New patented GMOs, seed marketing reform: An attack on peasant agriculture in Europe

These two legislative proposals may seem complex and difficult to understand. However, what is at stake is very simple: it is a project, developed by the European Commission under the pressure of the seed industry and a few Member States, to privatise all seeds and crops, including peasant and traditional seeds, through patents held by a few multinational corporations. Such control of seeds by a handful of very large companies would jeopardise not only farmers’ rights on seeds, but also peasant agroecology, and the ecological balances necessary for its development, as well as European food sovereignty and security. These are crucial issues that should now raise alarms both among farmers’ organisations and among consumers and citizens. Farmers, consumers and citizens are, in fact, the ones who will bear the economic, health, and environmental consequences of these political choices.

Through four stories of peasants facing various challenges (contamination, lawsuits for patent infringement, hidden patents, and banned seed exchanges), this publication helps us to understand more clearly what awaits farmers if these regulations are adopted.

In the face of this harmful project for peasant agriculture, ECVC calls to oppose the adoption of the two regulations. ECVC also makes several demands and recommendations at the end of this publication. In this outreach document, we cannot go into detail about each of the multiple articles of the two proposals from the Commission. We therefore refer you to numerous publications and sources available on ECVC’s website for further information.