Do you feel it's a company's right to patent a genetic strand that would build a better plant or animal?

"we're playing god. you pay for it."

no.

No I absolutely do not!

Leaving aside the absurdity of the idea that genetic modification could improve on nature, no I don't.

Hmm is interesting this as a living creature cannot be patented, but the DNA strand can. Puts conventional breeding methods at an even greater disadvantage doesn't it? Remember Oncomouse? I think that was th first instance of animal patents. Oncomouse was born w 100% chance of developing cancer so that anti-cancer drugs could be tested without luck skewing the data. On the topic you r really refering to: No ithink it wil b th responsibility of th breeder to protect his strain thru inbuilt measures as seed companies always have. Release only F1 crosses.

Wow! I was just thinking of how crazy this could get in the not-so-distant future.

Imagine that they are patenting human genetic strands to make better humans. And then, one day, I have a natural born child that, just by chance, happens to be born with a genetic strand identical to one which was previousy patented by a company. Can the company now sue me or my child for patent infringement? Or will the company maybe try to sue God or Mother Nature?

Will they pass legislation that requires unborn children to be genetically altered so that their strands will be guaranteed not to infringe on company patents?

It truly is a Brave New World.

Business and business competition and "return on investment" being what it is, of course it follows that companies will try to monopolise their work if they possibly can, to ensure an inflow of money.

But like the early days of computing, when enthusiast programmers shared their creations without charge, (but now you pay), I believe inventions should be free to use, but the inventors cared for and appreciated by the community they live in.

At the moment its business competition which rules, with plenty of scope for dirty tricks in order to get the upper hand. It is this taking money as the god which has led to the world conditions over the centuries - think about it!

Well we've actually been genetically modifying food for a pretty long time now. Do you think bananas and strawberries and broccoli just always grew that way naturally? No. It took decades of genetic modification to get those foods the way they are. They barely resemble what they used to look and taste like.

There's nothing wrong with those foods at all. We're not talking about pesticides or or harmful additives. The genes are manipulated to produce the biggest, reddest, and sweetest stawberries. Are you going to stop eating bananas because they're not how god originally made them?

Animals on the other hand I don't know, that's a complicated issue. But remember there as well, we've been selectively breeding animals since the dawn of civilization. Which could be considered a form of genetic manipulation in itself.