Seeds – common inheritance or commercial property?

Seed development – 10,000 years old  Seed has been developed, swapped and saved  Farmer bred varieties: open pollinated, sexually reproduced and breed true  Since 1980’s institutional breeders produced 75,000 new plant varieties  Small farmers have created millions of varieties

Property rights and Patents  1930’s Hybrid seed developed – purchased each year  Before all plants in public domain  Plant Breeder Rights Act – rights over plants but farmers can save seed  TRIPs and Utility patents – patenting of plants and breeding processes. Farmers can’t save seed

Plant breeding in Australia  Public institutions ie CSIRO and GRDC  Funded by government and farmer levies  Patents mean costs have risen  Governments encourage public/private partnerships  Research directed away from public good to corporate profit  Costs passed on to farmers  “Yes, we do find that it is often the best strategy to get into bed with these companies” John Stocker, CSIRO’s former CEO,

2008 cost of planting Roundup Ready canola  Farmers must be accredited by Monsanto  Farmers sign 2 contracts with Monsanto – cost $500 (discounted from $1000)  Buy special Roundup formula  Seed is twice the price of popular non-GM canola seed  Technology fee of $10.20 per tonne of grain

Terminator Technology and Patents  Terminator  Developed for where patents can’t be enforced  Plants can’t reproduce unaided  Being tested in US greenhouses  Patents  Rice Tec granted US patent over 20 traits and techniques of Basmati- American rice cross  4 claims struck down  Uncertainty on bio-piracy, farmers rights and traditional knowledge  Biotech companies in frenzy to patent genes for climate change

Concentration of seed ownership  In 1970’s, thousands of companies, none had even 1% of market  Now 2 chemical companies own 35%. Monsanto (20%) and Dupont (15%)  Monsanto developed Roundup in the 1970’s and Roundup Ready (GM) crops in the 1990’s  Monsanto’s stated aim is 100% of all seeds GM and patented by 2019

Seed saving and development outside corporate control  Groups are realising the danger and are trying to develop new networks  Diggers Club  Ceres  Seed Savers network  Individuals