Monsanto to patent pigs.

Patents aren't just for widgets: they're for life! Monsanto, long in the business of patenting seeds, is now moving to patent not just breeding processes for pigs, but the actual herd of pigs. "If these patents are granted, Monsanto can legally prevent breeders and farmers from breeding pigs whose characteristics are described in the patent claims, or force them to pay royalties," says Greenpeace's Christoph Then. "It's a first step toward the same kind of corporate control of an animal line that Monsanto is aggressively pursuing with various grain and vegetable lines." The patent application include these claims:

Claim 16 asks for a patent on: "A pig offspring produced by a method ..."
Claim 17 asks for a patent on: "A pig herd having an increased frequency of a specific ...gene..."
Claim 23 asks for a patent on: "A pig population produced by the method..."
Claim 30 asks for a patent on: "A swine herd produced by a method..."

Earlier: The art and politics of genetic chimera.
And: Millions Against Monsanto.

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