Canadians Say That Seed Patents Threaten Food Supply For The World""s Poor

Canada NewsWire
October 3, 2002

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Canada NewsWire | October 3, 2002

The Canadian Catholic Organization for DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE and the COUNCIL OF CANADIANS are calling on Canada to send a clear message to the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the bio-technology industry: stop the patenting of life!

In solidarity with the world's poor, more than 180,000 Canadians have signed DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE campaign cards addressed to International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew calling for Canada to work to end the patenting of life.

"Increased hunger will be the impact of patenting seeds," said DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE President Roger Dubois. "The issue is a profoundly moral and ethical one," he said, adding that "our Canada-wide campaign is part of an international momentum to prevent large multi-nationals from taking control over the sources of life itself."

"We're calling on government to protect our biodiversity from corporate control," said NadGege Adam, biotechnology campaigner for the Council of Canadians. "Canada must draw the line now and say no to the patenting of life forms."

Millions of families in some of the world's poorest countries survive by saving and exchanging their own seeds from harvest to harvest. Patenting of staple food crops by corporations will lead to increased hunger for poor farmers and their communities.

Already, there are almost 1,000 patents on the world's most important food staples; rice, corn, wheat soy and sorghum. Farmers are often pressured to stop using traditional seeds because of government programs that provide free patented seeds, or because of advertisements promising higher yields. Patented seeds can't be harvested and replanted without a special fee, and they require expensive pesticides and fertilizers. As a result, poor farmers lose control over their lives. "Seeds and all living organisms are our collective heritage," Mr. Dubois said. "The earth belongs to all, and life should never be for sale." This coming year's campaign calls on Prime Minister Jean ChrDetien to explain to Canadians exactly what the federal government intends to do about the issue, and it renews the request that the government, in the person of the Prime Minister, intervene with the World Trade Organization to stop corporations from patenting seeds and all forms of life.

The Canadian Catholic Organization FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE helps "people of all faiths" through community development programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Launched in 1967 as Canada's official Catholic overseas development organization, it promotes awareness about the causes of poverty and underdevelopment through education and action programs in Canada and solidarity with people in the South.

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