=
h anniversary, many expressed concern over the predatory nature of corporate=
 agriculture and its attempts to corner the entire chain of food production=20=
from seeds to sales of food products.

PAN is a network of over 600 participating non-governmental organisations, i=
nstitutions and individuals in over 90 countries working to replace the use=20=
of hazardous pesticides with ecologically sound and socially just alternativ=
es.

Participants said agrichemical sales have become increasingly concentrated i=
n a handful of large MNCs. Syngenta, Bayer, Monsanto, BASF, Dow and DuPont t=
ogether control 85 percent of the annual pesticide market valued at 30 billi=
on US dollars.

Three companies -- Cargill, Archer Daniels and Bunge -- control nearly 90 pe=
r cent of global grain trade while DuPont and Monsanto dominate the global s=
eed market. Eleven firms account for about half the world sales of seeds, of=
 which about a quarter are sales of genetically engineered seeds.

Genetically engineered seeds are now focussed on soybeans, maize, cotton and=
 oilseed rape (canola).

Such concentration of market control in a few firms has been driven by large=
 research-based firms fighting for market control and profits, higher resear=
ch and development expenditure (roughly 10 percent of sales) and more demand=
s for data for registration and re-registration of products.

Campaigners have to contend with more aggressive advertising tactics that pr=
omote the impression that pesticides are good and safe to use. Agrichemical=20=
lobbyists are trying to convince government officials that the industry is "=
science-based" and that pesticides are safe to use, said Barbara Dinham, an=20=
anti-pesticide campaigner from Britain.

Dinham pointed out that the global federation of agrichemical multinational=20=
corporations, CropLife International, is now touting itself as representing=20=
the 'plant science industry'.

''We are committed to the safe and responsible use of the industry's product=
s in order to provide safe and abundant food as well as other benefits back=20=
to the consumer,'' CropLife claims on its website. ''Through balancing envir=
onmental, economic and societal concerns the plant science industry also con=
tributes significantly to promoting sustainable agriculture.''

CropLife's annual report for 2007 even makes the breathtaking claim that pes=
ticides are actually good for the environment for a host of reasons, includi=
ng "lower carbon dioxide emissions associated with the switch to no-till/red=
uced tillage farming systems, and less frequent pesticide applications made=20=
possible by biotech crops fuel savings". Among other claims, it states that=20=
increases in agriculture productivity have also protected biodiversity from=20=
the encroachment of agriculture.

There has been a growing recognition among campaigners that a broader view o=
f the agrichemical and agribusiness challenge is necessary to take into cons=
ideration the new power structures in farming and more aggressive and assert=
ive marketing techniques.

One of the biggest challenges facing campaigners is the corporate takeover o=
f agriculture through a process of 'vertical integration'. This involves the=
 taking over of the entire food production cycle from the development of pro=
prietary strains of DNA and the sales of seeds to farmers right down to the=20=
distribution and retail sales of food products in supermarkets and hypermark=
ets.

One activist who is deeply concerned over vertical integration and the conce=
ntration of market control in a handful of large multinational corporations=20=
is Javier Souza Casadinho of the Centre for Studies on Appropriate Technolog=
ies in Argentina.

Casadinho pointed to the 'transnationalisation of capital' and control of th=
e market by a few large companies in Argentina as a worrying development. ''=
The transnational corporations are buying up companies that have the potenti=
al to create added value,'' he said.

''They are also entering into contracts with food producers (farmers) that w=
ill determine what is produced, how it is produced, for whom it is produced=20=
and at what price and quality,'' he told IPS.

''Vertical integration (by the larger companies) thus determines what kind o=
f technology is used in food production and it may be the same companies tha=
t are producing the inputs that farmer need,'' he said, adding that it would=
 also facilitate the adoption of genetically engineered seeds and crops.

Such integration is based on the law of efficiency similar to economies of s=
cale, and is aided by globalisation, observes Antonio A Tujan, Jr, internati=
onal director of the Ibon Foundation Inc, a research and educational institu=
tion based in Quezon City, Philippines, specialising in socio-economic issue=
s.

Since the global economy as it currently stands favours the multinational co=
rporations and big corporations, vertical integration enhances anti-people a=
nd immoral business practices, he pointed out. ''Integration destroys the fr=
ee market as it becomes increasingly dominated by the giants, which are able=
 to dictate profits and what is produced,'' he said.

This turns the market into a sellers' market, and consumers and farmers have=
 little or no choice. Farmers are forced to accept whatever they are asked t=
o use such as seeds and pesticides.

A democratic market, in contrast, is a consumers' market, said Tujan.

