Monsanto files patent for new invention: the pig

August 3, 2005 Greenpeace has unearthed two particularly disturbing patent applications from Monsanto Corporation that would make the corporate giant the sole owner of that famous Monsanto invention: the pig. The patent applications were published in February 2005 at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva. A Greenpeace researcher who monitors patent applications, Christoph Then, uncovered the fact that Monsanto is seeking patents not only on methods of breeding, but on actual breeding herds of pigs as well as the offspring that result. According to Then, "I couldn't believe this. I've been reviewing patents for 10 years and I had to read this three times. Monsanto isn't just seeking a patent for the method, they are seeking a patent on the actual pigs.”

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