The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

280 the world according to monsanto“First of all, Monsanto didn’t patent its gene in this country; besides, farmersare protected by law 2247, which guarantees what is called the ‘principleof the farmer’s exception,’ that is, his right to replant part of his harvest,even if the original seeds are certified by breeders. There is no reason whyMonsanto should enjoy special status.”“But your organization at first encouraged the development of transgenicsoybeans.”“That’s right, and we were totally taken in. How could such cynicism beimagined? The company had planned everything for the long term, relying onAapresid, an association it finances to promote its products, with the complicityof government officials and the media. Everything had been calculated,even smuggling to Paraguay and Brazil, and we fell right into the trap.”“It’s war?”“Yes, the seed war, except that we’re not worried about collecting dividendsto satisfy shareholders but simply about staying alive.”A few days after our meeting, Buzzi flew to Munich, headquarters of theEuropean Patent Office, to plead his cause. On March 14, 2005, Monsantohad sent a letter to soybean exporters informing them that the company wasgoing to “go after any shipment of soybeans, soy flour, or soy oil leaving Argentineports headed for countries where the RR gene is patented.” For thatpurpose, it would request “the assistance of the customs authorities to takesamples to detect the presence of the gene.” If the test was positive, it wouldsue the exporters in European courts, demanding a penalty of $15 a ton inaddition to legal costs. At this moment, although the European Patent Officehas granted a patent for the RR gene, only five countries recognize it: Belgium,Denmark, Italy, Holland, and Spain. In 2004, those five alone imported144,000 tons of soybeans and 9 million tons of soy flour from Argentina. “Monsanto’sdemand is completely illegal,” according to Campos. “The patent coversonly seeds, not beans, flour, or oil. European law does not permit Monsantoto collect royalties on Argentine products.”That remains to be seen. Monsanto for its part asserts that the gene belongsto it wherever it may be found, in the plant as well as in the productsderived from it. And once you agree to take the first step into the infernalsystem of the patenting of life, the reasoning seems logical. In the meantime,the multinational corporation wasted no time in carrying out itsthreats: in 2005, it had ships inspected in Holland and Denmark in connectionwith lawsuits, and in early 2006, three shipments of soy flour were in-