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The Axis of Evil and Maize Oil

Crop and Variety Loss. 75% of all crop and vegetable varieties have been lost over the last century.2% of our crop and vegetable varieties are lost every year.What does this have to do with Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)Is Dupont the

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The Axis of Evil and Maize Oil

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    1. The Axis of Evil and Maize Oil Dr. Melanie DeVore Professor, Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA

    2. Crop and Variety Loss 75% of all crop and vegetable varieties have been lost over the last century. 2% of our crop and vegetable varieties are lost every year. What does this have to do with Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Is Dupont the “world-wide leader in biopiracy of plant genetic resources”?

    3. IPRs IPRs now include forms of life Private companies and research institutes are “EVIL” because they can patent and own life forms and genes Developing countries see these “Evil Doers” as the thieves who steal genetic resources This theft is termed “BIOPIRACY”

    4. Straight from the mouth of the International Undertaking Loss of agricultural biodiversity and the private ownership and control of plant genetic resources have been given new impetus by the advent of genetic engineering. The genetic engineering of plants is currently a private science being developed and controlled by profit-making multinational companies which also own the handful of seed companies that control most of the world’s commercial seed varieties.

    5. Who makes up the “axis of evil”? DuPont Monsanto Syngenta They buy the monster sized international seed companies and control commercial seed varieties

    6. How the Evil Doers Operate Seed and food patentability is the tool used to manipulate the world Seeds and plants get changed and companies claim plant varieties, seeds and harvests as intellectual property Plant genetic resources are no longer public domain and become private property

    7. What happens next? Only plants of grand commercial interest are bred Varieties get lost or are held captive in seed banks of companies Small farmers are denied breeding material (seeds)

    8. How this works Dupont bought the world’s largest seed company (Pioneer Hi-Bred in 1999) Pioneer filed 150 patent applications at the European Patent Office These are classified as “World Patent Applications” and are filed in USA, Japan, and other nations simultaneously.

    9. DuPont “Invents” Maize Once upon a time (August, 2000) the European Patent Office took an application from DuPont which covered all maize plants containing more than a particular amount of oil and oleic acid. EP 744 888

    11. What the patent would cover Claims ANY variety of maize with/or above that designated oil content Claims made covering the planting, cultivation, harvesting and processing for FOOD, ANIMAL FEED or INDUSTRIAL use

    12. How DuPont and Pioneer Operate Insert a gene and make a claim Culture plant material using tissue culture and claim all resources with the given characteristic Change a breeding process Isolate a gene and claim the sequence as an invention

    13. WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR THIS CLAIM Patent is based on an invention “This invention relates to corn grain having a significantly higher oleic acid content acid content by virtue of heritable genes for increased oil and oleic acid content and to the production of high oil high oleic grain, plants and plant parts grown from such grain and uses of such improved grain”

    14. Two Questions Based on what you have read and what we have discussed on class think about this: 1) Could you produce the “claimed” corn varieties naturally? 2) How would people in Mexico and South America feel about the situation? The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is located in MEXICO

    27. Production

    28. Commodity Handling

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