Agriculture giant Monsanto has been taking a lot of heat lately, arguably for good reason. Specifically, for a pleasant little habit of suing farmers for patent infringement after said farmer’s crops had been unintentionally contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed. Farmers facing such allegations, up to this point on the defensive, have in recents weeks and days been picking up the support of non-profit safety and consumer organizations and law professors alike.

According to Dan Ravicher, attorney for the plaintiffs in the case Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v. Monsanto, “Monsanto continues to claim that Plaintiffs’ concerns…are unsubstantiated and unjustified…But now two impeccable groups have joined with plaintiffs in explaining to the Court of Appeals how real and legitimate their concerns really are”. The two groups Ravicher mentions are actually two group-written legal briefs, filed by eleven ‘prominent law professors’ and a cadre of non-profits, respectively.

The case, filed originally by a group consisting of seventy-farm individuals, seed businesses and various agricultural organizations was thrown out by a district court in February, but the plaintiffs are pushing ahead in taking the case to appeals court.