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European patent laws prohibit patents on animals derived from conventional breeding. However, companies are increasingly trying to circumvent these prohibitions by filing patent applications for food products such as meat and milk derived from such animals, claiming them as “inventions”. New research by No Patents on Seeds! now shows that patents on animals and food products, such as a patent on salmon granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich, are not just isolated cases but part of a broader strategy of companies. In October 2018, the EPO granted patent EP1965658 on salmon fed with a feedstuff comprising “stearidonic acid feedstuffs”. The patent claims the fish as well as the fish oil. Food derived from these fish supposedly has a higher content of Omega 3 fatty acids, which are considered beneficial to human health. According to the patent, the fish can be fed both with genetically modified feedstuff or plants derived from conventional breeding as long as the content of fatty acids is enhanced in the muscle tissue. [+] more ...