Monsanto Essay

1. Should someone be able to patent life? Life should be able to be patented with many exceptions. Anything with a brain should not be able to be patented as that would be inhumane. However, tampering with the genes of other forms of life can become helpful to society. For example, microbes that can eat up oil spills can save many other living beings in the ocean. As well as this, having variety in foods is vital to prevent diseases wiping out a species of food that many people rely on. It should be expected that people with new ideas want to protect their intellectual property. Unfortunately, this system is flawed in many ways. Roundup, a herbicide, is necessary for seeds to fight the intruding weeds. At the same time, Monsanto produces seeds …show more content…
Dr. Vandana Shiva, renowned scientist and writer for the Global Research, states that “when a corporation controls seed, it controls life, especially the life of farmers.” Their control of the seed industry hurts farmers and consumers. Because of Monsanto’s ridiculous patent on seed, the suicide rate of Indian farmers has increased, farmers in Brazil have been robbed of over $2.2 billion dollars in royalty, and Monsanto has essentially created a monopoly on life. While seeds should be patentable, no one company, such as Monsanto, should be able to hold a monopoly over the entire seed industry. Monsanto’s avarice has led them to patent as many seeds as possible in hopes of making a profit off of patent infringement. As well as this, Monsanto can own an entire species and control the price. This is harmful to the farmers who can accidentally infringe on their patents. For example, farmer, Percy Schmeiser, was sued for infringing on one of Monsanto’s patents when a truck carrying seeds had a number of its seeds blown off the truck onto his land. Monsanto, or any other large corporation that patents a large number of seeds, should not be able to have the majority of patents of seeds of any given