Fiasco in the Field: an update on hybrid rice in Asia by GRAIN | 28 Jan 2005 Seedling - January 2005 A new report from GRAIN follows up on the fate of hybrid rice in Asia. An earlier study in 2000 saw the push for hybrid rice coming from the seed industry as a stepping-stone to genetically modified (GM) rice. The report looks at how hybrid rice has fared with farmers and the shifting dynamics and ambitions of those pushing hybrid rice in the region. Despite continued enthusiastic support from seed companies and international agencies, hybrid rice continues to be viewed by farmers as a pretty useless technology and the area planted has increased little in the last five years . A new report from GRAIN follows up on the fate of hybrid rice in Asia. An earlier study in 2000 saw the push for hybrid rice coming from the seed industry as a stepping-stone to genetically modified (GM) rice. The report looks at how hybrid rice has fared with farmers and the shifting dynamics and ambitions of those pushing hybrid rice in the region. Despite continued enthusiastic support from seed companies and international agencies, hybrid rice continues to be viewed by farmers as a pretty useless technology and the area planted has increased little in the last five years .
Corporate conquest, global geopolitics: Intellectual property rights and bilateral investment treaties by Aziz Choudry | 26 Jan 2005 Seedling - January 2005 Since the breakdown of World Trade Organisation talks in Cancun in September 2003, there has been much talk of the rise of bilateralism. But bilateral trade and investment agreements aren’t so much replacing the multilateral agreements that have foreshadowed them in the last decade as working with them to create a ratcheting system to increase the levels of intellectual property protection worldwide. Interestingly, and perhaps more significantly, bilateral trade and investment agreements are also proving to be quite effective in pushing the foreign policy goals of the US and EU. Since the breakdown of World Trade Organisation talks in Cancun in September 2003, there has been much talk of the rise of bilateralism. But bilateral trade and investment agreements aren’t so much replacing the multilateral agreements that have foreshadowed them in the last decade as working with them to create a ratcheting system to increase the levels of intellectual property protection worldwide. Interestingly, and perhaps more significantly, bilateral trade and investment agreements are also proving to be quite effective in pushing the foreign policy goals of the US and EU.
Territory, autonomy and defending maize by Carlos Santos interviews Aldo Gonzalez | 24 Jan 2005 Seedling - January 2005 Aldo Gonzalez is an indigenous person from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, where community organisations are leading a major resistance movement against the contamination of native maize by transgenic seeds. The movement is guided by the ancestral relationships between people and their natural surroundings. Politically, the resistance movement is linked to the struggle for autonomy by and for local communities, and is rooted in a particular indigenous vision of the world. In Oaxaca and in other Mexican states, defending maize is a cornerstone of defending a community's autonomy . Aldo Gonzalez is an indigenous person from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, where community organisations are leading a major resistance movement against the contamination of native maize by transgenic seeds. The movement is guided by the ancestral relationships between people and their natural surroundings. Politically, the resistance movement is linked to the struggle for autonomy by and for local communities, and is rooted in a particular indigenous vision of the world. In Oaxaca and in other Mexican states, defending maize is a cornerstone of defending a community's autonomy .
Diversa dominates global search for blockbuster microbes by GRAIN | 22 Jan 2005 Seedling - January 2005 In the last decade the US' Diversa corporation has expanded its bioprospecting activities all over the globe, placing it very high if not top of the list of the worlds bioprospectors. In the last decade the US' Diversa corporation has expanded its bioprospecting activities all over the globe, placing it very high if not top of the list of the worlds bioprospectors.
Uncultivated food: food that money can't buy by SANFEC | 16 Jan 2005 Seedling - January 2005 The presence of uncultivated food in the food systems of South Asia is a survival issue for many of the poorest families, some of whom rely on uncultivated food for 100% of their dietary needs. This article underlines the critical connection between the conservation of the local diversity of food sources and the broader social goals of poverty alleviation, livelihood enhancement and sustainable development. The presence of uncultivated food in the food systems of South Asia is a survival issue for many of the poorest families, some of whom rely on uncultivated food for 100% of their dietary needs. This article underlines the critical connection between the conservation of the local diversity of food sources and the broader social goals of poverty alleviation, livelihood enhancement and sustainable development.