Genetically Modified Foods

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the "Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser" case and the decision of Canada's Supreme Court to give agricultural multinationals the power to penalize and to bring before the courts farmers who find themselves the inadvertent possessors of patented seed products. The paper argues that this case is an example of patent protections being expanded in ways that ultimately hurt farmers, endanger the environment, encourage greater genetic modification of foodstuffs and cause genetically modified foods to find their ways onto the plates of ordinary Canadians in ever-increasing numbers. The paper is of the opinion that the inability of the Court to appreciate the long-term consequences of its decision will cause hardship for many.

From the Paper:

"The following paper will look at the ongoing debate about the genetic manipulation of foodstuffs with an eye towards exploring whether or not the expansive patent rights recently granted to plant seed developers such as Monsanto is an example of forward-thinking jurisprudence by the Canadian Supreme Court - or an instance of short-sighted legal reasoning that will create more problems than it will solve. Such a paper is important because genetically modified foodstuffs - courtesy of powerful multinationals - are more prevalent now than ever before and the likelihood that the foods we eat will be foods engineered in a laboratory somewhere is an issue which should be of the utmost concern to anyone who has reservations about eating such items and/or reservations about the ecological and environmental ramifications of introducing into an agricultural ecosystem a living organism that nature has not on its own seen fit to introduce."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Keith Aoki, Keith. Recent Skirmishes in the Seed Wars, 11 Cardozo J. INTL. & COMP. L. 247 (2003).
• Bernhardt, Sarah M. "High Plains Drifting: Wind-Blown Seeds and the Property Implications of the GMO Revolution." Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, 4.1 (2005): 1-13.
• Br. Of Res., Schmeiser, (2001) F.C.J. 436.
• Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser, (2004) 1 S.C.R.
• "Percy Schmeiser: The Man Who Took on Monsanto." Ecologist, 34.4 (2004): 30-34.

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• Persuasive Essay # 8394 : "Should Genetically Modified Foods be Banned?"

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