Dianne
08-17-2010, 10:48 PM
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/monsanto-pig-patent-111/
It's official. Monsanto Corporation is out to own the world's food supply, the dangers of genetic engineering and reduced biodiversity notwithstanding, as they pig-headedly set about hog-tying farmers with their monopoly plans. We've discovered chilling new evidence of this in recent patents that seek to establish ownership rights over pigs and their offspring.
zoom The Earth is flat, pigs were invented by Monsanto, and genetically modified organisms are safe. Right.
In the crop department, Monsanto is well on their way to dictating whatconsumers will eat, what farmers will grow, and how much Monsanto willget paid for seeds. In some cases those seeds are designed not to reproduce sowable offspring. In others, a flock of lawyers stand ready to swoop down on farmers who illegally, or even unknowingly, end up with Monsanto's private property growing in their fields.
Oneway or another, Monsanto wants to make sure no food is grown that theydon't own -- and the record shows they don't care if it's safe for theenvironment or not. Monsanto has aggressively set out to bulldozeenvironmental concerns about its genetically engineered (GE) seeds at every regulatory level.
Sowhy stop in the field? Not content to own the pesticide and theherbicide and the crop, they've made a move on the barnyard by filingtwo patents which would make the corporate giant the sole owner of thatfamous Monsanto invention: the pig.
The Monsanto Pig (Patent pending)
Thepatent applications were published in February 2005 at the WorldIntellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva. A Greenpeaceresearcher who monitors patent applications, Christoph Then, uncoveredthe fact that Monsanto is seeking patents not only on methods ofbreeding, but on actual breeding herds of pigs as well as the offspringthat result.
"If these patents are granted, Monsanto can legallyprevent breeders and farmers from breeding pigs whose characteristicsare described in the patent claims, or force them to pay royalties,"says Then. "It's a first step toward the same kind of corporate controlof an animal line that Monsanto is aggressively pursuing with variousgrain and vegetable lines
It's official. Monsanto Corporation is out to own the world's food supply, the dangers of genetic engineering and reduced biodiversity notwithstanding, as they pig-headedly set about hog-tying farmers with their monopoly plans. We've discovered chilling new evidence of this in recent patents that seek to establish ownership rights over pigs and their offspring.
zoom The Earth is flat, pigs were invented by Monsanto, and genetically modified organisms are safe. Right.
In the crop department, Monsanto is well on their way to dictating whatconsumers will eat, what farmers will grow, and how much Monsanto willget paid for seeds. In some cases those seeds are designed not to reproduce sowable offspring. In others, a flock of lawyers stand ready to swoop down on farmers who illegally, or even unknowingly, end up with Monsanto's private property growing in their fields.
Oneway or another, Monsanto wants to make sure no food is grown that theydon't own -- and the record shows they don't care if it's safe for theenvironment or not. Monsanto has aggressively set out to bulldozeenvironmental concerns about its genetically engineered (GE) seeds at every regulatory level.
Sowhy stop in the field? Not content to own the pesticide and theherbicide and the crop, they've made a move on the barnyard by filingtwo patents which would make the corporate giant the sole owner of thatfamous Monsanto invention: the pig.
The Monsanto Pig (Patent pending)
Thepatent applications were published in February 2005 at the WorldIntellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva. A Greenpeaceresearcher who monitors patent applications, Christoph Then, uncoveredthe fact that Monsanto is seeking patents not only on methods ofbreeding, but on actual breeding herds of pigs as well as the offspringthat result.
"If these patents are granted, Monsanto can legallyprevent breeders and farmers from breeding pigs whose characteristicsare described in the patent claims, or force them to pay royalties,"says Then. "It's a first step toward the same kind of corporate controlof an animal line that Monsanto is aggressively pursuing with variousgrain and vegetable lines