European Patent Office grants Monsanto patent on natural broccoli seeds, florets

Monday, July 01, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: Monsanto, seed patents, GMOs

(NaturalNews) Monsanto's efforts to usher genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) into the European Union (EU) have been largely stagnant in recent years, so the multinational corporation and others in the industry are taking a new and more evil approach to gain more market control. According to a recent announcement put forth by the human rights advocacy group No Patents on Seeds!, the European Patent Office (EPO) is now granting biotechnology companies patents on all-natural crops such as broccoli, which was recently handed over as private property to Monsanto.

Exploiting an egregious loophole in European patent law, Monsanto and others have been feverishly filing for patents on all sorts of natural crops, presumably in response to widespread resistance by members of the European public to its GMO offerings. Most recently, EPO granted Monsanto a patent on conventionally-bred broccoli, which includes not only broccoli seeds but also the "severed broccoli head" and the "plurality of broccoli plants ... grown in a field of broccoli" - in other words, broccoli in all of its natural forms.

Though vehemently opposed by the European Parliament, EPO's decision to legitimize private ownership of nature - in this case broccoli - is apparently becoming the norm throughout Europe. Since the biotechnology industry has failed at replacing nature with its own "Frankencrops" throughout Europe, it has set its sights on seizing ownership of nature itself by claiming patents on it. And unless the people step up to forcibly stop this, using whatever means necessary, then these crimes against humanity will only continue.

"We are calling for broad support of our opposition against the patent on 'severed broccoli'," said Christoph Then from the group No Patents on Seeds! recently. No Patents on Seeds! has formed a petition in opposition to patents on natural crops that recently topped two million signatures, and the group is joined by a cohort of other environmental advocacy and health freedom groups throughout Europe in its efforts. "We intend to send a clear signal that we will not let our food be monopolized."

You can access this petition here:
http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org

Monsanto also pushing for ownership of life in America as well

No Patents on Seeds! is joined by Bionext (Netherlands), The Berne Declaration (Switzerland), GeneWatch (UK), Greenpeace (Germany), Misereor (Germany), Development Fund (Norway), No Patents on Life (Germany), Rete Semi Rurali (Italy), Reseau Semences Paysannes (France), and Swissaid (Switzerland) in calling on European politicians to assume control over EPO for the purpose of amending the patent loophole.

"All the organizations involved are also making demands on European politicians," explains No Patents on Seeds!. "They are urging them to take over control of the EPO in order to change the interpretation of the current patent law through the Administrative Council of the EPO, which is the assembly of the Member States."

The group Avaaz.org has also created its own petition to stop Monsanto from patenting natural organisms in Europe, which you can sign here:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_twb/?tysEsab

Back in the U.S., Monsanto is busy pushing for similar patents on the elements of life. As reported by the Los Angeles Times (LAT), Monsanto will soon try to convince the Supreme Court to allow it to patent future generations of seeds that naturally reproduce from GM strains. If the company gets its way, a new precedent will be set in the U.S. for corporations to assume patent control over natural life forms.

"The case is a remarkable reflection on recent fundamental changes in farming. In the 200-plus years since the founding of this country, and for millenniums before that, seeds have been part of the public domain - available for farmers to exchange, save, modify through plant breeding and replant," explains the NYT. "But today this history of seeds is seemingly forgotten in light of a patent system that, since the mid-1980s, has allowed corporations to own products of life."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org

http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org

http://articles.latimes.com