This was posted at the smirking chimp this morning.
Bush paves the way for monsanto
For the record: "U.S. declares Iraqis can not save their own
seeds"
"As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush
Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to
save their seeds, which include seeds the Iraqis themselves have
developed over hundreds of years. Instead, they will be forced to buy
seeds from US corporations. 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.
"The 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'.
The updated law makes saving seeds for next year's harvest, practiced
by 97% of Iraqi farmers in 2002, and is the standard farming practice
for thousands of years across human civilizations, to be now illegal..
Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license for genetically
modified (GM) seeds from American corporations. These GM seeds have
typically been modified from seeds developed over thousands of
generations by indigenous farmers like the Iraqis, and shared freely
like agricultural 'open source.'"
Iraq law Requires Seed Licenses November 13, 2004
"According to Order 81, paragraph 66 - , issued by L. Paul Bremer
[CFR], the people in Iraq are now prohibited from saving seeds and may
only plant seeds for their food from licensed, authorized U.S.
distributors.
The paragraph states, "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds
of protected varieties or any variety mentioned in items 1 and 2 of
paragraph [C] of Article 14 of this chapter."
Written in massively intricate legalese, Order 81 directs the reader at
Article 14, paragraph 2 [C] to paragraph of Article 4, which states
any variety that is different from any other known variety may be
registered in any country and become a protected variety of seed - thus
defaulting it into the "protected class" of seeds and prohibiting the
Iraqis from reusing them the following season. Every year, the Iraqis
must destroy any seed they have, and repurchase seeds from an authorized
supplier, or face fines, penalties and/or jail time. "
Iraqis Can't Save Seed January 19, 2005
The original article on this topic: Iraqi farmers aren't celebrating
October 15, 2004
As per an Iraqi proverb, the day will come, sooner rather than later,
when the Iraqis will shred Bremer's Laws, soak them in water and offer
the glass to Bremer to drink.