“With these patents Syngenta is claiming the
work of breeders and farmers from the past centuries as the company’s own invention. The attempt to monopolize thousands of gene sequences from most important crop plants in one rush is nothing less than a theft of common goods,” says Tina Goethe from Swissaid. “Not to mention the fact that these patents could block future research to a large extent.”

Syngenta, one of the so-called Gene Giant corporations, has filed essentially global patent
applications on approximately 30,000 gene sequences that, in practical terms, include “the entire rice genome.” *

“With these patents Syngenta is claiming the
work of breeders and farmers from the past centuries as the company’s own invention. The attempt to monopolize thousands of gene sequences from most important crop plants in one rush is nothing less than a theft of common goods,” says Tina Goethe from Swissaid. “Not to mention the fact that these patents could block future research to a large extent.”

Adrian Dubock, the head of biotechnology ventures at Syngenta stated in an email that the patent on the genetically altered “rice will not be dropped
because “Our shareholders wouldn’t thank us if we had forgone that possibility.”
Yet the company claims there are no commercial interests in this technology
– – at the moment.” Dubock also stated in his email that “Syngenta’s original commercial interest (discontinued for now, but not necessarily for ever) was for sales in the industrialized countries of nutritionally enhanced crops, included, but not limited to rice.”

According to a media release from Swissaid:

“Syngenta patent experts [state that their] company will claim all gene sequences that could be of commercial interest, thus trying really to get most of the 15 patent applications granted. By claiming the genetic information of rice, the company aims to monopolize also all similar gene sequences in any other useful plants, enabling Syngenta and other companies to determine prices and access to all kinds of seeds. The company is also trying to patent
the use of the plants in food and animal feed. The only commitment Syngenta was able to give in the meeting [with non-governmental organizations the week of August 11, 2005] was not to follow these kinds of patents in least developed countries

“These patents must never be granted. If the company follows its claims, they should expect public protests and legal actions against it.
Politicians should initiate a legal framework to stop companies such as Syngenta, Monsanto, DuPont and Bayer to gain control on genetic resources,” says Francois Meienberg from Berne Declaration.

A footnote to the article notes that “gene sequences in many crops are very similar. With these patents, Syngenta claims for any genes with the same
structure in ANY plants.” [my capitalization]

Christopher Then of Greenpeace, International is quoted: “The whole project is based on a concept of misleading the public.” **

And do not forget the quote from Steve Smith in 2000, when he was the Director of Syngenta precursor Novartis: “If anyone tells you that genetically modified food is going to feed the world, tell them it is not. To feed the world takes political
and financial will.” ***

In other words, the Gene Giants may say their technology is essential to feed the hungry of
the world in the future, but the truth is that the problem lies with politics and food distribution.
We have more food per person now, than we ever have had. Even with our mushrooming
earthly population. Numbers for you:
The United Nations tells us that planet Earth has 1.5 times the amount of food needed
by humans here, who amount to nearly 6.5 billion people today.
In pounds per day, that comes to 4.3 pounds per day per person.****
Another way of looking at it is that the 800 million of us who are “the hungry” need just $500 per person to buy their own food, or to grow it themselves annually.***** That adds up
to $400 billion dollars. Which is just about our annual budget deficit for 2004. Our
total annual USA budget is about $2.2 trillion dollars, which is 2,200 billion dollars.

What can you do about this? Is there anything you can do? Information, people! You have it. See other articles on the toxicities of genetically altered foods on this website. Spread the word!

Remember that potato study done in Scotland that disturbed chief researcher Arpad Pusztai enough that he had to go public before it was completed. The trial rats fed the theoretically “substantially equivalent” genetically altered potatoes had damaged immune systems, hyper-proliferation of their microvilli in their intestines, similar to what we humans have in our anatomy, and this hyperproliferation may be pre-cancerous. Plus the test rats had smaller brains, testicles, and livers than the control rats fed the very same potato line just pre-alteration.

Pusztai, who had worked at the Rowett Institute in Scotland for 35 years, was suddenly fired. His house was vandalized. And the beginning of the fix was in. You can read about this in the first chapter
of Jeff Smith’s well-done book entitled “Seeds of Deception.”

But! These potatoes were cut off from commercialdom because of this study, and what the people of the United Kingdom found out about it and its results, plus McDonald’s kicked in their two cents. So, in 2001, NewLeaf potatoes, genetically altered, were withdrawn from marketplace attempts.
And enough uproar resulted concerning genetically altered wheat, that it too was rejected by the world’s populace, and commercial interests that would have to sell it to them.

Call your Senator at 202-225-3121, and tell her or him what upsets you about all this.
Your Congressperson in the House of Representatives can be reached via 202-224-3121.
Contact your local representatives, and tell them too. And tell them about the Monsanto Laws stealthily being passed in 14 states now, pre-empting laws that citizens have put on the ballot outlawing the planting of genetically altered crops in their towns or counties that could contaminate time-tested crops, or organic crops, via genetic drift of pollen. See the article on the Monsanto Laws on this website, with references.
Or go to the websites referred to in this article and see how you can affect the world you live in – – that you don’t have to be trapped on the wrong side of the TV screen to do the right thing about.

*www.evb.ch/index.cfm?folder_id=129 and http://www.swissaid.ch/news/e/news.htm

** http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/syngenta081605.cfm

***Robert Vint, “Force-Feeding The World,”
http://www.geneticfoodalert.org.uk

****”Seeds of Deception,” by Jeff Smith, page 250.

*****Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the Organic Consumers Association, Telephone conversation 8-20-2001