Because many GMO crops are wind and insect pollinated, their pollen
(and the transgenes they carry) easily evade containment and are capable
of traveling great distances. For instance, if pollen from genetically
modified corn reaches a receptive non-GMO corn plant, transgenes will be
forcibly integrated (through sexual reproduction)
into the germline of their offspring, rendering them and all their
future offspring permanently GMO. This could therefore be defined as a
form of 'bio-rape.'
The farmer whose non-GMO crop is contaminated with GMOs is also
violated. First, his ability to make a living is compromised, as his
formerly organic crop has now been rendered non-organic. Second, Monsanto can legally suit that farmer for 'patent' infringement for having his crop contaminated by their seeds, essentially accusing him of criminal activity for being a victim of their biopollution!
It is one thing for GMO crops to contaminate adjacent organic land
within a country which has already weighed the risks and benefits and
approved that GMO product, but another for a multinational corporation's
seeds to illegally contaminate a country who has not yet approved their
use due to biosafety concerns. The latter case describes the long and
abusive history of Monsanto vis-à-vis the Indian people, beginning in
2001 with the discovery of a Monsanto-patented Bt gene within fields
planted with conventional, non-GMO seeds in the western state of
Gujarat. Monsanto, who discovered their gene in these fields, claimed
that the Gujarat farmers were guilty of seed piracy, when in fact they
were victims of either bio-pollution (i.e. contamination via cross
pollination with GMO plants), or had been coerced into using illegal
Monsanto Bt-containing seeds before they were officially approved.1
Earlier this year, Vandana Shiva generated quite a stir within the blogosphere after comparing GMOs to rape in a Twitter post:
