ST. LOUIS - A woman eating at Ted Drewes Thursday found herself in violation of a Monsanto food licensing agreement after tasting her partner's custard without prior approval from the company. Following its rollout of a new You Are What You Eat Compliance Initiative, Monsanto has been deploying regional licensing agents to restaurants where their patented ingredients are present in the food supply chain.
"More than 90% of U.S. farm livestock are fed our patented seed products, meaning the output of those animals is governed by our licensing terms. This includes the custard served here," said regional compliance agent Mike Lund. "Miss Kline didn't pay for her meal, so she does not have a license to consume it."
Kline has been directed to provide lab documentation of her food intake. Pending analysis, the company may require her to surrender custody of any absorbed derivatives from the Muddy Mississippi still in transit.
In a separate enforcement action, a pregnant woman dining at Charlie Gitto's tested positive for ravioli made from Monsanto-patented soy-fed beef. "The unborn child constitutes an unauthorized secondary licensee," said Lund. "Further analysis is required to confirm if the baby's developing DNA expresses any Monsanto-owned traits to determine if a custody transfer will be pursued."
The woman, who has not been named pending ongoing DNA analysis, said she was dining alone.
Woman tasting partners custard caught by food licensing enforcement agent