Protests against patents on brewing barley

With horse-drawn beer carriages, oompah music and free beer about 100 activists protested on 7 June 2017 outside the European Patent Office in Munich against a patent on barley. According to the Munich-based alliance “No Patents on Seeds”, both Heineken and Carlsberg lay claims to the proprietorship of a certain brewing barley, the resulting brewing process and the finished product. As they say, the barley originated from accidental mutations of genetic material.

The two brewing companies have already received two patents on barley varieties. The third patent, granted in 2016, is a cross of the two barleys.

Activists argue that the patents are blatantly absurd as accidental mutations cannot be considered inventions. They campaign against the privatisation of food plants, be they brewing barley, rice or wheat.

For years, activists have voiced disapproval against patents on essentially biological breeding. At the end of June, member states of the European Patent Office will discuss in Den Haag whether to ban patents on plants and animals which result from crossing and breeding. Activists criticize that the submission allows for plenty of exemptions, such as accidental mutations as in the case of brewing barley.

Reports say that up to 90 percent of beer in Germany is made from only five barley varieties. German growers provide 1.1 million tons of barley, while 1.3 million tons are imported. Growers already pay licensing fees to the breeders. Even if Heineken and Carlsberg are granted patents on barley in Europe, this does not necessarily mean that farmers will be worse off. However, there is still the unresolved issue if brewers, which brew and sell beer made from these varieties, will have to pay royalties to Heineken and Carlsberg.