In an exclusive interview for GreenPlanet, Percy Schmeiser - the Canadian farmer who was contaminated by Monsanto's GMO seeds and accused of illegally planting that without paying for the privilege - stresses the fact that the introduction of GMOs means the loss of freedom for farmers, as well as the downfall of foods' variety and biodiversity developed in thousands of years and that make the richness of a Country.
On the eve of the tour to Italy with his wife Louise, GreenPlanet has talked to Mr. Schmeiser to understand what he has learnt from his experience against Monsanto multinational, and what urges him to travel all around the world testifying what happened to him.

Before his field was contaminated, Percy Schmeiser had no clear idea about what GMOs were and what would be the consequences of their use: "People didn't even know that the government had given approval to that - he told us -. That's why it was such a surprise discovering our contamination and the accusation from Monsanto. My wife and I were seed developers in canola (or rapeseed as it's called in Europe) and all of a sudden all our research and development for 50 years in new varieties of canola was contaminated and basically destroyed", he recalled.

Today Mr. Schmeiser has no doubt about the damage that GMOs cause to agriculture, foods' health and the agricultural methods: "Once you introduce GMOs - he said - you no longer have coexistence and biodiversity, which is a great concern for the environment too. It all becomes GMOs and you no longer have a choice, there's no use complaining about seeds blowing in the wind". Another important issue Percy Schmeiser highlighted during our conversation is the control that multinationals have over farmers and foods supplies through GMOs. According to him, "GMOs were never meant for bigger yields, as these companies have always stated to defend their position: indeed GMOs use a lot more chemicals and also oblige farmers to buy the seeds from the corporations every year, so that they have to depend on the companies' supplies and spend more money with them", Mr. Schmeiser complained.
The health issue too was claimed by Percy Schmeiser as a very relevant one to be considered against GMOs: "A lot of studies have been done about the bio-resistance and the new bacteria that are in the GMO food, and that make it a lot more unhealthy to eat. Also, the fact that they use a lot more chemical, and more powerful ones, make GMO foods even more dangerous to human health".

Since about the year 2000 Percy and Lousie Schmeiser are been visiting many Countries worldwide - mostly all Countries in Europe and also a lot of third world Countries in Africa, South America, Central America and Asia - getting invitations by governments, universities and associations. "I visited probably 50-60 Countries around the world in the last years. My goal is to bring awareness about what happens with the introduction of GMOs. Now that my case is over I could have stop, but my wife and I are spending our time fighting for the rest of farmers, not only in Canada but all over the world".

"The conclusion of my lawsuit with Monsanto - in an out of court settlement it was established that the multinational had to pay all the clean-up costs of the Roundup Ready canola that contaminated Schmeiser's fields - was a great victory not only for ourselves but basically it was a start for a victory for farmers all over the world, because now a precedent has been set to prove that these companies are chargeable, and they should be responsible for the damages of the contamination. They have to admit they cannot contain GMOs' consequences".

A fight against multinational corporations is possible, Mr Schmeiser claims: "Just to give an example, when Monsanto wanted to bring four new GMO crops into Canada there was such a mobilization that the government didn't allow that. So for thirteen years we haven't had any new GMOs in the Country, which I think was a big success considering the damage we saw these crops did since they were introduced in 1996. Therefore, if we in Canada have stopped GMOs there's no reason they would have to be introduced in Countries like Italy where they are not present".

Talking of his imminent visit to Italy, Percy Schmeiser commented: "I've been in Italy before and I've seen the great diversity and varieties of food and fruit and agricultural products that there is in the Country and I hate to see that all these may be destroyed by contamination. GMOs would even destroy the organic farming. If you introduce GMO crops it would no longer be possible to have organic farmers, and this I think is a big concern the agricultural sector must consider".
"We will not come to tell Italians what to do - he concluded -, we just come to tell what happened to us, Canadian farmers, and how you could lose the great diversity that you have and how all this could simply be destroyed in one night just by a corporation trying to make more money".

by Eliana Rapisarda
GreenPlanet editorial staff