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GMO Giant Monsanto Loses Another Day In Court
GMO Giant Monsanto Loses Another Day In Court
Source: Natural News October 29, 2009 Author: Aaron Turpen
France`s highest court has ruled that Monsanto lied about the safety of its weed killing herbicide
Roundup. The decision came just days ago and confirms an earlier court judgment in France
finding that Monsanto had falsely advertised Roundup as being "biodegradable" and that it "left
the soil clean."
The original case was brought to court in 2001 by several French environmental groups alleging
that Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, has a classification as "dangerous to the
environment" by the European Union. That case drug on for years and finally ended in a ruling
against Monsanto in 2007. 1
The GMO giant quickly appealed and that appeal was heard in 2008 in the Lyon court.
Monsanto lost that case as well. They appealed again. This time it went to France's Supreme
Court; it lost that hearing and now faces fines and nowhere else to go for further appeals.
The court levied a 13,800 Euro fine against the company (about $22,400USD). Monsanto is also
looking at continued losses with fourth quarter losses of $233 million (US), mostly due to
plummeting sales of the Roundup brand.2 So far, Monsanto has made no public statement
about the court`s ruling, but it is also possible that the ruling could mean civil cases from farmers
and communities harmed by the false advertising. That could mean millions of dollars more in
losses.
Roundup is the world`s best-selling herbicide and is marketed as a weed-killer to both
commercial farmers and home owners. Monsanto is also the world`s largest purveyor of
genetically modified seeds (GMO seeds). Often, the seeds are sold in conjunction with
Roundup, the seeds being modified to be "herbicide tolerant" (HT-ready).
Some have argued that these GM crops and seeds are worse for the environment and could be
a real problem. Crop failures of GMO seeds in Africa have highlighted the lack of a crop
diversity issue while other studies have found that GM versus non-GM seeds have little or no
bearing on higher yields, as seed companies like Monsanto have claimed.
Currently, in the United States, nearly all of our soybean plants and most of our corn crops are
now GMO, and most of the seed crops for those plants are Monsanto-owned. In fact, at least
68% of corn and 90% of soy is a GMO (HT-ready) crop in the U.S. now and Monsanto is working
hard to make that a fact worldwide.3
Recent decisions, such as this one in France and a court finding in the U.S. earlier this month,
as well as a common blockade in many European countries, are pushing back against the
Monsanto takeover of our food crops. Other initiatives, such as Shelly Roche`s "Replace
Roundup Challenge," are using consumer boycotts to further take it to Monsanto`s
pocketbook.4, 5, 6
Resources:
1- BBC News Monsanto guilty in `false ad' row: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8...
2- BBC News Low herbicide sales hit Monsanto: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business...
3 - Huffington Post Racing Towards a Roundup-Ready Food Future:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy...
4 - NaturalNews Judge rules GMOs violate environmental law:
http://www.naturalnews.com/027177_f...
5 - NaturalNews How to fight back against genetically modified foods:
http://www.naturalnews.com/026908_f...
6 - Bytestyle.tv Take the "Replace Roundup" Challenge: http://bytestyle.tv/content/take-re...
About the author
Aaron Turpen is a professional writer living in Wyoming in the USA. He is also the Director of
Gateway's Needy Animals, a local animal shelter and rescue in the eastern Wyoming area. His
blog covers organic/sustainable living and environmental considerations at
AaronsEnvironMental.com.
Source: Natural News October 29, 2009 Author: Aaron Turpen
France`s highest court has ruled that Monsanto lied about the safety of its weed killing herbicide
Roundup. The decision came just days ago and confirms an earlier court judgment in France
finding that Monsanto had falsely advertised Roundup as being "biodegradable" and that it "left
the soil clean."
The original case was brought to court in 2001 by several French environmental groups alleging
that Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, has a classification as "dangerous to the
environment" by the European Union. That case drug on for years and finally ended in a ruling
against Monsanto in 2007. 1
The GMO giant quickly appealed and that appeal was heard in 2008 in the Lyon court.
Monsanto lost that case as well. They appealed again. This time it went to France's Supreme
Court; it lost that hearing and now faces fines and nowhere else to go for further appeals.
The court levied a 13,800 Euro fine against the company (about $22,400USD). Monsanto is also
looking at continued losses with fourth quarter losses of $233 million (US), mostly due to
plummeting sales of the Roundup brand.2 So far, Monsanto has made no public statement
about the court`s ruling, but it is also possible that the ruling could mean civil cases from farmers
and communities harmed by the false advertising. That could mean millions of dollars more in
losses.
Roundup is the world`s best-selling herbicide and is marketed as a weed-killer to both
commercial farmers and home owners. Monsanto is also the world`s largest purveyor of
genetically modified seeds (GMO seeds). Often, the seeds are sold in conjunction with
Roundup, the seeds being modified to be "herbicide tolerant" (HT-ready).
Some have argued that these GM crops and seeds are worse for the environment and could be
a real problem. Crop failures of GMO seeds in Africa have highlighted the lack of a crop
diversity issue while other studies have found that GM versus non-GM seeds have little or no
bearing on higher yields, as seed companies like Monsanto have claimed.
Currently, in the United States, nearly all of our soybean plants and most of our corn crops are
now GMO, and most of the seed crops for those plants are Monsanto-owned. In fact, at least
68% of corn and 90% of soy is a GMO (HT-ready) crop in the U.S. now and Monsanto is working
hard to make that a fact worldwide.3
Recent decisions, such as this one in France and a court finding in the U.S. earlier this month,
as well as a common blockade in many European countries, are pushing back against the
Monsanto takeover of our food crops. Other initiatives, such as Shelly Roche`s "Replace
Roundup Challenge," are using consumer boycotts to further take it to Monsanto`s
pocketbook.4, 5, 6
Resources:
1- BBC News Monsanto guilty in `false ad' row: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8...
2- BBC News Low herbicide sales hit Monsanto: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business...
3 - Huffington Post Racing Towards a Roundup-Ready Food Future:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy...
4 - NaturalNews Judge rules GMOs violate environmental law:
http://www.naturalnews.com/027177_f...
5 - NaturalNews How to fight back against genetically modified foods:
http://www.naturalnews.com/026908_f...
6 - Bytestyle.tv Take the "Replace Roundup" Challenge: http://bytestyle.tv/content/take-re...
About the author
Aaron Turpen is a professional writer living in Wyoming in the USA. He is also the Director of
Gateway's Needy Animals, a local animal shelter and rescue in the eastern Wyoming area. His
blog covers organic/sustainable living and environmental considerations at
AaronsEnvironMental.com.