I would submit that, first of all, the cases in which Monsanto is seen as having gone to extremes were universally cases in which the farmer willfully violated his contract with the company and then lied about it (all while playing the persecuted small guy to the press). Luckily, the courts didn't buy it. [0]

Second, I have yet to hear a serious argument against the tech that Monsanto is producing. I hear a lot about how they're raping the poor farmers, but, as far as I know, those farmers aren't being forced to do business with Monsanto. I'm pretty sure they've chosen to do business with Monsanto because their seeds produce higher yields at lower prices. That sure seems like a positive to me. I also hear a lot of arguments that are basically various forms of "I think this tech sounds icky."

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeis...