Warning!!

[grassfarmer]

This topic maybe belongs on the "Rural Issues" page but I think it is important enough that agricultural producers everywhere need to read it.
It seems the US operation "Iraqi Freedom" is less about freeing the world of global terrorism than enslaving the world to a handful of US corporations.
"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.'
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/ regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf
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, now illegal.
Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license 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."
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"

[ivbinconned]

Grass farmer is that a paste or did you author it? If it is a paste, what is the sorce?

[farmers_son]

Grassfarmer: I found this site to be one of the most interesting I have seen in years.

For those having trouble pasting the link into their browser try: http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf as the link in your post had a space in it which caused a error message.

The take home message for me was not so much the seed issue but the reality of what happens when your country is occupied by a foreign power. I see the USA imposing their laws on Iraq and whether it is the USA in Iraq or Germany in WWII the result is the same. I never really fully appreciated what my father and others like him fought for in WWII until I browsed through this site http://www.iraqcoalition.org
and saw just how the occupying force takes over everything, freedoms, customs, judiciary and government. Sixty years later and I finally get it.
If the USA can do this to Iraq then they can do it to Brazil, New Zealand or Canada. It was a real eye opener for me. A real good find, thanks for sharing it with us. It is history repeating itself only this time there is no one to stop the invading armies. Your topic heading "Warning" is very appropriate.

[cowman]

Maybe I'm not reading this right or something, but hasn't that already happened here? Don't companies like Monsanto already have a patent on grain genetics?...Roundup ready canola?
I wonder: Who is going to police this? As near as I can figure out the US pretty well has it's hands full with trying to "subdue" Iraq without getting too concerned with who is growing what genetics?
Somehow I get the feeling this is a real "non-story"...must have been a slow newsday or something?

[grassfarmer]

ivbinconned, No I didn't author it - it arrived by email from a holistic management listserve that I receive.

Appreciate the comments farmers_son, I had difficulty sleeping the night I read this first.

Cowman, you misunderstand - yes, Monsanto own the patent to their GM canola at present - but this move to stop all producers around the world from being allowed to save ANY seed is way more serious. It is about controlling the food supply of the entire world - given how beef producers have been treated by US transnational corporations in the last year do you think they would have any hesitation in getting the US government to ban aid programs to countries like Bangladesh and Sudan if these countries failed to comply with this ruling? I really think US corporate greed would see millions starve to make a fast $ for themselves.
This is an ongoing battle as it is covered under the "Seed sector review" which is ongoing in Canada at this time. To find out more go to www.nfu.ca - they are fighting the corner of primary producers everywhere, even if many producers are unaware of the current issues.

[jensend]

you're right grassfarmer. there are some people who realize the immense power there is in controlling food production. not many of those people are farmers and i think because farmers are treated as not being very important we often forget the importance of the industry. anybody who gives it a few minutes thought will realize some of the implications. primary producers have a much greater investment than any of these seed or merchandising companies and i hope we can gain more control over what we do. i have rarely agreed with the nfu over my thirty years as a farmer but the last couple of years i have thought they are ahead of most farmers in recognizing the long term implications of the consolidation and concentration happening over the past twenty years or so.

[cakadu]

So how does one get the genie back in the bottle? Have we gone past the point of no return on this whole issue? If we haven't, then what steps should be taken?

Wasn't it rusty who brought up being serfs at one time? Seems to me that some of the comments he made a while back are sounding eerily true the more that is discovered.