They aren't patenting life forms, rather their modifications to life forms.
> In the past we had heirloom seeds
In the past we didn't have genetic engineering technology that could beat the "heirloom" mixture of selective breeding and snake oil. Now we do, and it has to be funded somehow or society doesn't benefit from that technology.
> In the past we had heirloom seeds
In the past we didn't have genetic engineering technology that could beat the "heirloom" mixture of selective breeding and snake oil. Now we do, and it has to be funded somehow or society doesn't benefit from that technology.