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On March 11, a new documentary was shown on French television. It’s a documentary most Americans will never see, explaining how the gigantic biotech company Monsanto threatens to destroy agricultural biodiversity that has served humanity for thousands of years.
For millennia, farmers have saved seeds from season to season. But when Monsanto developed GM seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup, Monsanto patented the seeds. For most of its history, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has refused to grant patents on seeds, seeing them as life forms with too many variables to be patented. But in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared seed patents in a five-to-four decision, laying the groundwork for a handful of companies to begin taking control of the global food supply.
Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s Roundup Ready seeds are required to sign an agreement promising not to save the seeds produced after each harvest for replanting, or to sell the seeds to other farmers. This means that farmers have to buy new seeds every year.
Monsanto is lobbying farmers, agricultural cooperatives, seed traders and anyone else suspected of infringing its genetically modified seed patents. To do this, Monsanto relies on a dark army of investigators and private agents. They secretly record and photograph farmers, shop owners and cooperatives. They infiltrate community meetings. They collect information from informants on agricultural activities.
Some Monsanto agents pose as surveyors. Others clash with farmers on their land and try to pressure them to sign papers giving Monsanto access to their private records. Farmers call them the “seed police” and use words such as “Gestapo” and “Mafia” to describe their tactics.
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