For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic engineering page and our Millions Against Monsanto page.
    The government of India has made it very clear that they will not tolerate Monsanto’s attempts to commercialize on their indigenous knowledge, a practice known as biopiracy.

 India’s National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government agency, is suing Monsanto, the world leader in genetically modified (GM) crops and seeds, and their collaborators, the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, for using local varieties of eggplant to develop a genetically modified version.

 Quite simply, the biotech giant did not get prior approval to use the naturally occurring breeds for the purposes of genetic modification, and in so doing violated the country’s Biological Diversity Act (BDA), enacted in 2002.

India Stands Up Against Corporate Control of Their Food Supply

 India’s BDA requires that any entity attempting to use a native plant for commercial or research purposes must first get approval from the NBA; the Act is in force specifically to protect the nation’s biodiversity.

 Monsanto, however, neglected to do this opting instead to essentially steal the native plants in order to modify them for their own commercial gain.