Right now any company can patent and control the use of any plant or genetics of that plant. This should be limited or not allowed for plants that are pre existing. Especially plants that can be used for food, and have pre-existed before the company was around. Discovering, documenting, or genetically mapping a variety should not mean a company owns the rights to that plant. Patenting a plant variety is ok so long as they can show or prove they have genitally modified it or done there own cross pollenating to create the variety. Harloom varieties should be considered "open-source" standards that EVERYONE can work with, and use freely. This should also extend to protect farmers who grow there own harlooms and have gotten patented genetics into there crops via cross pollination from the wind. Right now many farmers are being sued by agra business for using there genetic stock, even though it can not be helped due to the wind spreading the pollen.
Protect harloom varieties of plants and food stocks from patents
Tags: agriculture
Comments (7)
Only use non genetically engineerd seeds such as Heirloom, whose dna has not been tampered with. These seeds can be harvested to plant each year, whereas monsanto seeds cannot and have to be re-purchased each year. Its a scam
That which is already in the public domain is not subject to copyright. The same reasoning should be applied to patents.
Also, I agree. Living things should be exempt from patents. In fact, genetic tampering, especially, needs to be open to the public for testing, and public warning purposes.
GMO's should be among the highest of national concerns. I intend to get the Seeds of Destruction book as I have been finding out more and more frightening facts about them and Monsanto. Look up Monsanto, GMO and Fox on YouTube to learn more.
See also, "Monsanto - Many Reasons to Pierce the Corporate Veil and Prosecute" at this location: http://opengov.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/4168-4049
Thank you
Voted up
monsanto needs to be broken up or put out of business. They are marketing dangerous genetically engineered sees, which can cause damage to one's dna. They should not be given a monopoly, its bad for americans. Buy heirlooms seeds which are not genetically engineered from Canada. YOu can harvest seeds from the crops to be planted the next year. You do not have to re-purchase seeds ( each year like monsanto) whioh is expensive and is a scam in my opinion.
No patent on any life form or strain of DNA or RNA is in accordance with the ideals of a non-slavery based society. One cannot own life, or any part of it. Not anymore than one can pretend to own time. The Supreme Courts, the U.S. Patent Office and the collective agra businesses (particularly Monsanto) are not behaving in compliance with this reality.
We need to take this a step further and demand that any patent of life should be nullified at once. The notion of patenting life is wrong and was illegal until recently. Unfortunately, corporations like Monsanto have friends in the highest offices in the land. Just ask Monsanto's friend Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas who worked as a layer for Monsanto and who after becoming a Supreme Court Judge facilitated the ability for Monsanto to have patents on life.