Canadian organic growers in for the long haul Wednesday, April 6, 2011 by SUSAN MANNA Canadian organic organization has joined a United States-based lawsuit challenging Monsanto’s patents on genetically modified seeds.Laura Telford, executive director of Canadian Organic Growers, Canada’s largest organic farming organization, says her organization joined the lawsuit in a show of solidarity with farmers everywhere. The Organic Growers are among 59 other farming associations, seed companies and farmers taking part in the lawsuit.Telford says her group isn’t the only Canadian organization that has joined the lawsuit. Others include seed companies and individual farmers mainly from Alberta.The Public Patent Foundation, a Manhattan-based public interest law association, filed the lawsuit March 29 in federal district court in Manhattan. The groups are asking the court whether Monsanto has the right to sue farmers for patent infringement if the company’s genetically modified seed lands on growers’ fields. One of the goals of the suit is to demonstrate that the biotechnology patents issued to Monsanto aren’t in the public interest.Monsanto has sued farmers both in Canada and the U.S. in the past when patented genetic material has inadvertently contaminated their crops.Telford says another reason Organic Growers joined the lawsuit is to make a statement so officials issuing patents would think about what kind of patents they approve and what kind of precedents are being set. The United States is the world’s largest patent-issuing country.“They need to look at social issues when they’re making those decisions,” she says, noting there are a lot of genetically modified products getting licensed for use in America that end up in Canada.She says they expect the lawsuit to go on for at least six years “and at each phase all of the organizations will be called upon to answer questions and possibly file more briefs.” The Canadian Organic Growers is a national membership-based education and networking organization. BF Decision in latest round of whistleblower's egg case expected next week Virtual market will connect Ontario farmers with buyers
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 13, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
Senators examine Canada’s food system firsthand during southwestern Ontario fact finding mission Thursday, March 12, 2026 A delegation of Canadian senators conducted a full day fact finding mission on Friday, March 6, 2026, visiting several major food system organizations and research facilities across Southwestern Ontario. The tour supported the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry’s ongoing... Read this article online
Middle East conflict pushes fertilizer costs higher, forcing Ontario growers to rethink corn acres Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Ontario farmers are bracing for a turbulent spring as fertilizer and fuel prices surge in response to the escalating conflict involving Iran, a development that analysts say could reshape planting decisions across North America. The spike in nitrogen costs—the most critical and... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online