Kind Lampshade Maker
November 15th, 2004, 01:39 PM
From rense.com:
"The (now former) American Administrator of the Iraqi CPA (Coalition
Provisional Authority) government, Paul Bremer,updated Iraq's intellectual
property law to 'meet current internationally-recognized standards of
protection.' (1)
The updated law makes saving seeds for next year's harvest, practiced by 97% of
Iraqi farmers in 2002, the standard farming practice for thousands of years
across human civilizations. (2)
Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license (3) for genetically-
modified seeds from American corporations. These GM seeds have typically been
modified from IP developed over thousands of generations by indigenous farmers
like the Iraqis, shared freely like agricultural 'open source.' Other IP
provisions for technology in the law further integrate Iraq into the American IP
economy." (4), (5), (6)
As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush
Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their
seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations --
including seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. That is
because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own
many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short
time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve.
Eegards,
Eric Sean Webber
http://www.monkey.org/~timothy/
(1) http://www.iraqcoalition.org/
regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf
(2) http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/iraq_seeds.htm
(3) http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=6
(4) http://politics.slashdot.org/politics/04
/11/13/2023220.shtml?tid=191&tid=155&tid=219
(5) http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/iraq_seeds.htm
(6) http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations
/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf
"The (now former) American Administrator of the Iraqi CPA (Coalition
Provisional Authority) government, Paul Bremer,updated Iraq's intellectual
property law to 'meet current internationally-recognized standards of
protection.' (1)
The updated law makes saving seeds for next year's harvest, practiced by 97% of
Iraqi farmers in 2002, the standard farming practice for thousands of years
across human civilizations. (2)
Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license (3) for genetically-
modified seeds from American corporations. These GM seeds have typically been
modified from IP developed over thousands of generations by indigenous farmers
like the Iraqis, shared freely like agricultural 'open source.' Other IP
provisions for technology in the law further integrate Iraq into the American IP
economy." (4), (5), (6)
As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush
Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their
seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations --
including seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. That is
because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own
many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short
time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve.
Eegards,
Eric Sean Webber
http://www.monkey.org/~timothy/
(1) http://www.iraqcoalition.org/
regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf
(2) http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/iraq_seeds.htm
(3) http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=6
(4) http://politics.slashdot.org/politics/04
/11/13/2023220.shtml?tid=191&tid=155&tid=219
(5) http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/iraq_seeds.htm
(6) http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations
/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf