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Sometime around 2003 Scotts GMO grass crop in Idaho escaped its plot and blew across the Snake River into Oregon up to 30 miles away. The crop in question is a Roundup ready creeping bentgrass that is used for putting greens. Regulators and locals are in for a fight as Scotts is ready to abandon the ongoing approximately $250,000 per year effort to eradicate the grass in favor of running an informative website on Roundup ready bentgrass removal. Scotts canceled the development program because the golf industry is experiencing a decline, yet the company still wants the product deregulated.
Locals are left holding the bag as it threatens Oregon's international reputation as a "GMO-free" grass-grower and its seed industry. Regardless of whether direct genetic modification is bad in and of itself, grasses are an important crop for the state. Additionally, the grass has been found interbreeding with other feral grasses. Interestingly, the company has hired an attorney that specializes in bio-diversity to defend its interests.
The battle pits farmer against farmer, regulator against regulator, seller against buyer. Scotts spokesman Jim King insists the company has done its part and significantly reduced the modified grass's territory. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which for 14 years had refused to deregulate the controversial grass on environmental concerns, suddenly reversed course last fall and signaled it could grant the company's request as early as this week.
Many find the prospect alarming. The Oregon and Idaho departments of agriculture oppose deregulation, as does U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which predicted commercialization of the grass could drive endangered species to extinction.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Bot on Monday January 09 2017, @02:54AM
Damage occurs.
Responsible party pays according to the damage inflicted, or even better, restores the original situation at his expense.
Oh we sell GMO but they escaped and now ruin people whose business is guess what Non GMOs? You should sell the GMO at the right price to get insurance and offset these risks and pay up and shut up.
Oh we sell nuclear energy but the insurance will not cover the costs of recovery from an incident?
You should sell it at the proper price to recoup costs of the statistically certain in the long run fuck up which would also shut up people rooting from fission as if it wasn't a way to make atomic weapons while thorium reactors and LENR are basically left unexplored.
Oh our product will pollute the environment when thrown out? You should put the cost of disposing right into the original price and make disposal free for all. No more waste mafia profits.
Capitalism and free market might just work, a pity it is not enforced anywhere.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday January 09 2017, @03:41AM
^^ that right there.
Scotts should be liable for all damages, period. If it means they are bankrupted, and put out of business, so be it. Investors? Tough shit - you should have invested in something safer.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday January 09 2017, @01:58PM
The problem is you're talking about implementing currently legal solutions, as if the whole problem isn't the legal system being horribly broken.
IRL an analogy I like to use is imagine a legal system where if my dog takes a shit on your front lawn I can sue you until you pay me off or I get your land, which ever comes first. That unfortunately is pretty much how agriculture works legally in the USA WRT seed.
Now imagine I have an unholy genetically modified bear-honey badger-wolf-crossbreed dog that shits on your lawn and I can sue you and take your house.
Complaining about how unholy violation of purity laws it is to create and own a BearBadgerWolf puppy is pointless because 1) I'm sure its really cute puppy and 2) the legal system that gives me ownership of whatever my dog contaminates with poop is the actual problem and for "corporate control" reasons oddly enough the corporate media won't ever discuss that issue, all we're gonna hear about on the 5 oclock corporate news infotainment show is endless handwaving by politically active actors and musicians about how bad its going to be when a cross breeding experiment involving Eagles and Mosquitos goes horribly wrong.
I'm just saying if the legal system is how you got into this mess, trusting the (unchanged) legal system to get you out is a bit optimistic. Gotta go outside the legal system (not necessarily vigilante, I'm talking like maybe regulation of some sort) or change the legal system by bribing the right legislators.