Stolen Seeds

Special Report

Stolen Seeds:
by Devlin Kuyek

the privatisation of Canada's agricultural biodiversity

A quarter of a century ago, Canada had a public seed system in the full sense of the word. Our seed supply was the result of a free flow of seeds among farmers and formal breeders, within Canada and abroad. Over the past twenty-five years, however, the Canadian seed system has been radically transformed and our government is dangerously close to turning over our public seed system, and the options for the future that go with it, to a handful of transnational corporations.

Through patents and other intellectual property regimes, corporate tactics, and government manoeuvering, our public goods are being destroyed to make way for private profit and the seed saving and plant breeding practices at the heart of our seed system are being criminalised. This paper provides an overview of the various ways in which this process is happening and discusses some of the consequences.

Forum on the Patenting of Life - www.fpl-fbv.ca

English and French PDF versions are available this website link.

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Stolen Seeds

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