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Threat to global GM soybean access as patent nears expiry

Nature Biotechnology volume 31, pages 10–11 (2013)Cite this article

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In 2014, the 20-year term for the gene patent on Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybean, which is used by >90% of US soybean farmers, will expire, and the looming deadline has raised fears among farmers that the expiration may disrupt trade. Their concern hinges on the disparity between how genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are regulated in the US and internationally. In the US, after a gene inserted into a crop is deregulated, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) accepts its use in the crop indefinitely. But in the rest of the world, GM crops are approved for a specified time, which means that companies must periodically reapply with the regulatory agencies. In China, applications are submitted every three years, in Korea every five years, in Japan and Europe every ten.

Trade today moves smoothly because Monsanto maintains these approvals, but once the patent expires, Monsanto loses the financial incentive to continue filing. Nearly 60% of American-grown soy is exported abroad, mainly to China, Japan and Mexico, and almost all of it contains the Roundup Ready resistance gene. So in 2009, when Monsanto launched a second-generation GM soybean—Roundup Ready 2 Yield—farmers and other industry stakeholders realized that Monsanto had a de facto lock on the soybean trade. They feared that the seed giant would force them to adopt the next-generation trait by failing to file international approvals after expiration.

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  1. Brooklyn, New York

    Daniel Grushkin

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Grushkin, D. Threat to global GM soybean access as patent nears expiry. Nat Biotechnol 31, 10–11 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0113-10c

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