WASHINGTON — U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern has teamed up with Congressman Greg Casar of Texas to introduce the Fair Seeds for Farmers Act, a House bill that would limit seed patents and protect farmers’ and researchers’ rights to breed, save and share seeds.
McGovern explained at a July 14 press conference in front of the House Triangle in the nation’s capital that the bill intends to protect farmers and customers from large agricultural conglomerates, which he said are exercising “increasing control” over the seeds farmers use to plant food crops.
“We’re here because so many farmers … [have] enough on their plate as it is, even if they weren’t being jerked around by corporate bullies,” McGovern said. “The truth is that over the last decade, the American seed industry has been bought out by a few big, multinational corporations, [which] now basically control the supply of an essential farm input. This unchecked corporate power harms the farmers who grow our food and the families who depend on it.”
Referring to the conglomerates as “seed monopolies,” McGovern explained that corporate patenting and buying out the seed supply is leading to less efficient farming practices, and a less resilient and affordable food system.
The bill aims to fight back against seed monopolies by making it illegal to patent a plant, plant variety or plant germplasm as intellectual property. The proposed legislation grandfathers pre-existing patents or patent applications that were filed prior to the bill’s passing.
“Seed monopolies drive up prices, crowd out independent seed companies and stifle the breeding innovation that is essential to a resilient and affordable food system,” McGovern said. “This broken system also forces farmers into unfair purchasing contracts that restrict their ability to save, breed, experiment with, and replant seeds, often under the threat of retaliation, blacklisting, or litigation.”
The congressman went on to argue that large seed companies are “abusing” laws that Congress put in place to protect intellectual property and have benefited from “a federal government that has looked the other way.”
McGovern added that the bill also aims to make food more affordable and diversify the food market by giving farmers more choice in the types of seeds they buy. He named Bayer, ChemChina (China National Chemical Corporation) and Vylor Inc., a subsidiary of Corteva, as being among the largest seed conglomerate companies.
“They are not content to make billions just selling seeds; they want the ability to decide who can grow what and how much farmers must pay for the privilege of growing the food that feeds the rest of us,” McGovern said. “Food is one of the most basic promises we make to one another — that the farmers and farm workers who grow it can make a living and that the families they feed can afford to eat. That promise has been broken by giant corporations that squeeze farmers at the beginning of the food chain and families at the end.”
Both representatives from the Corteva Seed company and Bayer, when asked for comment, referred The Gazette to the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).
ASTA President and CEO Andy LaVigne said in a written statement that “as an industry,” its members remain committed to producing high-quality, professionally produced seed that meets the evolving needs of farmers.
“Ongoing research and development drive innovation in the seed industry, and intellectual property rights provide the incentive and protection to sustaining that innovation … We welcome continued dialogue on how best to protect American innovation and ensure access to the high-quality seed and technologies needed to support a productive, resilient, and sustainable agricultural future,” LaVigne wrote.
The bill has been endorsed by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, American Economic Liberties Project, National Family Farm Coalition, Organic Seed Alliance, Open Markets Institute, RAFI-USA, Farm Action Fund, Environmental Working Group and Northeast Organic Farming Association Massachusetts Chapter.
