The Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch Report

Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser continues to fight Monsanto claiming their genetically modified food is destroying human health, the environment, and
the social fabric of rural Canada. Schmeiser, the international spokesperson for farmers’ rights, spoke about the control Monsanto wields over Saskatchewan
farmers, who, he said, are coerced into signing contracts saying they can’t use their own seeds; they must buy their seeds from Monsanto, and they must
allow "Monsanto police" onto their land. Schmeiser became an international symbol for the anti-genetically engineered movement when Monsanto
sued him for patent infringement after discovering their genetically modified canola growing in his fields. Yet the full destructive power of GMOs is
on the horizon, he said, referring to two new genes now being developed by Monsanto to monopolize seed supply: the "terminator gene" and the "cheater
gene."  A cheater gene is used to grow a plant and the terminator gene then destroys a crop’s fertility - a process Schmeiser called "the greatest
assault on life as we know it on the planet today.". He said Canadians must fight to save the integrity of our air, water, and land for future generations,
and ensure farmers don’t become "serfs of the land, in a feudal system" controlled by trans-national corporations like Monsanto. "As
long as we have life in us," said Schmeiser, referring to his wife, Louise, "we’re going to go down fighting for the rights of all farmers all
over the world."