"'Actually, I laughed at them right off the bat, I thought it was funny,' Gansebom said. 'Afterward, it was like 'What the heck?' It was kind of like gestapo tactics.'
'We used to always plant our own seed, but they've taken that away from us," Gansebom said. "I don't feel right about that.'" (item 2)
1.Canada's first GM free zone honoured
2.Bean detectives visit Nebraskan
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1.Canada's first GM free zone honoured
Powell River honoured for GE free zone
Isabelle Southcott, Peak Reporter The Powell River Peak, 9 Nov 2004
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13329416&BRD=1998&PAG=461&dept_id=221589&rfi=6
Powell River has been presented with the provincial agricultural achievement of the year award for being declared the first genetically engineered (GE) free crop zone in Canada.
Julie Bellian, manager of the Open Air Market and organizer of the Powell River Fall Fair, accepted the award on behalf of the community at the BC Association of Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions annual conference held in Abbotsford last month.
"The fall fair made a presentation describing the success of a coalition of local Powell River groups who succeeded in having the regional district [board] officially declare Powell River Regional District as a genetically engineered free crop zone," she said.
Although Bellian accepted the award she said she did so on behalf of the Powell River Coalition for Safe Food which includes the Powell River chapter of the Council of Canadians, the Powell River Farmers' Institute, the Powell River and District Agricultural Association, Small Planet Whole Foods, the Sierra Club, local farmers and other individuals.
Regional district directors declared the Powell River area as a GE free crop zone on June 24. Being a GE free crop zone means the area is free of propagating, cultivating or raising genetically engineered organisms by people, firms or corporations.
The month before Powell River was declared a GE free crop zone, Percy Schmeiser visited the area to talk about his fight with Monsanto and how genetically engineered crops are affecting Saskatchewan farmers. He is credited with being instrumental in creating awareness about the issue.
As a result of Powell River's success a national campaign has been launched to raise awareness about GE issues, said Bellian. Powell River will also support other agricultural communities and areas to become GE free, she said, noting that other communities will look to Powell River for advice and information on how to proceed in this area.
New local enterprises including seed companies and perma-culture (sustainable organic gardening and farming) have sprung up and are offering workshops and training opportunities.
Future plans for Powell River include a new community garden with a training component as part of the Open Air Market. As well, Powell River's local seed exchange has had an increase in membership this year.
At the fall fair in September, hundreds of people stopped by the Powell River Farmers' Institute booth looking for information on seed saving, said Bellian. "And at least 1,200 pamphlets were given out on GE free information."
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2.Bean detectives visit Nebraskan
by Chris Clayton
Omaha World Herald, 5 Nov 2004
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=46&u_sid=1250091114pcgansebom.jpg attached
Nebraska farmer Vernon Gansebom has spent the better part of the last two years talking to people about how to save his biotech soybean seeds to legally use them next year.
Gansebom's efforts to speak to trade groups, generate support among other farmers and talk with seed companies finally got someone's attention. Two private detectives from St. Louis drove to Osmond, Neb., last month to talk to Gansebom.
"They didn't exactly say how they got my name, but they said somebody must have turned me in," Gansebom said.
Gansebom is one of about 500 farmers Monsanto Co. will investigate this year, as it does every year, for possibly illegally using the company's
patented seeds. To put that into perspective, Monsanto has about 300,000 customers who buy soybean seeds that have been modified by Monsanto so that farmers can apply the herbicide Roundup without hurting crops.
That doesn't include corn or cotton growers who also annually buy seeds with a Monsanto-patented trait.
More than 80 percent of the nation's soybean crop has some type of patented technology that makes it illegal for those farmers to save seeds. In Nebraska, 86 percent of soybeans, about 4 million acres, have such restrictions.
Monsanto officials said the company assumes each farmer is innocent, and that most cases are quickly resolved.
