GM crops: A risk to diversity

Who owns seed? In 1970’s no company owned 1% of the market In 2006 top 10 companies owned 57% of world seed

Who are these companies? They include Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, Syngenta, BASF, Bayer Often are chemical and pharmaceutical companies They own organic, conventional and GM seeds

Cross-licensing agreements mean further concentration

Smartstax corn Monsanto and Dow Agro Sciences 8 different GM genes: 2 for herbicide tolerance (crops sprayed with weedkiller but survives) 6 for insect resistance (some insects die from plant produced poison).

Why did chemical companies buy seed companies? Control – patents on GM seed increase this GM seeds and chemicals sold as a package GM crops used 26% more chemicals in Patents mean can’t independently test GM Everyone has to eat

Agricultural Treadmills

What is the result of GM seed? Bankruptcy of small seed companies Lost choice – can’t buy non-GM or best genetics without GM traits Seed destruction - Farmers can’t save and replant Farmers sued Increased costs Very limited research

Diversity plummets End of experimentation – for farmers and gardeners End of seed saving Extinction - Seed removed from catalogues becomes extinct

Global picture 1.Contamination 2.Patents- intellectual property rights on plants and seeds 3.“Saving” Africa

1.GM contamination Supply chain - can’t keep GM contamination out Seeds - Bayer to pay 15 million over GM rice Weeds - outcross and store GM genes, volunteers Soil – alters whole soil biology

GM contamination of the gene pool Mexican corn contaminated Wild plants could be contaminated GM genes found in a broccoli growing wild in Japan (Brassica family) Food security at risk

2. Patents Industrialised countries hold 97% of patents worldwide, Almost 90% of these are held by large companies. BASF, Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, Dupont etc filed 532 patent claims on “climate ready” genes

Intellectual property rights on seed and plants introduced US imposes IP laws via bilateral treaties Iraq Order 81 in 2004: “New” seed varieties registered, famers pay royalties but can’t save seed Afghanistan – not helped to regain traditional seed

3. “Saving” Africa – what’s happening $7.7billion mainly for GM research- US Lugar Casey bill Assoc. for a Green Revolution in Africa Subsidies to US cotton growers Foreign purchase of farm land in Africa

What works in Africa IAASTD and agro-ecological farming Supporting farmers Non-GM breeding world/17-feeding-the-world/14-non-gm-breakthroughs Zambia: conservation farming= hoe, trees and working with natural systems

What can we do?

Change the law Patent thrown out on BCRA 1+ 2 breast cancer gene Senate Inquiry into gene patents to report in June this year Ecuador – legally enforceable rights of nature

Support action taken worldwide Slow Food Via Campesina 16 th April - family farmers to march on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (International Day of peasant struggle) 26 th April International Seed Day, Patent-Free Seeds, Organic Food and Farmers' Rights

Vote with your wallet

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