Broccoli Sprout Suit ISGA Broccoli Defense Fund P.O. Box 2214 Amhers, MA 01004 When Johns Hopkins University released the results of a study a few years ago showing broccoli sprouts to have huge amounts of phytochemicals, many growers though they might get into this potentially profitable new crop. But within six months, the government granted a patent on broccoli sprout production to a new company, Brasica Protection Products, which consists of Johns Hopkins University, the professor who did the sprout research, and Green Giant. BPP promptly sent letters to the nation's sprout growers informing them of the patent and inviting them to become a licensed producer and pay BPP a royalty for all the broccoli sprouts they sell. Many sprout producers ignored the patent because it seemed so absurd that something they had grown for years should suddenly become off limits because its nutritional assets had been discovered by scientists. But in June of this year, BPP filed a lawsuit against Sproutman, Inc., a sprout grower in Upper Black Eddy, Pennyslvania, claiming infringement of their patent. It's assumed that a small grower, who can't afford to put up much of a court battle, was chosen as the defendant to scare off other sprout growers. The International Sprout Growers Association is trying to raise money to help with Sproutman's defense. For more information or to contribute, write ISGA Broccoli Sprout Defense P.O. Box 2214 Amherst, MA 01004