Veggie Tales: Pernicious Myths About Patents, Innovation, and Crop Diversity in the Twentieth Century

Heald, Paul J.; Chapman, Susannah

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1928920

Cited by 9 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Heirloom vs. modern OPs. The prevailing view of the grassroots ''seed savers'' movement is that heirloom cultivars are bastions of genetic diversity and are at risk of being lost and replaced by genetically less diverse modern varieties, although evidence points to the contrary (Heald and Chapman, 2012). Breeders and professionals involved with formal germplasm maintenance require genetic AMOVA was used to partition total variance into among group, within group, and within individual variance (Michalakis and Excoffier, 1996).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter- and Intracultivar Variation of Heirloom and Open-pollinated Watermelon Cultivars

Stone¹,

Boyhan²,

McGregor³

2019

horts

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Additional index words. genotypic, phenotypic, simple sequence repeat Abstract. Watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] cultivars exhibit diverse phenotypic traits, yet are derived from a narrow genetic base. Heirloom cultivars, and to a lesser extent modern open-pollinated (OP) cultivars, are perceived to contain vital genetic variation that is critical for biodiversity conservation and crop improvement. The objective of this study was to characterize the diversity of six heirloom and open-pollinated watermelon cultivars that are popular among U.S. organic, directmarket, and home gardeners. An additional evaluation was conducted to determine whether significant phenotypic and genotypic variation existed among seed lots sourced from different commercial seed vendors. Important horticultural traits such as days to germination, days to first flower, yield, and fruit quality were measured over two field seasons. Genetic diversity was estimated using 32 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Significant differences in horticultural traits among seed lots in both years were observed only in days to germination and first male flower, which may be a consequence of vendor differences in seed storage and quality control. Heirloom 'Moon and Stars' and modern OP 'Sugar Baby' were the most genetically distinct from the other cultivars and heirloom 'Georgia Rattlesnake' was determined to be highly related to the modern OP 'Charleston Gray'. The two heirloom cultivars were observed to have lower average gene diversity than the modern cultivars. Heirloom 'Moon and Stars' contained significant genetic variation among seed lots, yet heirloom 'Georgia Rattlesnake' contained none. These findings suggest that genetic variation can be more accurately attributed to pedigree and foundation seed maintenance practices than to the ''heirloom'' designation per se. The variation reported in this study can be used to inform conservation and breeding efforts.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter- and Intracultivar Variation of Heirloom and Open-pollinated Watermelon Cultivars

Stone¹,

Boyhan²,

McGregor³

2019

horts

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“…The 1930 Plant Patent Act allowed breeders to patent plant varieties that reproduce asexually (i.e., without seeds), protecting putative owners of IP while sidestepping controversies around seed saving practices ( Heald & Chapman, 2011 ). Starting from 1970, sexually reproduced plants were also “protected” through Plant Variety Protection (PVP), providing that the varieties could be determined to be novel, distinct, and uniform.…”

Section: Intellectual Property Protections For Plants In the Us Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Starting from 1970, sexually reproduced plants were also “protected” through Plant Variety Protection (PVP), providing that the varieties could be determined to be novel, distinct, and uniform. PVP certificates included two important exceptions: a breeders’ exception allowing the use of protected varieties for non-commercial research and the development of varieties not essentially derived from the protected variety; and a farmers’ exception allowing seed saving for personal use ( Heald & Chapman, 2011 ; Pardey et al , 2013 ). The third form of IPP in the U.S. has its origin in the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case Diamond vs. Chakrabarty .…”

Section: Intellectual Property Protections For Plants In the Us Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prima facie reasons to question enclosed intellectual property regimes and favor open-source regimes for germplasm

Halpert

Chappell

2017

F1000Res

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In principle, intellectual property protections (IPPs) promote and protect important but costly investment in research and development. However, the empirical reality of IPPs has often gone without critical evaluation, and the potential of alternative approaches to lend equal or greater support for useful innovation is rarely considered. In this paper, we review the mounting evidence that the global intellectual property regime (IPR) for germplasm has been neither necessary nor sufficient to generate socially beneficial improvements in crop plants and maintain agrobiodiversity. Instead, based on our analysis, the dominant global IPR appears to have contributed to consolidation in the seed industry while failing to genuinely engage with the potential of alternatives to support social goods such as food security, adaptability, and resilience. The dominant IPR also constrains collaborative and cumulative plant breeding processes that are built upon the work of countless farmers past and present. Given the likely limits of current IPR, we propose that social goods in agriculture may be better supported by alternative approaches, warranting a rapid move away from the dominant single-dimensional focus on encouraging innovation through ensuring monopoly profits to IPP holders.

