Percy Schmeiser has been growing canola–the yellow-blossomed oilseed once known as rapeseed–in Saskatchewan for 40 years. In 1998, Monsanto, the multinational agro-chemical seed company, found its patented genes growing in Schmeiser’s fields, accused him of patent infringement and demanded restitution for its seeds. Schmeiser decided to fight, and set off a legal battle that reached the Canadian Supreme Court.

Schmeiser argued that the GMOs seeds found on his farm were created when pollen from GMO canola from an adjacent field drifted over. The Supreme Court ruled that didn’t matter: however the genes got into his field, they were Monsanto’s intellectual property and he had to pay for them.

Please join us for a talk by Percy Schmeiser, followed by a conversation with Professor Michael Pollan (Journalism) and Ignacio Chapela (Microbial Ecology) and Schmeiser.

Reception featuring farm-fresh snacks and drinks: 6-7pm