Vertical integration also restructures the production process and leads to a=
 mono-culture. Self-sufficient family farms and individual livelihoods are i=
ntegrated into corporations through production and market arrangements, givi=
ng rise to increasing dependency among farmers for inputs from the larger co=
rporations.

''It sounds efficient, but it destroys democracy and is destructive of the g=
enuine free market, which can be found in farmers' markets, hawker centres,=20=
and night markets (where everyone is on a level playing field),'' Tujan told=
 IPS.

Attempts at vertical integration can also be found in Malaysia, which has un=
veiled a Northern Corridor Economic Region, in which local multinational fir=
m Sime Darby is seeking to wrest control of the entire food chain from seed=20=
production and sales right down to retail sales through British multinationa=
l supermarket chain Tesco. Sime Darby has a 30 percent stake in Tesco's Mala=
ysian operations.

New strategies are now needed to counter these changing power structures, sa=
y activists. ''Adapting sustainable/organic farming systems is necessary to=20=
stop the dependence on TNCs for inputs and regain control over the seeds and=
 technology,'' said Rafael Mariano, the national chairperson of the Kilusang=
 Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), a nationwide federation of Philippine organi=
sations of peasants, small farmers and farm workers and subsistence fisherfo=
lk.

Tujan, for his part, suggested that consumers should not just 'buy national'=
 or even 'buy local', but 'buy small'. They could buy directly from farmers=20=
through farmers' markets, which are expanding in the Philippines and parts o=
f Europe. ''People should be sensitive about how foods are processed and con=
sumers should make a choice.''=20
---
---
2.Ontario Grower Ordered to Pay Monsanto $160 Per Acre for Violating Patent=20=
Rights on Roundup Ready Soybeans
Monsanto press release, Dec 11 2007=20
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=3D801785

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwire - Dec. 11, 2007) - The Federal Court of Cana=
da has issued a judgment against Mr. Paul Beneteau of Amherstburg, Ontario f=
or patent infringement pertaining to the Roundup Ready gene in soybeans.

In a judgment dated Nov. 27, 2007, the Honourable Mr. Chief Justice Lutfy de=
termined that Mr. Beneteau had infringed certain claims of Monsanto's patent=
 by growing, harvesting and selling 55 acres of soybeans which he "knew cont=
ained genes and cells as claimed in the said claims of the Patent."

The Court has ordered Mr. Beneteau to pay damages to Monsanto fixed at $8,80=
0, which is an award to Monsanto of $160.00 per acre on the 55 acres in ques=
tion.

This judgment follows an earlier successful court judgment against Mr. Eddie=
 Wouters of Northspruce Farms Ltd. in which the Court awarded Monsanto over=20=
$107,000 or $274.00 per acre on the 392 acres of Roundup Ready soybeans plan=
ted by Mr. Wouters without Monsanto's permission.

"We have a duty to protect our intellectual property and keep the playing fi=
eld level for all growers who are purchasing Monsanto patented technologies,=
" said Trish Jordan, Monsanto Canada spokesperson. "It is through the use of=
 patents that we recoup our research investments, which allows us to continu=
e to invest significant dollars in our research pipeline so that Canadian co=
rn, soybean and canola growers will continue to have access to beneficial te=
chnologies in the future."

Monsanto originally filed a Statement of Claim in the Federal Court of Canad=
a, Trial Division, against Mr. Beneteau in the fall of 2007 for allegedly pl=
anting, growing, harvesting and selling harvesting Roundup Ready soybeans wi=
thout a required license. All these actions infringed upon Monsanto's patent=
 rights pertaining to the Roundup Ready gene and cell.

Samples of crops collected by Monsanto under a Court Order confirmed the pre=
sence of the Roundup Ready trait in soybeans planted on land that was owned,=
 leased or under the control of Mr. Beneteau. In addition to the monetary aw=
ard, Mr. Beneteau is prohibited from further planting, growing, cultivating,=
 harvesting, or selling any plants grown from Roundup Ready soybean seed. He=
 has also been ordered to deliver up all seeds and plants in his possession=20=
which may contain the Roundup Ready gene or cell.

Monsanto is committed to pursuing patent infringement actions against other=20=
farmers who have planted Roundup Ready soybeans without Monsanto's permissio=
n. In this regard, Monsanto is currently pursuing litigation with three othe=
r parties in Ontario related to patent infringement.

Roundup Ready=AE is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC, Monsa=
nto Canada Inc. licensee.

For more information, please contact

Monsanto Canada
Trish Jordan
(204) 985-1005=20
=20



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