Originally published August 21 2014
Brazilian vegetable oil industries refuse to buy Monsanto's new GM soybeans
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) In Brazil's latest pushback against genetically modified (GM) organisms, multiple farmers throughout the country threatened to sue GM seed manufacturers Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta AG and DuPont, through the Aprosoja farm lobby. The farmers have watched this year's engineered Bt corn seed fail, allowing the corn leaf worm, the Spodoptera frugiperda, to adapt and feed more readily on the crop. This has lowered their yields, forcing them to spray their crops with pesticides an unprecedented three times this year.
Even worse for Monsanto is that the entire vegetable oil industry in Brazil is now refusing to buy their new genetically modified soybeans. This could be the worst news yet for Monsanto, as they try to dictate the job of international seed traders in Brazil. Soy trading companies that belong to the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE) are refusing Monsanto's new Intacta RR2 PRO soybeans, because Monsanto is trying to force them to do something that they don't want to be held liable for.
Monsanto is trying to force the traders to act as royalty collectors. Sales of the upcoming oilseed crop in Brazil are on the verge of becoming a little more complicated.
Vegetable oil industry refusing to go after farmer's royalties on behalf of Monsanto
Apparently, ABIOVE didn't like the way Monsanto executives were treating them and dictating the jobs of the traders they represent. Tension broke out between the trading companies and Monsanto seed imperialists in July when Monsanto tried to coerce the traders into acting as Monsanto's royalty collectors for technology fees for the new Intacta soybeans. This means that Monsanto was trying to force the trading companies to become their tax collectors. Monsanto executives wanted the traders to go after the farmers and force them into servitude by paying their royalties to Monsanto.
"We can serve as monitors in this process, as Monsanto requests... but we cannot assume legal responsibility for the collection of royalties," said ABIOVE President Carlo Lovatelli, according to Reuters.
Lovatelli is worried that questions might arise over royalty payments for cargo shipments that have already been exported. Brazil exports more than half of its annual harvest, and questions typically arise over royalties. Lovatelli doesn't want to be held responsible for Monsanto's lost royalty payments.
"It would be like selling a complete car and then having the tire manufacturer come and complain about something to do with the rubber," he said.
The trading firms do not want to be held legally responsible for collecting Monsanto's royalty payments. This disruption is a consequence of a seed imperialist dictating an entire country's agriculture. Depending on seed science alone and not understanding the importance of biodiversity in growing a country's food is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
International seed traders refuse to be Monsanto's middle man
The vegetable oil industry has refused to be Monsanto's middle man. In an official announcement, they vied to reject Monsanto's Intact RR2 PRO soybeans until they changed their forceful policy.
According to press releases, the negotiations have gone on for about six months. ABIOVE has continued providing Monsanto with monitoring services to provide security to the supply chain in Brazil but have not committed to Monsanto's new Intacta soybean strain. Monsanto has since then suggested that they will intervene unduly, enforcing their rules on ABIOVE's member companies. ABIOVE said they remain open to negotiations but they will not reach any agreement if Monsanto begins interfering in the activities of its member companies.
ABIOVE represents international soybean traders such as Cargill, ADM, Bunge and Louis Dreyfus.
Sources for this article include:
http://gmwatch.org
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.reuters.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
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