Biopiracy of wheat "created by generations
of dedicated farmers"

Monsanto, the world's largest producer of genetically modified 
seeds, now has exclusive ownership over Nap Hal, a strain of 
wheat whose gene sequence makes it suited for crisp breads. Nap 
Hal used for making chapati — the flat bread which is part of 
the staple diet of millions of people in the north of India. 
Chapati are made of flour, water and salt.

Nap Hal's qualities arise out of cross-breeding of crops by 
generations of Indian farmers. Now Monsanto stands to make 
millions of dollars in profits from its monopoly of the wheat.

Monsanto inherited a patent application after buying the cereals 
division of the Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever in 1998, and the 
patent has been granted by the European Patent Office to 
Monsanto. Unilever acquired Nap Hal seeds from a publicly funded 
British plant gene bank. Its scientists identified the wheat's 
combination of genes and patented them as an "invention".

Greenpeace is trying to block Monsanto's patent, accusing the 
company of "bio-piracy". Dr Christoph then, Greenpeace's patent 
expert, said after a meeting with the European Commission in 
Delhi: "It is theft of the results of the work in cultivation 
made by Indian farmers. We want the European Patent Office to 
reverse its decision. Under European law patents cannot be issued 
on plants that are normally cultivated, but there are loopholes 
in the legislation."

Campaigners in India say there are concerns that people might end 
up paying royalties to Monsanto for making or selling chapatis. 
"The commercial interest is that Monsanto can charge people for 
using the wheat or take a cut from its sale", said Devinder 
Sharma, who runs the Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security in 
Delhi.