Quote Originally Posted by RandBlade View Post
How are the grain elevators supposed to check? My understanding is that their model is more like a charity shop taking the discards of others then offering it back for cheap. They mix it all in together too I believe and won't have the funds to undergo expensive testing nor why should they? Its not their fault this new products arrived. How much testing do they do for stolens seeds currently?
I was thinking more along the line of import/export licenses. E.g. just have the people who sell them seeds sign off that it's legit, or if it's GMO provide paperwork that it's legal for the use. Take small samples of each batch and save them for testing if a suspicion arises, so they can potentially trace back to the source of the contamination.

The point isn't for them to incur huge additional costs, but just to keep somewhat better track of where the seeds are coming from. It's mostly a paperwork burden, but it would cover their butts if something goes wrong, and would allow for much easier pursuit after the actual infringers. It ensures that they are doing due diligence and not knowingly mixing GM seeds with unmodified ones, which helps out everyone (not just Monsanto; those organic freaks wouldn't want GM food on their plate, would they?).

BTW, most grain elevators are NOT charities (though they may be cooperatively owned). They buy from farmers at market prices and profit from the spread between that and futures contracts. A small portion sometimes gets sold back to farmers for replanting.

I like your solution in the final paragraph but Monsanto should incur 100% of the costs. How would you deal with if mixed batches arrive as one batch?
I think the question of who covers the costs is a complex one, but Monsanto probably has deep enough pockets to completely pay for it.

If a mixed batch arrives which is not labeled as such, it's an attempt to infringe and should be treated as such. If it's labeled as such, it should be dumped into the GMO section and reserved for food rather than replanting.