Australian organic farmer to pay $600,000usd after GMO canola blew on to his farm

After herbicide-resistant canola blew into Steve Marsh's fields, Mr. Marsh lost organic certification on 70% of his crops. Mr. Marsh then sued neighbor and childhood friend Michael Baxter for $60,000usd for negligence in Feb 2014. But the Western Australian Court Appeals sided with Mr. Baxter and forced Mr. Marsh to pay $610,000usd in costs. The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Baxter was not negligent for growing crops in a typical way.

Monsanto was helping Mr. Baxter cover his court costs.

This is why in the US, if you want to be organic certified, you have to have a certain sized buffer zone between any GMO crops and your organic crops, whether they are your GMO crops or your neighbor's.See USDA National Organic Program regulations.

Source: GMO Inside, Mar 22, 2016.