"Usually what we like to do is just go directly to the farmer, visit with the farmer about that," said Scott Baucum, director of seed stewardship
for Monsanto in the United States. "It becomes apparent, in fact pretty quickly, if there is a problem."
Once Monsanto finds a farmer has illegally used seeds, the company will seek a settlement. Monsanto has sued hundreds of farmers for patent violation, with about 70 going to trial. At least one Tennessee farmer lost a $2.9 million patent lawsuit. He also went to federal prison for lying and covering up his actions.
"The vast majority of these calls work out without having to go to litigation," Baucum said. "We've got about 10 cases in litigation right now."
Monsanto spokeswoman Julie Doane, a Nebraska native, said protecting Monsanto's patents is critical for the company, which spends more than
$500 million annually on crop research. She also points out that any money received in a case brought against a farmer goes to a scholarship
fund created by Monsanto.
Gansebom, 80, said the private detectives who visited his farm asked him to sign a statement authorizing them to pull his acreage records at the
Pierce County Farm Service Agency office.
"Actually, I laughed at them right off the bat, I thought it was funny," Gansebom said. "Afterward, it was like 'What the heck?' It was kind of like gestapo tactics."
The detectives also wanted Gansebom's seed dealer to tell them how much seed Gansebom bought last year. The seed dealer declined to provide the information, as did Gansebom's son, who keeps such records.
Gansebom said he hasn't heard from the men since, so he doesn't know if they got what they were looking for.
Earlier this month Monsanto sent private investigators to Vernon Gansebom's house to make him prove he bought all the soybeans he planted this year.
"We used to always plant our own seed, but they've taken that away from us," Gansebom said. "I don't feel right about that."
Biotech crops provide advantages to producers, particularly in reduction of pesticide use because gene traits attack pests. For soybean growers,
the biggest advantage is an ability to control weeds without manual labor.
A report by the National Center for Food & Agricultural Policy [a biotech industry funded outfit - see www.gmwatch.org] stated that Nebraska farmers in 2003 benefited from biotech groups by producing 743 million more pounds of corn and soybeans combined. That added $81 million to farmer income in the state. The report projects that pesticide usage also was about 2.8 million pounds less because of biotech varieties of seed. [the latest Benbrook report based on USDA]
Soybean farmers this year paid about $30 per acre for soybean seeds immune to Monsanto's herbicide, Roundup. The price for next year's crop will be closer to $45. Monsanto has lowered the cost for Roundup, mainly because farmers were buying more generic brands.
"They lowered the price of the Roundup, but they raised the price of the beans," Gansebom said. "They have a goldarned patent, but you're talking about a hefty raise. I won't be the only guy bellyaching about it."
Gansebom understands that Monsanto should get some money for developing the technology that makes growing soybeans so much easier. The Roundup Ready soybeans have eliminated long hours walking rows to remove weeds by hand. Now farmers can kill weeds with a quick spray of Roundup without killing the soybean.
"Oh, you just can't believe what it does to those weeds," Gansebom said. "There's no weed problem once you get going."
Because of the seed-saving restrictions, Gansebom has pushed for a program that would allow him to pay Monsanto a royalty, or "tech fee" when he sells his grain. Monsanto now tacks on a tech fee of $6 to $10 a bag.
"I'd like to be able to say if we plant so many acres of beans we owe a tech fee," Gansebom said. "I figure if possible we would pay that directly to Monsanto. I don't begrudge Monsanto for their tech fee one iota."
In Brazil, farmers found using Monsanto's patented seeds illegally pay $7 a ton as a tech fee when they deliver their soybeans to market. Gansebom likes that idea.
"That's a good deal," he said. "I'd like to be in the same boat. If they can do that there, why can't we do it here?"
Baucum said administering a separate tech-fee program would cost far more than the system now in place. Baucum also said farmers would lose quality in their seeds if they saved them. They wouldn't gain the benefits of new seeds.
"It is a much better deal for growers under our current system," Baucum said.