Seed potato farmer
to speak at Oregon law conference
BRIDGEWATER — Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) President Jim Gerritsen, who co-owns Wood Prairie Farm with his wife, Megan, will deliver a keynote address on the OSGATA et al. v. Monsanto lawsuit before a plenary session of the 31st annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) at the University of Oregon School of Law in Eugene March 1.
This year’s conference theme “Earth Too Big to Fail” speaks to how attorneys, environmental activists, students and concerned citizens can reclaim the bailout phrase “too big to fail” for the environmental movement.
Dating back to 1983 when the conference had just 75 participants, PIELC now annually draws a crowd of 3,000 global participants making the conference one of the oldest and largest of its kind.
“OSGATA was honored when asked to present at this prestigious environmental law conference,” said Gerritsen. “OSGATA et al v. Monsanto represents a historic opportunity to establish significant legal protections for family farmers. We are convinced that our lawsuit against Monsanto is necessary to once and for all establish legal clarity that organic and non-genetically engineered (GE) farmers do have a right to farm as they choose on their own farms without being subject to threats, trespass and intimidation.
“When these rights of family farmers are protected, then the people win because they are assured of their right to choice in the marketplace for a future of something besides genetically engineered food,” he said.
Monsanto has sued or settled out of court with more than 844 family farms since 1997 over assertions of patent infringement. According to Gerritsen, the landmark lawsuit OSGATA et al v. Monsanto challenges the validity of Monsanto’s genetically engineered seed patents and seeks court protection for family farmers who, through no fault of their own, may have become contaminated by Monsanto’s patented GE seed and find themselves accused of patent infringement.
Gerritsen is one of several notable speakers slated for this year’s PIELC which kicks off Thursday and ends March 3.
