Stop Monsanto patenting tomatoes

Patented tomato image promoting the Avaaz petition.
1,610,404 have already signed. They want 2 million

I'm not a huge fan of online petitions, of which Avaaz sends out at least one a week. But Eva Novotny of Scientists for Global Responsibility is insistent that this one needs support. It's against patenting of seeds by corporations like Monsanto - even seeds of conventional vegetables. Monsanto alone, she says, owns 36% of all tomato, 32% of sweet pepper and 49% of cauliflower varieties registered in the EU.  The company long ago stated that its aim is to control the entire food chain.  We must not allow this to happen, says Eva. I agree, and I’ve signed, and I suggest you do too.

Find the petition here

Here's the publicity Avaaz sent out. Yes I  know it's a bit shrill but I believe they're on the button.

It’s unbelievable, but Monsanto and Co. are at it again. These profit-hungry biotech companies have found a way to exclusively ‘own’ something that freely belongs to us all - our food! They’re trying to patent away our everyday vegetables and fruits like cucumber, broccoli and melons, forcing growers to pay them and risk being sued if they don’t.

But we can stop them from buying up Mother Earth. Companies like Monsanto have found loopholes in European law to get away with this, so we just need to close them shut before they set a dangerous global precedent. And to do that, we need key countries like Germany, France and the Netherlands - where opposition is already growing - to call for a vote to stop Monsanto’s plans. The Avaaz community has shifted governments before, and we can do it again.…