Percy Schmeiser settles suit with Monsanto!
March 25, 2008
Why Monsanto chose to go after Percy Schmeiser is beyond me. You might remember the case: Monsanto sued this Canadian canola farmer for growing the company’s genetically modified (GM) seeds without paying for them. But Mr. Schmeiser claimed that GM canola pollen blew over and contaminated his fields.
In 2002, Canadian courts said it didn’t matter how Monsanto’s GM plants got onto his fields; Schmeiser had to pay for them. So Monsanto won the case but looked like a big bad bully. Now Monsanto has agreed to an out-of-court settlement, surely something it should have done a long time ago.
This case reminds me of the infamous “McLibel” trial of the late 1990’s when McDonald’s sued a couple of young activists in London for saying rude things about the company. You would think the threat of a public relations nightmare would encourage companies to back off in such David-and-Goliath situations, but no such luck. I’m glad this one is over. Next?
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Pingback by Public Relations Nightmares » Blog Archive » Percy Schmeiser settles suit with Monsanto — March 25, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
Dear Marion,
Thank you for bringing awareness into this world. You are a huge inspiration to a number of people in our film comming out soon - “Got the facts on Milk?”
A feature documentary that questions the health benifits of milk, with T.C.Campbell, Amy Lanauo, Neal Barnard, Joel Furhman and more.
We just got into the International Documentary Film Festival in Israel, DocAviv and they are doing a huge News article on the documentary and subject this Saturday on Channel 2 news.
I wanted you to know as you were and still are inspiration to many.
All the best
Shira
‘Got the facts on Milk?’
Comment by Shira Lane — March 27, 2008 @ 7:06 pm
The whole Percy Schmeiser story is just amazing, and I could not believe it when the Canadian Supreme Court ruled against him. Monsanto may have won that battle, but I think this case will be hurting them in the PR department for decades. I know that this case caused me to pay a lot more attention to Monsanto, and not in a good way (for them).
Schmeiser is one of the key reasons Monsanto lost its battle to prevent an anti-GMO initiative from passing in my county, which has a very large organic presence. The idea that an organic farmer could get contaminated with GMOs from a neighbor’s fields - and be sued to boot - was enough to offset a 10-1 funding advantage.
Comment by elfling — March 28, 2008 @ 3:13 pm