Wednesday 12 November 2008

Grenfell Record and Bland Advertiser finally wake up to Monsanto threat

It would appear that the rural and regional media are just a little slow to notice probelms with the push by Monsanto and other biotechnology corporations to establish a GMO presence in Australia.

Last Sunday's article:

The situation in the signed agreements means that farmers also give the right to Monsanto to "inspect, take samples and test all of the growers owned and/or leased fields and storage bins" and to obtain copies of all operational documents for three years according to the Canberra Times.

A spokesman, international law expert, Duncan Currie, believes the implications for growers are dire. He said that "in general these contracts are very one-sided.

"One provision is particularly onerous and it includes re-imbursement for Monsanto's attorney fees, including expenses incurred in enforcing the company's rights and investigation expenses.

"However it appears that these rights are included in Australian Patent law and it highlights the need for patent law reform to deal better with biological law" said Matthew Rimmer, a patent law expert at the Australian National University".

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