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Question

Is it not true that big ag companies like Monstersanto are basically trying to patent food so as to lock in future profits and force reliance on them for seeds? I have heard that gmo companies have taken farmers to court for harvesting seeds from their own crops and reusing them. I have also heard that some gmo crops are engineered to have sterile seeds so as to force return business. Nobody should be able to patent food. Period.

Submitted by: ApplesauceNinja


Answer

Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Friday, 09/10/2015 11:49

We hear your concerns about patents and some of the information you have heard about sterile seeds is alarming. We would like to set the record straight and share some information on both of these topics that you may find interesting.  

 

Seed Patents

 

We would first like to point out the seed patents are not unique to GMOs. Patents are commonly used in seed development, including other varieties which are non-GM such as organic and heirloom seeds. But to better understand why patents are used in agriculture, let’s turn to a response from Drew Kershen from the University of Oklahoma which discusses why patents are used in agriculture and the Supreme Court ruling that affirms that an organism produced through modern biotechnology can be protected under general patent law:

 

“Beginning in the early 1900s, scientists began to understand the process of developing hybrid plants. Scientists learned to develop two inbred parent lines that, when crossed, produced hybrid vigor―most often meaning greatly increased yields. Using this scientific knowledge, Henry Wallace, of Pioneer Hi-Bred, controlled the information about the parental lines as a company secret, thereby gaining the intellectual property known as a “trade secret.” Thus, seed companies have been able to have trade secrets in plants for almost a century in the United States.

 “Farmers would go to a local seed dealer and request to purchase a particular brand and variety of a seed. Upon purchase, the farmers would then own the seed for planting and harvesting a crop. However, because of ordinary rules of biology, hybrid seeds, if saved and replanted, lose about 30 percent of their yield. Thus, farmers in the United States are accustomed to returning to a local seed dealer each year to purchase new hybrid seeds. The same is true for farmers around the world.

 

 “As knowledge about plants and breeding continued to develop, scientists learned in the early 1970s to use new breeding techniques based on knowledge of genetic information. In 1980, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that an organism produced through modern biotechnology can be protected under general patent law―via a utility patent. In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed that plant breeders can obtain a utility patent in biotech organisms, including seeds and plants. (Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., # 12-398, decided June 13, 2013).

 

 “Therefore, in the United States, plant breeders can own intellectual property in seeds and plants through each of the legally protected property rights: plant patents, trade secrets, trademarks, plant variety certificates and utility patents. Farmers purchase seeds from local seed dealers, and farmers then own the seeds for the purposes of producing a harvest. But the farmer does not own the intellectual property in the seed or growing crop.

 

 “Distinguishing between the physical seed and plants and the intellectual property in the seed and plants means that the farmer can grow the seed for a harvest but cannot, in most instances, save the harvested seed for the purpose of growing another crop. 

 

 “This is no different from a person who purchases a movie DVD. The person owns the movie DVD but does not own the intellectual property in the DVD. Consequently, the person cannot legally make a copy of the movie DVD.”

 

Farmer Lawsuits

 

None of the GMO Answers member companies have sued farmers for trace amounts of patented seeds or traits being present in a field due to an accident or cross-pollination. Farmers sign technology use agreements when they purchase patented seeds, which can include agreeing to not save seed. Agriculture teacher and blogger Jillian Etress explains how this works on her family's farm in this response, and says, “When we plant enhanced cottonseed, we sign a technology contract in which we agree not to save the seed from the crop to replant it next year. This protects the research-and-development investments of the seed company.”

 

Sterile Seeds

 

The use of the term “sterile seeds” is in regards to what are often called "terminator" seeds. Dr. Kevin Folta from the University of Florida explains this technology in detail on his blog. This trait was never commercialized and used in agriculture.

 

If you have any additional questions, please ask.