How Biotech Giants Use Patents and New GMOs to Control the Future of Food

Bayer and Corteva (formerly Pioneer Dupont) are moving to patent plant genetic information that can occur naturally as well as from genetic modification

April 1, 2023 | Source: GM Watch | by

Bayer and Corteva (formerly Pioneer Dupont) are moving to patent plant genetic information that can occur naturally as well as from genetic modification

Big global biotech corporations like Bayer and Corteva, which together already control 40% of the global seed market, are dangerously trying to reinforce their monopoly and threatening food security. A group of seed saving, environmental and consumer organisations reveals how these companies seek to increase their control over the future of food and farming by extensively patenting plants and developing a new generation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Global biotech leaders Bayer and Corteva (formerly Pioneer Dupont) are moving to patent plant genetic information that can occur both naturally or as a result of genetic modification – claiming all plants with those genetic traits as their “invention”. Such patents on plants, which have been controversial for decades[1], would restrict farmers’ access to seeds and impede breeders from developing urgently needed plants adaptable to extreme weather conditions, as both would have to ask for consent and pay fees to the biotech companies.

Corteva has applied for some 1430 patents on new GMOs, while Bayer/Monsanto has applications for 119 patents. By claiming exclusive rights on their “inventions”, they directly contradict their lobbying claims that new GMOs could happen naturally and that therefore the EU should exclude them from the safety checks and labelling requirements provided by the current GMO legislation.