Illegally smuggled into Brazil 14 years ago, transgenic soy has proved a boon to domestic farmers and now accounts for 85 percent of total production. But five million Brazilian farmers are now locked in a legal feud with US biotech giant Monsanto, the GM soy seed manufacturer, and are refusing to pay crop royalties. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesMonsanto are one of the most unethical multinationals, hope the Brazilian farmers beat them
Jun 04th, 2012 - 03:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Monsanto has won the same cases all over the world even in Argentina. If they don't want their PATENTED seeds they should be using them. Don't you think?
Jun 04th, 2012 - 03:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This is why civilized countries think most of SA is corrupt barbarians.
yankeeboy.... you have forgotten your Thoreau. Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Personally, I find Monsanto to be a major part of the evil Anglo/American empire, and the sooner we pitch them into the dustbin of history the better. Actually, I meant that to include both Monsanto AND the Anglo/American empire.
Jun 04th, 2012 - 05:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Monsanto is Monsatan. Their main interest is simple, control the food supply. There is a high chance the Brazilian farmers will beat them. Same thing happened in nations like Poland and other eastern european nations.
Jun 04th, 2012 - 07:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You know, I have to side with yankeeboy here. Don't use seeds that were modified by this company.
Jun 04th, 2012 - 07:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Of course, there have been rumors that Monsanto genetically altered instects to make them resistant to insecticides and thus forcing farmers around the world to purchase their feed. I would not put it past them.
5. They will just stop selling Round Up in Brazil and the seeds won't work. It is pretty simple. What they did to Argentina is have their crop held in cargo ships in EU until ARG relented and paid. I am surprised they haven't done it to Brazil yet. I guess they want to work through the courts first.
Jun 04th, 2012 - 08:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0One thing that drives the USA crazy about Brazil they want to play like they are a big developed country unless it suits them to be a poor developing country so they can ignore our patents . It will end up biting them in the end.
@6 Your second paragraph is spot-on.
Jun 04th, 2012 - 08:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@1 Expound on your comment. Are you saying that it's OK that Brazilians are using stolen technology and should continue to use it? Or, are you saying that Brazilian farmers should completely stop using the technology?
It sure seems to me that Brazil's GDP has benefited from stolen technology. But, the culture of thievery in Latin America will simply never go away.
Japan in the 19th century copied European ships and other machines component for component. If the rest of Asia and Africa had done the same they could possibly have avoided European - and Japanese - colonisation. In other words intellectual property is humbug. I'm against thieving, yes, but the biggest thieves in my eyes are the corrupt multinationals
Jun 05th, 2012 - 12:43 am - Link - Report abuse 0Nice non-answer. I can tell you like to be very cerebral don't you. That's really great. Here's the question again - Do you think it's OK that Brazilians are using stolen technology and should they continue to use it? Or, do you think Brazilian farmers should stop using the technology completely?
Jun 05th, 2012 - 01:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0You're the one who made the initial statement in the first post. I'm simply asking you to say what it is you want to say and be crystal clear.... for those of us who aren't so cerebral that is.
@8
Jun 05th, 2012 - 01:53 am - Link - Report abuse 0Great comment and I totally agree with you. the lap dogs of the bogus free traders crony capitalists who love to use the words free trade won't understand why they big business are pushing for their intellectual property bull crap, that protects them thanks to big government.
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