What is the Terminator Technology?
On March 3, 1998 the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a Mississippi-based seed company, Delta & Pine Land Co., received US patent no. 5,723,765 on a technique that genetically alters seed so that it will not germinate if re-planted the following season. (2) The technology aims to prevent farmers from saving seed from their harvest, thus forcing them to return to the commercial seed market every year. The Terminator patent covers plants and seeds of all species, including both transgenic (genetically engineered) and conventionally bred seeds. The developers of the new technology say that their technique to prohibit seed saving is still in the product development stage and won’t be available commercially until 2004. How do scientists genetically engineer plants to kill their own seeds? The patented technique involves a cascade of complex interactions involving two bacterial genes and one plant gene. Before sale, seeds are soaked in a common antibiotic, tetracycline, a chemical tha
