Guest Blog Post: Biopiracy in the age of climate change and food shortages

Today's guest blogger is JanForGore, who heads up the sustainable agriculture group. Keep an eye out for her regular guest blog posts on Current Green and providing updates on news as it relates to her channel.

Biopiracy is the patenting of indigenous bio-diversity related knowledge. For purposes of this writing, the patenting of natural traits found in plants, which is now described as epidemic. While the rewarding of patents should be based on inventiveness and original creativity, it has become a license for corporations to steal such indigenous traits endemic to nature already naturally cultivated by indigenous farmers for centuries. This is done to make fast cash and to take advantage of the climate crisis and food shortages which ironically are also exacerbated through monoculture industrial methods of what I like to call ‘strip farming.’ Such methods have stripped soil nutrients and carbon essential for sustainability of the land and our climate balance.
Companies such as Monsanto are notorious for using such tactics. One case as an example was recently reported by the Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board which sought royalty payments from Monsanto India Ltd. for genetic information it alleges was stolen from Bt bacteria that they then used in the development of Bt cotton, which has now led to much debt, despair, and suicide among farmers in India. This was primarily brought about by TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property) that has been the catalyst for corporate conglomerate takeover regarding biopiracy and GM seed manipulation and monopolization that is threatening the very culture of India by marginalizing their access to seeds and natural traits.
Biopiracy is a threat to biodiversity and the livelihoods and agriculture of indigenous farmers around the world. While some groups have joined together to stop the patenting of indigenous traits they have cultivated for centuries it is hard as corporations have the economic and political upper hand and have warped patent laws in their favor. And for these groups to then seek such patents would be expensive and raise questions regarding equally sharing the benefits of their designs and resources. However, some countries are trying unique ways to stand up for nature and the rich traditions that have preserved the many seed varieties and traits working with nature to sustain our planet and species.
In a world where climate change, food shortages, and water scarcity are already effecting the lives of the poor in much of the developing world and their environment, we must be ever mindful and vigilant of those seeking to cash in on nature by claiming false ownership. Such ownership of natural properties is illegal and unethical and sets the stage for further environmental degradation, the destruction of a natural way of life and sustainable agriculture, and the continued enslavement of farmers to multinational corporations.
Make no mistake about it, this is a war for the very soul of our planet and without farmers being able to save and cultivate the thousands of varieties of seeds that will feed an ever growing population, we will continue towards a monoculture over saturated pesticide laden environment that will not feed us, but poison us. We must be aware of these tactics and fight them.

For more recent information on this topic please reference:

Stop the Biopiracy of Climate Resilient Crops

Biopiracy, GM Seeds and Rural India

Peru's patent win strikes blow against biopiracy

Ecuador Constitution Grants Rights to Nature

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