A keynote speaker at Canada’s largest outdoor organics festival, Schmeiser cautioned listeners to beware the lure and dangers of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
This weekend, the Saskatchewan farmer spoke at the Organic Islands Festival in Victoria to an audience who’s aware of his efforts and tribulations.
Schmeiser’s 50-year research on regionally adapted canola became contaminated with airborne pollen containing genes from fields growing Roundup Ready, one of Monsanto’s product lines.
He took Monsanto all the way to the Supreme Court after the agro-chemical company sued him for using its product without purchasing it. Schmeiser claimed he never used the product. The Supreme Court found in Monsanto’s favour because their Roundup Ready canola was protected by a patent.
However, in an out of court settlement finalized in March, Monsanto agreed to pay all the clean-up costs of the Roundup Ready canola that contaminated his fields, and Monsanto can be sued again if contamination recurs.
Throughout the multiple court cases Schmeiser stood firm in his belief that once GE organisms are released into the environment there will be “no calling back” the genie.
Schmeiser explained that selection and husbandry have been a cornerstone of agriculture since the first organized harvests. In the last 100 years, the use of science to modify the characteristics of a plant or animal has been instrumental in increased tonnage per hectare.
While the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 70s resulted in improved harvest levels, it was often only because of substantial inputs of pesticides, herbicides and oil based technology.
In many countries this proved a disastrous combination, impoverishing the soils, the farmers, and whole countries, said Schmeiser.
Genetically modified crops need a significant increase in proprietary chemicals. Super-chemical Roundup is reported to be four times stronger today because of new active ingredients, he said, adding that Agent Orange of Vietnam War fame is emerging as a component in the new cocktails contained in the GE suite offered by agro-chemical companies
