Seeds and Sovereignty: Debate Over the Use and Control of Plant Genetic Resources - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0822307561 ISBN 13: 9780822307563

Verlag: Duke University Press, 1988

Inhaltsangabe

Seeds for economically important crops are big business indeed. As large seed companies continue to improve their product in various ways, they make use of the original gene pools of these plants, often located in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. With increasing recognition that plant germplasm is an important raw material, highly charged international disputes have developed over the exchange and use of this material, adding another point of contention between poor nations and the manufacturing wealthier ones.
Twenty experts from several nations, representing both the natural and social sciences, consider the historical background, the issue of patent rights as applied to plant germplasm, the nature of global genetic interdependence, the internationalization of the seed industry, the implications of biotechnology on genetic resources, the Third World attitude toward the debate, and the viewpoints of the International Agricultural Research Centers.

Über diesen Titel

Von der hinteren Coverseite

"This book will be fundamental for an understanding of the subject of plant germplasm on a world basis."--Peter Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Seeds and Sovereignty

The Use and Control of Plant Genetic Resources

By Jack R. Kloppenburg Jr.

Duke University Press

Copyright © 1988 Duke University Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8223-0756-3

Contents

ABBREVIATIONS, 
PREFACE: PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES: THE COMMON BOWL, 
GERMPLASM APPROPRIATION: FROM COLUMBUS TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, 
ROOTS OF THE CONTROVERSY, 
SEEDS AND SOVEREIGNTY, 
NOTES, 
REFERENCES, 
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION, 
1. GENETIC RESOURCES: EVOLUTIONARY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES, 
PART TWO: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES AND THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT, 
2. PLANT SCIENCE AND COLONIAL EXPANSION: THE BOTANICAL CHESS GAME, 
3. PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES OVER TEN THOUSAND YEARS: FROM A HANDFUL OF SEED TO THE CROP-SPECIFIC MEGA-GENE BANKS, 
4. DRAINING THE GENE POOL: THE CAUSES, COURSE, AND CONSEQUENCES OF GENETIC EROSION, 
5. THE CONTRIBUTION OF EXOTIC GERMPLASM TO AMERICAN AGRICULTURE, 
6. NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF PLANT GERMPLASM DIVERSITY, 
PART THREE: GERMPLASM AND GEOPOLITICS, 
7. SEEDS OF CONTROVERSY: NATIONAL PROPERTY VERSUS COMMON HERITAGE, 
8. INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE NATIONAL PLANT GERMPLASM SYSTEM, 
9. PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES: A VIEW FROM THE SEED INDUSTRY, 
10. SEEDS AND PROPERTY RIGHTS: A VIEW FROM THE CGIAR SYSTEM, 
11. EQUALIZING THE FLOW: INSTITUTIONAL RESTRUCTURING OF GERMPLASM EXCHANGE, 
12. CROP GERMPLASM: COMMON HERITAGE OR FARMERS' HERITAGE?, 
PART FOUR: RESTRUCTURING THE GERMPLASM SYSTEM, 
13. PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THE PROTECTION OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES, 
14. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND THE PROTECTION OF GERMPLASM: A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY, 
15. DIVERSITY COMPENSATION SYSTEMS: WAYS TO COMPENSATE DEVELOPING NATIONS FOR PROVIDING GENETIC MATERIALS, 
SEEDS AND SOVEREIGNTY: AN EPILOGUE, 
INDEX, 
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS, 

CHAPTER 1

GENETIC RESOURCES: EVOLUTIONARY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Otto H. Frankel

* * *

It is a commonplace yet awesome thought that man has become the arbiter of life on earth, to exploit, to encourage, to mold, to tolerate, neglect, or destroy. It is even more awesome to realize that man's responsibility extends beyond the realm of those now living into the near and far future. The continuity of life depends on continuing processes of evolution, adapting organisms to inevitable changes in the environment. Evolutionary change depends on the availability of a reservoir of genetic diversity, a "gene pool," as a source for selection. Largely as a result of human activities, the gene pools of many species—both wild and domesticated—are being increasingly depleted. It is man's responsibility to arrest or reverse this process if life on earth is to continue with anything like the diversity of species we have inherited; I have called this "man's evolutionary responsibility" (Frankel 1970, 1974).

