New recipes for Tomatoes and Broccoli

In October 2014, a large inflatable tomato greeted officials at the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO). Surrounding the officials were protestors waving placards that said “free broccoli” and “free tomato”. The demonstration was organised by No Patents on Seeds, a coalition of non-governmental and farmers’ organisations concerned about patents covering seeds, plants and farm animals. In addition, an online petition set up by campaigning group Avaaz to stop the further patenting of fruit and vegetables in Europe has so far generated more than two million signatures.