*[Enwl-eng] Can you own nature?
ENWL
Hi,
This year, Carlsberg tried to take ownership of our natural world for their own profit. [1] They claimed ownership of dozens of common crops - like certain types of barley used to make beer. And they're not alone. Other corporations like Bayer-Monsanto, DowDupont, and Syngenta are waiting to snatch the rights to everyday seeds. [2]
It’s a power grab - pure and simple. We could go from a world where planting seeds means any farmer can grow the food we need. To one where giant corporations set the rules.
That’s why our community didn't stand by. We partnered up and took action. [3] And it’s been working. Carlsberg already backed down and withdrew one claim! [4] It shows - when people come together, we can hold back outrageous corporate power grabs.
Here’s the thing, Vladimir: this isn’t the first time that the future of our food has been under attack. We’ve been fighting to protect our seeds for years. And that meant being there every step of the way, confronting decision makers with a wave of opposition and even challenging them through legal means. [5]
But plans like these cost money. We stayed in the fight last time because of people like you, individuals who each gave a little to keep us going.
So Vladimir, will you make a donation so that together we can keep fighting to free our seeds? Even €5 would make a massive difference.
| Donate €5 |
| Donate €10 |
| Donate €15 |
When in May 2020, the European Patent Office accepted that conventionally-bred plants are not for anyone to own, it was a big step forward. [6] But corporations just wouldn’t give up.
Now, they're hard at work testing the limits of different loopholes. And it goes way beyond beer. If they succeed they could decide what farmers produce, what retailers sell and how much we all have to pay for it.
The WeMove Europe community and our partners No Patents on Seeds! have worked tirelessly over years to keep the issue on the agenda. Only recently did Carlsberg begin to crack. But, it’s up to us to keep it there and see the fight through.
To do that we need the resources to put a long-term plan in place. We’ve costed it out and need €38,876. With that money we could:
- Run more audacious actions, like our protest outside the patent office, to grab media headlines which will increase pressure on politicians to take action.
- Submit legal complaints and hire experts to challenge the validity of patent applications.
- Forge new allies by meeting with small businesses and communities affected. Together we’ll build their ability to speak up with training and campaign resources.
We know what we need to win. That’s seeing the European Patent Office close all these legal loopholes. And we have a plan to get there. Getting up and running on these actions above means we can move fast and be a thorn in their side at this critical time.
But we can’t count on the funding to put the plan into action. Because we don’t take a single cent from companies or governments. It’s the energy and euros of members like you that keep us going. To pull this off we all need to get behind the idea.
So, I’m asking you if you’ll join the thousands of us committed to seeing this through by chipping in?
| Yes, let's do this! |
With hope,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Tom (Brussels) and the
entire WeMove Europe Team
References:
[1]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/news/carlsberg2020,
https://www.inside.beer/news/detail/europe-carlsberg-to-keep-barley-patents/
[2]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/background/problem
[3]
Back then, we won because by working with our partners at No Patents on
Seeds we showed the true scale of opposition. As a small dedicated group,
they know they can’t meet this moment alone. Luckily, we are a community of over
a million people who never shy away from meeting moments like this
head-on.
[4]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/news/revocation-beer-patent
[5]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/node/344,
https://taspo.de/kategorien/syngenta-einspruch-gegen-tomaten-patent/
In
the end Syngenta withdraw their application for the patent on a tomato:
https://www.slowfood.de/aktuelles/2019/nach-masseneinspruch-syngenta-patent-auf-tomaten-widerrufen
[6]
https://www.wemove.eu/big-win-patents,
https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/european-patent-office-endorses-eus-stance-on-conventionally-bred-plants/
WeMove Europe is a community of people from all walks of life,
who call Europe our home,
no matter where we were born, where we live or who
we love. In the name of a brighter future for people and the planet,
we
come together to sign petitions, send letters and protest on the streets to make
our voices heard.
Our power comes from each other. And it's thanks to
small monthly donations, fivers and tenners, that we can keep going.
Vladimir, please help keep WeMove Europe strong by chipping in.
| DONATE! |
WeMove Europe SCE mbH | Planufer 91 Berlin | www.wemove.eu | Privacy policy |
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