Percy Schmeiser (born January 5, 1931) is a farmer from Bruno, Saskatchewan, Canada. He specializes in breeding and growing canola. He became an international symbol and spokesperson for independent farmers' rights and the regulation of transgenic crops during his protracted legal battle with agrichemical giant Monsanto. January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Traditional Eastern European Farmer Woman. ... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: From many peoples strength) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area Ranked 7th... Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years. ... In agriculture, Canola is a trademarked cultivar of genetically engineered rapeseed variants from which rapeseed oil is obtained. ... A genetically modified organism is an organism whose genetic material has been deliberately altered. ... Farmlands in Hebei province, China. ... In agriculture, agrichemical (or agrochemical) is a generic term for the various synthetic chemical products manufactured and sold for use in growing crops. ... The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. ...

Monsanto vs Schmeiser

Main article at Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In 1997, Monsanto's genetically modified Roundup Ready Canola plants were found in Percy Schmeiser's field. In spring 1998, before Schmeiser planted his 1998 crop, he was informed that Monsanto believed that he had grown Roundup Ready canola in 1997. In the summer of 1998 the canola in Schmeiser's fields was found to be Roundup Ready canola. After this, Monsanto sued Schmeiser for patent infringement. For the next several years, the case travelled through the Canadian court system. Meanwhile, Schmeiser became an international symbol and spokesperson for the anti-GE movement. He accepted speaking engagements, and received donations for his defense fund, from around the world. Ultimately, a Supreme Court ruling found in favor of Monsanto. Often misinterpreted, the decision was relatively limited. The publicity around the case focused on whether Monsanto would be held responsible for GE crop contamination. This issue was, in explicit fact, not considered by the courts. The patent infringement finding was based solely on the determination that Schmeiser had recognized the crosscontamination, and knowingly went on to collect the crossbred seed, then replant and harvest it the next year. No punitive damages were awarded to Monsanto. 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this autoluminograph from 1986 of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene, illustrating the possibilities of genetic engineering. ... Roundup is the brand name of a systemic, broad-spectrum herbicide produced by the U.S. life sciences giant Monsanto. ... The supreme court in some countries, provinces, and states, functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be challenged. ...

Other accomplishments

Schmeiser served as mayor of the town of Bruno from 1966 to 1983, and also as member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly for the Watrous constituency from 1967 to 1971. Percy Schmeiser married Louise Schmeiser in October of 1952 and they have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. In October of 2000, Schmeiser received the Mahatma Gandhi Award for working for the good of mankind in a non-violent way. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: From many peoples strength) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area Ranked 7th... A Legislative Assembly in some parts of the Commonwealth refers to a legislature, or a chamber of the legislature. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Anniversary. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Schmeiser was the recipient of the Merit Award for Dealer of the Year in 1984 by the Saskatchewan Manitoba Implement Dealers Association.

Schmeiser was appointed to Saskatchewan's Real Estate Commission in 1993 and served until 1999.

Schmeiser has served as a town councillor of the town of Bruno since 2003 and currently serves as the deputy mayor.

Quotes

"Now, at 70, I am involved with this fight with Monsanto. I stood up to them because that a farmer should never give up the right to use his own seed. I felt very strongly about it because my grandparents came here from Europe in late 1890s and early 1900s to open this land, to be free, and to grow what they wanted to grow. Now we are going back to a feudal system that they left because they were not free—basically we are becoming serfs of the land." — Percy Schmeiser in an interview with Acres USA This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no... // First flight by the Wright brothers, December 17, 1903. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... Costumes of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel, from original Documents in the great Libraries of Europe. ...

"Farmers should be concerned about this judgment as they now may lose their ability to continue with this practice. I believe that this ruling is an injustice and Parliament must act to ensure that farmer's rights are protected. The playing field between farmer rights and the bio-tech companies rights has been tilted towards the companies with this decision." [1]

"I have always campaigned on the right of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed. This is what I have been doing for the last 50 years. I will continue to support any efforts to strengthen the rights of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed." [2]

On August 11, 1999, Schmeiser sued Monsanto for ten million dollars for "libel, trespass, and contamination of his fields with Roundup Ready Canola".

External links

• Percy Schmeiser's web site
• Timeline of Percy Schmeiser v. Monsanto Company case
• trial ruling, Federal Court of Canada
• appeal ruling, Federal Court of Appeal
• Supreme Court decision
• Percy Schmeiser speaks at Biodemocracy - 51 minutes
• Rounding up the Schmeiser Case: Benefit and Liability Issues of Transgenic Crops - a review from the Science Creative Quarterly
• [3] Summary of the case 5:4 decision