In the battle against biopiracy, Indian wheat farmers, backed by Greenpeace, won a significant victory after the European Patent Office revoked a patent given to Monsanto for its "Nap Hal" wheat variety.

"This was clearly a biopiracy attempt by Monsanto and would have set a new and dangerous trend," said Dr. Ashesh Tayal, scientific advisor for Greenpeace India. "Revocation of the patent in total reinforces a victory for the farmers in India and a lesson to learn that we need to be much more proactive to protect our traditional knowledge."

In its patent application, Monsanto claimed a special baking quality in the wheat was its invention. But Indian farmers, with the help of Greenpeace, were able to prove it was a trait bred by them and not genetically engineered.

"This is a big success for farmers all over the world," said Dr. Christoph Then, patent expert from Greenpeace Germany. "For the future of saving world food security it is extremely important to promote open access to seeds for farmers."

http://www.greenpeace.org/india_en/news/details?item_id=606622


Source: We Are Fighting Back #31