Monsanto's flagship product is a genetically engineered variety called Round Up Ready. This genetically modified variety is ready to be sprayed with the company's flagship herbicide, Roundup, meaning that it will not die when sprayed with Roundup.

When farmers want to grow this variety, they buy soybeans as seed from a Monsanto licensed seed dealer. In making the purchase, Monsanto stipulates a license agreement. The agreement states, "The seed may be planted and harvested only once. The harvested crop can be sold for food or feed. The seeds may not be removed from the harvested crop and cultivated again.

In 1998, Canadian farmer Percy was sued by Monsanto. Canada is a large producer of genetically modified The reason for Mr. Percy's lawsuit was that pollen from Monsanto's genetically modified oilseed rape, grown by a neighboring farmer, had been blown by the wind into Mr. Percy's field and contaminated his home-grown oilseed rape, which he had spent half a century improving, by crossing it with the GM pollen.

Percy took the seeds from his own oilseed rape and sowed them as before, and Monsanto sued Percy for patent infringement and demanded compensation on the grounds that he had grown their genetically modified seeds without permission.

In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Percy's defeat. The Supreme Court of Canada has nine judges, and the majority rules. In this case, the justices were split in two, 5-4.

The issues were: a. Whether to grant patent rights to the developing company to the entire plant and seeds, b. Whether to grant patent rights to cases where the plant was grown without being aware of contamination, and c. Whether the farmer's right to self-seed or the company's patent rights should take precedence.

Monsanto, which owns 90% of the world's genetically modified seed patents, is powerfully marketing its genetically modified seeds around the world in combination with Roundup, a powerful herbicide that kills any plant other than the seeds it has developed. The Canadian government approved the sale of Monsanto's genetically modified seeds without fully understanding "what genetically modified seeds do" in the sales pitch of reduced chemical use and increased yields. This is the background to the Percy trial. The legal system in each country cannot keep up with the breakneck speed and traction of cutting-edge biotechnological breed development such as Monsanto's.

Many cotton farmers in India have been sued by Monsanto and lost.

What happens when you manipulate genes in the root of life, the seed, and grant patent rights to it? Does one company want to control the distribution and diversity of seeds, which are supposed to be the common assets of the earth, through the exercise of patent rights?

In 2013, Monsanto filed 1,444 lawsuits against 446 farmers worldwide. Monsanto filed 144 lawsuits against 446 farmers worldwide in 2013.

In Japan, there are already several test plots (farmland) for Monsanto's genetically modified corn and cotton. This is no longer a fire on the other side of the river.

( to be continued )