Rt Hon Nick Brown

Greenpeace e.V.  22745 Hamburg

Who will gain control over seeds and foodstuffs?

The FAO conference on access to genetic resources and preservation of biodiversity in Spoleto, Italy, 23-28 April

A marathon conference of the FAO world food organisation is aiming to Danger to diversity of plants create a so-called “international undertaking”, or internationally binding The regions of origin of most of the plants regulations, for safeguarding the we use are in centres of biodiversity such world’s food supply. This should as Asia and South America. Thousands of provide unimpeded access to foods varieties of plants from which our high- and seeds, and advancing the yield varieties have been developed are to cultivation of plants. Genetic diversity be found in countries there. should be ensured for plant species indispensable to the world’s food This biodiversity is crucial to the future of supply, such as rice, wheat, potatoes, the world’s food supply. It contains the soybeans and maize. Negotiations on genetic arrangements for the resistance of the agreement have been going on plants. Their use in an emergency might since 1993 but just before being prevent new plant diseases from destroy- concluded the agreement is threatening ing the monocultures on fields all over the to founder on demands being made by world. some of the industrialised countries. But agrarian diversity and its use are Greenpeace fears it will become possible acutely endangered. for genetic engineering corporations to acquire patents – and thus control – on - High-yield varieties displace less profit- everything from genes, seeds, plants and able crop seeds. In addition, agricultural harvests to foodstuffs. This corporations are increasingly would be to largely distort or even reverse preventing access to genetic resources the original intention of the agreement. through using exclusive rights to their The majority of the G77 countries, the use, as with patents. This “gene pool” alliance of developing countries, at the is only limitedly available to growers moment want to prevent patents as far as and farmers. possible. - The corporations of the North are pirat- ing biodiversity by declaring the genes The USA, Canada, Australia and New that have been discovered, and the Zealand are furthermore refusing to agree crop seeds belonging to them, as their to binding rules on paying for the preserv- “property“. ation of biodiversity. They envisage genetic diversity being freely accessible in The international undertaking is supposed countries of origin but the genes and to stop this process. 150 countries signed seeds taken from this belonging exclusive- a voluntary agreement aimed at prevent- ly to corporations. ing such a development as long ago as These plans disregard the interests of con- 1983. The final treaty is supposed to be sumers, farmers and developing countries. established under the Convention on Bio- Realising them would moreover jeopardise diversity adopted at Rio de Janeiro in 1992 the world’s food supply. in order that it become binding in international law. The actual details of the

V.i.S.d.P. / Ed.: Christoph Then 4/2001 www.greenpeace.de Greenpeace e.V.  22745 Hamburg agreement are now being fought over. In relevant varieties regardless of whether its present form it contains numerous they have been made using genetic engin- passages which would enable exclusive eering or not. rights to use to be enforced. The problem: Such plants already exist, Agrarian biodiversity should be preserved even without DuPont. The seeds of certain by regulations on financial compensation, regional varieties have an oleic acid and access to genetic resources ensured content of over 60 per cent. DuPont by a ban on exclusive rights on use such however makes claim to all varieties of as patents. Farmers and growers then maize from seeds having an oleic acid retain the right to freely exchange seeds content of at least 55 per cent. The patent for agricultural cultivation and breeding. thus applies even to regional varieties Given the worldwide significance of this which have been grown for a long time by conference, it is astonishing that it has so farmers in countries of origin in South far remained a project for just a few ex- America. There are apparently no limits perts and government representatives. placed on the food, feedstuffs, seeds and biodiversity corporations may take into their grasp. The case of Percy Schmeiser

The recent case of Percy Schmeiser, a Open letter to conference farmer in Saskatchewan in Canada who delegates was accused of illegally using Monsanto GE seed, shows what the consequences Greenpeace and over 100 other organisa- of extending patents to seeds and tions have written an open letter to foodstuffs will be. In April 2001 a court delegates in order to prevent the ordered him to pay several thousand conference taking this direction unnoticed dollars to Monsanto for violating its patent by the media and the public. The letter rights. The scandal in this is that the court demands that patents on seeds and plants was of the opinion that it was irrelevant and food made from them be forbidden. whether the farmer’s seed had been inadvertently contaminated by the flight of pollen or if Monsanto’s crop seed had in Greenpeace demands: fact been used deliberately. Enforcing the corporation’s patent rights had in all - No patents on genes, forms of life, events priority. plants, or food made from them - The fair division of profits from the use of biodiversity All-round patent - Specific measures for preserving the genetic diversity of plants in their The extent to which corporations now countries of origin have a monopoly on seeds and foodstuffs can be seen from a patent issued by the Greenpeace e.V., 22745 Hamburg European Patent Office in Munich in Germany. Tel. ++49 40 306180 August 2000. e-mail: [email protected] Patent EP 744 888 gives the DuPont com- Greenpeace is on the Internet in Germany pany a patent –- for the “innovation” at www.greenpeace.de and internationally involved – on harvests of maize plants and at www. greenpeace.org oils obtained from them, feedstuffs for pigs and poultry, and the use of oils in mar- garine, salad dressings and cooking oils. The patent goes so far as to cover the harvests of all maize plants from seeds having a certain oil content. It covers all

V.i.S.d.P. / Ed.: Christoph Then 4/2001 www.greenpeace.de Greenpeace e.V.  22745 Hamburg

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