The upcoming film Percy, based on the true story of Percy Schmeiser, will highlight the uphill battle of farmers against Monsanto. It will feature actors Christopher Walken, who will play Percy, and Christina Ricci, who will play anti-GMO activist Rebecca Salcau.

These two are joined by the film’s impressive ensemble, including Roberta Maxwell as Percy’s wife; Luke Kirby as Percy’s son; Adam Beach as Percy’s neighbor, Alton Kelly; Martin Donovan as the conglomerate’s lead lawyer, Rick Aarons; and Peter Stebbings as Rebecca’s NGO boss.

The agriculture giant Monsanto sued this canola farmer from Saskatchewan, Canada, over patent infringement in 1998.  According to the synopsis, as he speaks about the business practices of the company, Percy finds out that he actually also stands for thousands of other disenfranchised farmers around the world. He then becomes an unsuspecting folk hero in a desperate war for their rights and for against corporate greed.

After the GMO canola of Monsanto was found growing on Percy’s farm without a license, the company successfully sued him for patent violations. In 2004, the case made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada, where judges ruled 5-4 in favor of Monsanto, and he lost.

However, to this day, he maintains that the seeds accidentally blew onto his property, and his story became a symbol of the fight against Monsanto around the globe and he was considered an anti-GMO folk hero.

In 2008, he was also portrayed in the documentary David versus Monsanto. He says that even though he lost the case, they managed to bring the world’s attention to the effects of GMOs.

On the other hand, on its website, Monsanto claims that Percy Schmeiser is not a hero, but a patent infringer who knows how to tell a good story. They claim that he used their patented technology without permission to plant the seeds in his fields.

However, after about two decades of intense legal battles, court cases that captured the attention of farmers and non-GMO activists everywhere will be publicly be revealed.

The story of Schmeiser will be immortalized on the silver screen so that the entire world can see it, so the movie is believed to have the potential to expose Monsanto to a large-scale audience like never before.

Sources:
themindunleashed.com
www.ecofarmingdaily.com
althealthworks.com