In a move that has environmentalists and consumer advocates worried, one of the world’s most controversial corporations is looking to claim swine farming procedures as intellectual property.
From the always excellent NewStandardNews.net:
In what critics call a dangerous power grab, the Monsanto Company is seeking wide-ranging control over swine reproduction methods in the form of patents which, if granted, would give the corporation economic rights over any offspring produced using those techniques.
Documents obtained by Christoph Then, a Germany-based researcher for Greenpeace, show Monsanto’s attempts to secure broad intellectual property protection for swine herds. …
These were the same people that tried patenting an entire countries water supply until they revolted (I’m shamed to say that I forgot the country)
.. There’s irony here….these are pigs trying to patent pigs.
And pigs are complex, wonderful animals that are already treated horrifically in factory farms … this’ll just do more to “mechanize” them.
’round here, most of the farm animals have it so good … in pastures, large pens .. nothing like the big operations where most of the meat comes from.
Optimistically, we can hope that they’ll get a fight over this. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t like to the idea of patenting life. That’s something that can draw out even social conservatives.
Let’s all cross our fingers.
Are you thinking of Bechtel and Bolivia? That was a horror, but I don’t know if Monsanto was involved — not that I’ve heard of, but some of these corporations are like an octopus.
btw, Bechtel has been laying sort of low after that, but now they’re making a play for the water in India. I have the details around here somewhere…
I think that’s what it was. Thanks for correcting me on that.. i think my mind was putting the two together incorrectly 🙁
At any rate it’s just more attempted take-overs by our friends, the free lovin’, free market, corporations
No, you’re exactly right that the behavior is the same! They’re right up there on the scale of an evil multi-national trying to control the basics. What could be worse than controlling the water and crops?
And Monsanto has been up to their eyeballs in Bolivia and the rest of South America with the Roundup spraying under the auspices of the War on Drugs (TM). It’s hard to keep this shit straight when reading about it makes your head explode.
Now wait a minute–they want to patent swine reproduction methods???
The only possible thing to say is “Fuck that!”
Shit. Does that mean I can’t do it ‘piggy-style’ anymore?
</snark>
Maybe that’s the wingnuts’ plan–patent sex, and sue us all for infringement.
It seems the inevitable eventuality of their machinations of controlling everyone else’s reproductive rights.
Control everybody else’s sex lives and make lots and lots of money! Talk about a right-wing wet dream!
BREAKING, Pfizer, makers of VIAGRA
attempts to patent erections…film at 11.
Peace
I cannot resist..though maybe i should….
so is that 10 cents for everytime the wind blows the wrong way?
Ah, Monsanto. The good people behind Agent Orange, Roundup, Genetically Modified corn, and seed patenting — what could go wrong?
by a Texas reasearcher as I recall. All of it. I think Arundati Roy talked about it. She has spoken passionately about the movement to privatize water and most any other global natural resource we could name. I think the rights to Basmati rice have been subsequently trimmed back.
Children growing up already, and probably Supreme Court Justices about to be appointed, will very likely live through the time when we first take some operational control of the human genome.
It’s getting to be time to pull our heads out of history reading and pay a little more attention to science fiction.
Physician, patent thyself.
lol
(and that’s always dangerous)
‘member the farmers in Iraq who, under Bremer, were no longer allowed to save and plant their OWN FUCKING SEEDS? And have to BUY their seeds from Monsanto?
Monsanto is also one of the major players behind terminator technology, which may be the most evil idea of all time.
Sorry. Lousy link. Try this one.
Why does everyone pick on poor little Monsanto?
Hey lets patent Monsanto reproduction!
Boaring. 😉
Hey, let’s patent the procedures for issuance and sale of stock. Hit them all for 35% of the sale price each time a share changes hands, and use it to buy health care for the poor, clean the environment, etc.
Interesting Google ads with this diary, BTW… LOL
Screw that.
Patent the free market.
Seriously. If you apply the same standards the USPTO applies to software/gene patents, it’s a shoe-in. It’s never been patented before, it’s non-obvious, and you didn’t invent it. Instant patent!
Okay, these comments wouldn’t be complete without a drive-by by Johnny Gentle Famous Crooner…
P.S. Check out the source of that story, NewStandardNews.net … I really respect their professionalism and serious vetting of their stories. They have RSS feeds and daily newsletters.
I guess in the right-wingers’ books, its OK for their people to file any lawsuit they want. It’s just not OK for the rest of us to file lawsuits.