The lawfirm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld and Toll has filed a lawsuit in US federal court against Monsanto (St. Louis, MO) on behalf of farmers in the US and internationally. Longtime biotechnology critic Jeremy Rifkin, who directs the Foundation on Economic Trends (Washington, DC), and members of the National Family Farm Coalition (Washington, DC), acted as advisors to the farmers, who are alleging that Monsanto's genetically engineered agricultural products are not adequately tested for safety concerns and also that its marketing and intellectual property practices are uncompetitive and thus violate federal antitrust statutes. Monsanto plans to fight the lawsuit and contends that its products are safe and these allegations are unfounded.