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Tomorrow morning I will be participating in a panel discussion of conflicts between organic farming and genetically modified crops, focussing on the case of Hoffman v. Monsanto. Update: The discussion this morning was, as expected, well attended and very enlightening. Here are some of the details.
The event featured four full-time faculty members from the University of Ottawa, two uOttawa students and one of the significant stakeholders in the debate over organic farming and GMOs.
First, Professor Elgie, chair of the panel, made some introductory remarks about the importance of discussing this technology and the Hoffman case in particular. Two students who have been working with me as volunteer research assistants, Patrick Cleyn and Katrina Marciniak, then provided an excellent summary of the case itself. Next, Laura Telford of Canadian Organic Growers helped to put the issues in perspective. Professor McLeod-Kilmurray offered her insights about the significance of some of the procedural issues in this case and mass environmental tort litigation generally. Professor Chandler explained the relationship between tort liability and government regulation of GMOs. My presentation focussed on intellectual property ownership obligations, which is part of a broader research project I’ve been working on throughout the past several years.
Congratulations to Professor McLeod-Kilmurrary for making this event happen. It was a great way to showcase collaboration between experts from two of uOttawa’s core concentrations, Law & Technology and Environmental Law. No doubt there will be future projects that build on this momentum.
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