Jim Gerritsen -Organic Farmers Appeal OSGATA VS Monsanto

Dale Carnegie once said, "most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all."

On March 28, 2012, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, family farmers filed their Notice of Appeal to Judge Naomi Buchwald's February 24th ruling dismissing Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear the farmers' appeal, seeking to reinstate the case, which has received worldwide attention. The farmers are determined to move forward with their lawsuit challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically engineered seed technologies in order to continue their pursuit of Declaratory Judgment Act court protection from Monsanto's claims of patent infringement should their crops become contaminated by Monsanto's seed.

The large group of 83 Plaintiffs in OSGATA v. Monsanto is comprised of individual family farmers, independent seed companies and agricultural organizations. The total number of members within the plaintiff group exceeds 300,000 and includes many thousands of certified organic farmers.  The Plaintiffs are not seeking any monetary compensation.  Instead, the farmers are pre-emptively suing Monsanto and seeking court protection under the Declaratory Judgment Act, from Monsanto-initiated patent infringement lawsuits.

Tune in to this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, as host, June Stoyer is joined by special guest, Jim Gerritsen, Maine organic seed farmer and President of lead Plaintiff, Organic Seed Growers And Trade Association to discuss the plight of these organic farmers who are determined to defend the right to grow food. Stay tuned!