The domesticated species, on which the survival and welfare of our own species depend, are subject to short-term evolutionary changes controlled by man. Designed to raise their productivity or to strengthen their defenses, the result of these changes is the impoverishment of genetic diversity.

Some general considerations apply to all forms of life, whether wild or domesticated. But there are differences in the forms of human interference: wild species are threatened by massive losses of habitat, domesticates by the drive for high performance and uniformity. The gene pools of many wild plant and animal species have been greatly reduced, and they are threatened with extinction by encroachment on their natural environments. They have become increasingly dependent on areas designated as nature reserves whose intrinsic limitations in area in turn affect population size and genetic diversity (Frankel 1970; Frankel and Soule 1981). It follows that if life is to survive with something like the level of diversity we have inherited, it is our responsibility to safeguard not only the survival but also the evolutionary potential of species which have come to depend on our protection.

In domesticated plants and animals the responsibility is greatly increased by the fact that humans are not only in full control of breeding strategies and practices but also to a large degree control the gene pools, the genetic resources that will be available in the future. Collections representative of most of the economic plant species are being assembled to serve as genetic reservoirs for the future. These collections need to be preserved and maintained. Wild species forming part of the gene pool of domesticated species, like all wild species, are best preserved in their natural habitats. Yet to the extent that they may be endangered, they are part of man's responsibility for the genetic resources for this and future generations.

The outcome for both wildlife and domesticates, whether loss or preservation, depends in the first instance on scientific insight and social responsibility. The genetics of wildlife conservation (Frankel 1970; Soule and Wilcox 1980; Frankel and Soule 1981; Schonewald-Cox et al. 1983) and the preservation of domesticates have been explored and documented in recent years. But that is only the first and basic condition for success. Initiation of, and continuing commitment to, the conservation of wildlife are no less subject to social conditions and political attitudes in contemporary society than are the preservation and use of crop or forest genetic resources (except that as a long-term commitment, nature conservation is more likely to be sheltered from the effects of short-term fiscal or political winds of change). Yet, irrespective of the level of temporal acceptance, the basic responsibilities remain unless new viewpoints or new facts emerge which compel a reexamination. The editor of this volume suggested that the "politicization" of the germplasm issue represents such a new viewpoint, and the anticipated impacts of biotechnology such new facts. Both are concerned with the genetic resources of plants used by man, which therefore are the main concern of this chapter.

As an introduction to this book, this chapter has the responsibility to assist in an understanding of the main topics underlying the various presentations. It therefore attempts to provide an overview of the genetic resources system and its biological basis. This seems appropriate in view of the amount of misinformation which has become part of the genetic resources folklore. It goes on to examine the biological justification for claims involved in the politicization of genetic resources, as well as the biological and social consequences likely to result should the adversary attitudes generated in the political sphere engulf the scientific one.

THE FOUNDING YEARS: SCIENCE, METHODOLOGY, AND STRATEGY

The inspiration came from Soviet botanist N. I. Vavilov's discoveries of geographical centers of genetic diversity; early official sponsorship, outside the USSR, came from FAO ; the scientific understanding and the drive for action came from concerned scientists.

In 1961 FAO organized a technical conference (Whyte and Julen 1963). The main topic was plant introduction, not conservation. There was no sense of urgency. A new impulse came from the International Biological Programme (IBP), a nongovernmental activity of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). In 1964 IBP set up a committee for plant gene pools which sought cooperation with FAO. In effect this led to a virtual merging of the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Duke University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1988
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0822307561
• ISBN 13: 9780822307563
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 368
• Herausgeber: Kloppenburg Jack R. Jr.
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar