Canadian TV Documents Monsanto
Bullying of Farmers

CBC TV
SHOW: COUNTRY CANADA ( 7:00 PM ET )
January 10, 2002,

ONE FARM FAMILY'S EXPERIENCE WITH GM SEED

GUEST: RODNEY NELSON, Farmer; ROGER NELSON, Farmer; CATHY NELSON,
Pharmacist; ANNE CLARK, Associate Professor in Plant Agriculture, Guelph
University

ANCHORS: REG SHERREN

REG SHERREN: Hello. I'm Reg Sherren, and welcome to Country Canada. I
probably don't have to tell you about the debate that's raging in the
farming community about genetically modified products, not just here in
Canada but also in the United States. We're about to introduce you to the
Nelson family of North Dakota. They're as big and as high-tech an operation
as you're likely to find. A few years ago they embraced the latest
technology, genetically modified seed. It started them down a path of
accusations and lawsuits that turned their world upside down.

RODNEY NELSON: Every morning I wake up and what's in my mind? I've
gotten obsessed with this stuff. If this is what farming's going to be like in the
future, even though farming's been my life and I've loved it in the past,
I'd throw it all in the can in two seconds and walk away. SHERREN: Rodney
Nelson is the youngest son on a family farm near Fargo, North Dakota. With
his father Roger, brother Greg and up to a dozen employees, they seed and
harvest more than 13 square miles of land each year. A good harvest this
year brings none of the usual relief. Hanging over everything is a lawsuit
that could bankrupt the farm. The Monsanto company accuses the Nelsons of
saving and planting its genetically modified soybeans in violation of patent
rights. They are one of more than a dozen farms across Canada and the United
States being sued by Monsanto, with many more farms under active
investigation. As harvest hits full roll, Roger Nelson is only weeks out of
the hospital from hearth surgery.

ROGER NELSON: In 41 years we've had (inaudible)... we've had floods. All
that pales in comparison to what Monsanto, with their suit against us, has
done.

SHERREN: Farming is still, in large part, work done with the hands. But
increasingly in North America it's a world overtaken by the most
sophisticated of technologies, and the legal contracts that go with it.
Genetically modified seeds... microscopic genetic material from another
living organism is introduced into the genes of a plant. What results is a
plant with unique characterists. Genetically modified seeds first came on
the market in 1995. It followed a breakthrough US ruling that plants could
be patented. It meant every time a genetically modified seed was planted a
license fee could be charged. First out of the gate with commercial
genetically modified seeds was the Monsanto company of St. Louis, Missouri,
a multinational, $5.6 billion a year operation. In just five years Monsanto
seeds have swept over North America. Last year 72 percent of all US soybeans
were Monsanto patented. In Canada 84 percent of canola was covered by a
Monsanto license. And most of this genetically modified seed has been
developed to work in partnership with another Monsanto product, the
kill-anything-green herbicide Roundup. It was after signing a contract for
Monsanto's Roundup-ready soybeans that the Nelsons' trouble began. Rodney
Nelson, his wife Cathy, and kids Lexi and Bradley are a 21st-century farm
family.

CATHY NELSON: What else do you need with that?

SHERREN: She's a pharmacist in the local town. The kids have a full card of
sports and music. This year Nelson Farms will gross more than $2 million
selling wheat and soybeans.

RODNEY NELSON (Into Telephone): Hello? This is Rodney.

SHERREN: The Nelsons pride themselves on being progressive farmers. So in
1998 when they heard about a new kind of seed, they were primed.

RODNEY NELSON: We're real excited about (inaudible)... technology. You know,
when I first heard about it I thought you know, boy, that's going to
simplify things so much because the crop will be resistant to Roundup and
you can spray any time. You know, the timing isn't going to be critical,
like it is with the conventional herbicide.

SHERREN: In 1999 the Nelsons plant more than 2000 acres with conventional
soybeans and about 1500 acres with different varieties of Roundup-ready
beans.

RODNEY NELSON: The fields were clean. We didn't have weeds out there, but...
but the yields were really poor, anywheres from about three to 12 bushels to
the acre less than our conventionals. There wasn't a cost-benefit or inputs,
as far as herbicides were nearly identical to our conventionals... spraying.
And... but our seed costs were running around $40 an acre, versus about $6
to $7 an acre planting, you know, bin-run saved seeds, conventional seeds.

SHERREN: The Nelsons' experience with genetically modified seeds comes as no
surprise to Anne Clark. She's an associate professor in plant agriculture at
Guelph University in Ontario.

ANNE CLARK: The best studied example is Roundup-ready soybeans, where they
yield typically several bushels less, typically six to eight percent less
than their conventional varieties. And this has been very heavily studied.

SHERREN: Clark has made a personal study of genetically modified technology.
She's skeptical of its benefits.

CLARK: The thing has been in the market for five years, all of these claims
are being made for profit and reduced this and better that and so on. And
there literally is no evidence to support it.

SHERREN: For its part, Monsanto says the marketplace is deciding the true
benefit of genetically modified technology. They say more than 100,000
farmers have signed GM contracts and the number is growing each year. Rodney
thinks he knows why so many of his neighbours are adopting Roundup-ready
soybeans, and it has little to do with the bottom line.

RODNEY NELSON: Yeah, you can farm dumb. It makes the spraying much easier
because you can kill a broad spectrum of weeds and grasses with the Roundup
and timing isn't as critical. You know, everybody wants to have a weed-free
field, you know, and some are willing to sacrifice, you know, net return
dollars for that, just out of... I guess, a sense of pride in your field.

SHERREN: By the fall of '99 the Nelsons are ready to abandon genetically
modified soybeans, at least until yields improve. But as it turns out,
Monsanto wasn't through with them. We'll be right back.

BREAK

SHERREN: In the summer of 1999 the Nelsons have a visitor.

RODNEY NELSON: He come out and said that he was representing Monsanto
and that there was... I don't know, I guess an anonymous tip or something. He
wanted to... to look at our seed records and our chemical records. Well, we
didn't have any problem giving that to him.

SHERREN: The investigator leaves to tour the fields. Rodney Nelson thinks
the matter is finished. But four months later, more visitors.

RODNEY NELSON: Couple of guys from Indiannapolis, Indiana came on the yard
and they wanted the legal descriptions for our field. And they were going to
go out and take samples.

SHERREN: As far as the Nelsons know, the men spent about eight hours in the
area. It's November. The harvest is over, the fields chisel-ploughed. Any
sampling would have been taken from leftovers. After this visit things again
go quiet, and then, eight months later, a letter from a law firm in New
Orleans. The sampling, they are told, has found more acres planted in
Roundup-ready beans than they had paid for.

RODNEY NELSON: Well, at first it was kind of a shock, I guess, and then we
felt that... kind of disbelief. You know, how could... you know, how could
that be? You know, how could... how could they be accusing us of this? We
didn't do it, and why would they think we did, or you know... We didn't
know, really, what to think.

SHERREN: Events moved quickly. Within weeks they are confronted with a
lawsuit claiming patent infringement and unjust enrichment. In effect,
Monsanto accuses them of saving and planting seed without paying the license
fee. The Nelsons find themselves running up a legal bill.

RODNEY NELSON: It's been extremely nerve-wracking, on the whole of it,
because when Monsanto sues you, what they're suing you for is the value of
your entire crop. And in patent infringement cases, it's standard practice
in the United States for the courts to treble those damages. So it would be
like losing three total crops.

SHERREN: In less than a year the Nelsons fill two file boxes with documents.
Their legal bill is $250,000. Rodney is transformed from a farmer to an
activist.

RODNEY NELSON: Every evening I come home from the farm, I get on the
Internet. I'm in contact with people all over the world on the subject, and
digging up information, talking to scientists and different things, other
farmers being sued. And I've done that... I don't think I've been to bed
before one in the morning in a year.

SHERREN: Rodney creates his own web page to warn other farmers. He
lobbies politicians in North Dakota and Illinois. He wants state officials to be
present whenever samples are taken in genetically modified disputes.

RODNEY NELSON: You know, a lot of people kind of have the attitude
well, nothing's a problem until it happens to me. Well, farmers, not only here
in the United States but all over the world, are realizing hey, this could
happen to me.

SHERREN: Because of what they call the sensitive nature of the Nelson case,
Monsanto refused an on-camera interview for this report. In a background
telephone interview, however, a Monsanto spokesperson defended the
enforcement action, calling it necessary to protect not only Monsanto's
investment but also the investment of the farmer who's paid for genetically
modified seeds. Harvest 2001: a good crop and great harvest weather, but the
lawsuit hangs over everyone. In preparing their defence, the Nelsons
double-check some of the GPS locations where Monsanto says genetically
modified beans were found. They find some are in neighbours' fields, another
in a sugar beat field. The family takes their case to the North Dakota Seed
Arbitration Board. Monsanto refuses to take part. The Board finds the family
doesn't owe Monsanto any damages.

RODNEY NELSON: It's strenous, even though you try to put it out of your
mind, but it's quite strenuous. I had a stress test about five years ago,
and they told me that I'd never have to worry about any blockage, arteries,
any problems. Four weeks ago I had seven bypass surgery. It came on awful
sudden. I learned that what I suffer from is anxiety attack, which give you
that... that kind of a hurtful feeling in your chest.

SHERREN: As the combines move over the fields day and night, the Nelsons are
contacted by Monsanto. The company wants to settle. The Nelsons are in no
mood.

RODNEY NELSON: I've got a son and he's probably going to want to farm. And I
don't want him putting up with this bullshit. Farming's hard enough the way
is, to be pushed around by a bully like Monsanto, and I think they should
pay for their actions.

SHERREN: It's three weeks since harvest.

RODNEY NELSON: The fall hunt is something we all kind of think about all
year long. Go sit on a mountain top and get a little closer to God, you
know, and just relax.

SHERREN: Rodney prepares for his annual deer hunt. A lot has changed. The
family has accepted a settlement with Monsanto. There's no public apology,
and what is agreed to is covered by a confidentiality clause.

RODNEY NELSON: So I... you know, I can't talk about the... the... I'd like
to. I'd like to tell you what was in there. It was a hard personal decision,
you know. I think if my Dad wouldn't have had his heart attack, I don't
think we would have signed that agreement. I think we would have kept
fighting. The first thing that our attorney told us was well,
congratulations, you won. And I looked at him and I said no, I didn't. I
said now I know what a woman feels like when she's raped, and the rapist
maybe even gets convicted and put in jail. She probably still doesn't feel
that much better. She still feels terrible about it. And that's kind of the
way I felt. It's changed my outlook on large corporations, multinational
corporations drastically. It's changed my view on our government. I wish I
never would have had to go through it because I wish I didn't know the
things that I know now. I'd rather have been nave. It was easier going
through life being a little more nave. (To child): What'd you learn? The
moon? You know the moon is made out of cheese?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No, it's not.

RODNEY NELSON: Yes, it is. (To Sherren): Yeah, that little boy. He's got
every little farm toy and, you know, we've got a whole farm set up in the
house with his little toy equipment, you know, and he'll tell me before
we're even ready to plant he's all done planting, he'll tell me. He's got
all his fields in, you know. And he's always ahead of us. You know, and I
don't encourage him to farm or anything, you know. I... I'm not so sure I
really want him to. I'm just going to wait and see what happens down the
road. And maybe things will be better on the farm. You know, maybe farmers
will take control of their life someday and control their products and get a
decent price. You know, maybe... maybe someday hell'll freeze over. (Laughs)