Biodiversity

National Farmers Union (Canada)
Seed Saver Campaign
The rights of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, exchange, and sell seeds are under attack. The NFU is fighting back for our rights. Please see the NFU Seeds Factsheets for an overview of this issue and for information on the NFU’s campaign and how you can get involved. For detailed information on changes that seed companies are proposing, read “Nine Things That Farmers Need To Know About The Seed Sector Review.”

Overview
Appropriation of a living agent by means of a patent is the subject of a
debate which is characterised both by well-meaning intentions and by
lack of knowledge of the subject. The debate reached its climax in
France when the European Patent Office (EPO) granted Myriad, an
American company, a monopoly for genetic diagnosis of breast
cancer. Thanks to Jacques Warcoin, this patent was withdrawn in June
2004 by the EPO’s Opposition Division, to the satisfaction of those
who saw in this retraction the refusal to allow the appropriation of
living beings, objects or human genes. Jacques Warcoin shows that