Press release - 23 June, 2003
Research by Greenpeace has revealed that biscuits and dough produced from a specific variety of wheat, as well as the plants themselves, are now patented. The patent granted to the Monsanto company in May (EP 445929) covers wheat used "to permit the manufacture of crisp farinaceous edible products such as biscuits and the like". To produce its "invention", Monsanto crossed a traditional Indian variety of wheat with other plants, which are conventionally bred, not genetically modified. Monsanto simply uses the genes which already exist naturally in the plants.
"This case illustrates the scale already reached in the
patenting of life. Not only genetically modified organisms but
plants and animals bred using conventional techniques are now being
patented if their genes are found to be of economic interest",
warns Christoph Then, a patent expert. "Monsanto is targeting and
stealing from Indian farmers who have cultured this specific
variety of wheat for centuries. This patent demonstrates the urgent
need for a general legal ban on the patenting of genes, live
organisms and seeds."
By owning this kind of patent, in the future, Monsanto could
potentially take legal action not only against farmers but also
against bakeries, confectioners and supermarkets if they produce or
sell biscuits or cakes made from patented wheat. Over the coming
weeks, Greenpeace will prepare to file an objection to the patent.
The European Patent Office in Munich grants patents on genes and
live organisms in line with a European directive which was adopted
in 1998, and which has proved highly controversial throughout the
EU.
"Monsanto are engaged in the theft of a global commons and
patent lawyers are only too happy to take a big fat cut of the big
fat financial cake that Monsanto are stealing in return for
conferring some appearance of legality to this theft. Sharp lawyers
can call it what they like but we see it clearly as theft of public
property and it must be stopped." said Greenpeace spokesperson (Mr)
Lindsay Keenan.
He continued, "Monsanto are a company with an absolutely
disgraceful record of causing environmental and human health damage
from its past products including PCBs and other chemicals. It is
still responsible for damages in legal actions about many such
matters. However instead of accepting liability and cleaning up the
damage it has already caused here it comes again with its razor
sharp lawyers exploiting every legal loophole and badly written law
to push unwanted GE seeds, to sue farmers and now trying to steal
the rights to existing plants and even to the flours and biscuits
made from them. "
The European Patent Office grants patents on gene sequences and
life forms based on European Patent Directive 98/44, which is under
heavy discussion in the EU. A European wide opinion poll which was
done for Greenpeace, shows how broad the opposition against patents
on life actually is: Only 3% of the 4559 people asked were of the
opinion that patents on life should be granted any further (full
details available).