No Patents on Seeds
Category: general,
Source: action,
Language: en,
Type:
update
.
Currently it is not possible to obtain a patent for conventionally bred plants and animals. However there is a loophole in this legislation called genome editing which blurs the borders between conventional breeding and engineering. Patents create monopolies: fruits, vegetables and seeds claimed in patents cannot be used by other farmers for further breeding without the permission of the patent holder. This means that a handful of large corporations get far-reaching control over our daily food production - they can decide what we eat, what farmers produce, what retailers sell and how much we all have to pay for it.