The American biotechnology firm, Monsanto, has applied for a patent  for pig breeding in 160 countries. The patent is for specific parts  of the genetic material of pigs which Monsanto's genetic researchers  have decoded. If this patent is granted, pig breeding would be  possible with the approval of the company.  Farmers and breeders are naturally alarmed because these genes have  long existed in the great majority of their pigs. Using DNA tests  they can prove that there is no new invention in the patent  applications but that, instead, granting this patent would be to  allow a part of nature to fall into the hands of a single company.