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“…Rather, it was the "enforcement of patent-like protections, which attracted the entrance of chemical and oil companies to add to their portfolio of agricultural inputs" (Howard 2009(Howard :1271. When agrichemical corporations released transgenic seeds with full patent protection in the 1990s, a competition ensued whereby they absorbed as many small family-owned seed companies as possible (for an alternative viewpoint see Heald and Chapman 2011). Agrichemical companies wanted into the seed business because they could bundle sale of seeds with other requisite inputs such as proprietary glyphosate herbicide (Hayenga 1998).…”

Section: Journal Of Political Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Free seeds and food sovereignty: anthropology and grassroots agrobiodiversity conservation strategies in the US South

Campbell

Veteto

2015

Journal of Political Ecology

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Neoliberal economic frameworks threaten the ability of marginalized people worldwide to grow, harvest, and access sufficient healthy food because they deny traditional collective seed ownership and preclude subsistence as a viable livelihood. Many internationally-oriented counter-responses work to reframe intellectual property law in favor of traditional farmers. In the United States, various grassroots agricultural biodiversity conservation projects designed to re-establish the control of open-pollinated seeds within communities have emerged with similar intent. This article situates and explores the role of open-pollinated seeds and agricultural biodiversity conservation strategies in local food sovereignty. The authors direct applied research projects that collaboratively document and disseminate open-pollinated seed varieties throughout the Southeastern United States with a specific focus on the Ozark Highlands and Appalachian Mountains. The research methods represent an activist anthropology-participant observation and ethnographic interviewing while collaboratively growing and sharing seed varieties with local farmers, gardeners, seed-savers, and activists-with the explicit purpose of forging more sustainable, integrated, and sovereign local food systems. Keywords: agricultural anthropology, agrobiodiversity, grassroots strategies, in situ conservation, seed saving RésuméLes cadres économiques néolibérales menacent la capacité des personnes marginalisées dans la culture, la récolte, et l'accès à des aliments sains de l'autosuffisance, parce qu'ils nient la propriété collective des semences et empêchent de subsistance comme moyen de subsistance viables. Beaucoup d'efforts internationaux ont tenté de résister à cette tendance en recadrant le droit de la propriété intellectuelle en faveur des agriculteurs traditionnels. Aux États-Unis, il y a nombreux projets communautaires de conservation de la biodiversité agricole. Ils sont conçus pour rétablir le contrôle des semences à pollinisation libre au sein des communautés. Cet article situe et explore le rôle des semences à pollinisation libre, et les stratégies de conservation de la biodiversité agricole, dans la souveraineté alimentaire locale. Les auteurs mènent des projets de recherche qui documentent les variétés de semences à pollinisation libre dans tout le sud-est des États-Unis, avec un accent particulier sur les Monts Ozark et les Appalaches. Les méthodes de recherche représentent une anthropologie activiste, impliquant l'observation participante et entretiens ethnographiques. Au même temps, nous cultivons et partageons des variétés de semences avec les agriculteurs locaux, les jardiniers, es gens qui épargnent les graines, et des militants. Un but explicite est de créer des systèmes alimentaires locaux qui sont plus durable, intégrée et souverain. Mots-clés: anthropologie agricole, la biodiversité agricole, les stratégies de base, la conservation in situ, la conservation des semences 1 Dr. Brian C. Campbell, Associate Professor, Anthropology and...

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Veggie Tales: Pernicious Myths About Patents, Innovation, and Crop Diversity in the Twentieth Century

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

Inter- and Intracultivar Variation of Heirloom and Open-pollinated Watermelon Cultivars

Inter- and Intracultivar Variation of Heirloom and Open-pollinated Watermelon Cultivars

Prima facie reasons to question enclosed intellectual property regimes and favor open-source regimes for germplasm

Free seeds and food sovereignty: anthropology and grassroots agrobiodiversity conservation strategies in the US South

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