For at least a decade, Monsanto has been illegally charging Brazilian farmers growing the company’s genetically modified (GM) crops a two percent tax on production and a three percent tax on seed cross-contamination, say plaintiffs in a new lawsuit.
According to CorpWatch, the agri-giant could soon have to reimburse more than five million Brazilian farmers over $7.5 billion as a result of these blatant crimes.
Oddly enough, Monsanto’s very presence in Brazil was predicated on fraud, as its GM soy seeds were first smuggled illegally back in 1998. Fast-forward about 13 years, and nearly 75 million acres of arable land in Brazil are now occupied by Monsanto’s GM crops, the vast majority of which constitute Roundup Ready soy.
By Jonathan Benson