Oh I’m aware of how Monsanto works.
Comment on Exposing Why Farmers Can't Legally Replant Their Own Seeds
rafoix@lemmy.zip 3 weeks agoThere’s nothing wrong with genetically modifying foods. The problem is the exploitative legal contracts that they come with.
Cruxifux@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 3 weeks ago
You don’t even need GMO to create a crop that is covered via patent.
mnhardy.umn.edu/apples/licensing
The University of Minnesota has a large apple breeding system to create new varieties that it sells licenses to. The university funds the development by selling licenses on the trees.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
We need FOSS seeds rather than proprietary ones.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
This actually exists. I don’t have the specifics, but people have started collecting non-copyrighted seeds a long time and iirc also added some sort of licensing to it so MegaCorp cannot just suck it up later.
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s just traditional seed saving practices. They’ve essentially Public Domain. There’s some small farms creating their own “artisan” varieties. Some times they’re true breeding and the seeds can be harvested for replanting. Sometimes they’re hybrids and simply can’t be saved like that for technical reasons. The farms doing artisan stuff sometimes ask for a small donation if you do seed saving so they can put food on their table, but it’s an honor system thing.
Soggy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
We need to abandon the patent system entirely.