USA
November 3, 2010

Source: Nature Biotechnology via Meridian Institute's Food Security and Ag-Biotech News Author: Emily Waltz

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) has finalized an umbrella license with Monsanto Company that gives ARS scientists the freedom to study Monsanto's commercial seeds without asking the company for permission on each project, this article reports.

"The agreement] is extremely good and specific. ARS will be allowed to do basically everything that could be desired," said one ARS scientist who asked to remain anonymous.
According to the article, ARS scientists were part of a group of 26 researchers who lodged an anonymous public complaint in February 2009 that charged that seed companies were thwarting public sector research on genetically modified (GM) crops.

The companies required all purchasers of their seeds to sign "stewardship agreements.

" The scientists said these legal agreements forced them to seek permission from the seed companies before conducting studies, even on crops that had been on the market for years.

"No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions involving these crops" because of the companies' ability to deny permission, the scientists wrote in their public comment.

In response to the public and subsequent press reports, biotechnology companies reexamined their research agreements with the public sector.

Dow AgroSciences, Syngenta, and Pioneer Hi-Bred have all begun discussions with ARS over new umbrella agreements, according to the companies, the article reports. The article says that these industry players, along with Monsanto, have also been working with universities on similar licenses.

The article notes that ARC's umbrella agreement with Monsanto does not allow studies that are outside of" agronomic research," such as those involving breeding, reverse engineering, or characterizing the genetic composition of a crop. This type of work will still require separate contracts.

The article can be viewed online at the link below with a paid subscription to the journal Nature.
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v28/n10/full/nbt1010-996c.html  
 

Website: http://www.nature.com/nbt/index.html

Published: November 3, 2010