Did you happen to read the guest column in the Commentary section of today's Spokesman-Review? Here is a link to it: Monsanto seed case has profound implications.
It details an unsettling case that is currently being argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. As you probably know, Monsanto has been doing a lot of work in the area of genetically engineering seeds. Their ultimate goal, of course, is to sell as many seeds to farmers as possible.
In order to accomplish this, they have been developing crops that are resistant to glyphosate (the active ingredient in the weed-killer Roundup) so that farmers can spray the weeds in their fields without affecting the main crop.
As you can imagine, weeds have become resistant to glyphosate so now they are developing crops that are resistant to dicamba, the active ingredient in 2,4-D and Agent Orange. I'm sure we can all see where this is leading and to say it's alarming is an understatement.
OK, back to today's column. Monsanto has sued a 75-year-old farmer in Indiana who is said to have unknowingly planted their genetically-engineered soybean seeds and later saved the seeds from that crop to grow another crop of them.
Monsanto's position is that any crops grown from their proprietary seeds without having purchased them is an infringement of their patent.
This case is definitely worth following and not just because of the issue at hand. Monsanto and others who "mess with Mother Nature" are sending us into very dangerous territory.