The Greed for Seeds - Humanity House

Calendar

listing
Wed
16 Oct
2013

Debate

The Greed for Seeds

Following the publication of The Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2013 and on the occasion of World Food Day ICCO Cooperation and the Dutch section of FIAN International organize a debate on the patenting of seeds.

A power struggle is going on in the world of agricultural seeds. Who is the owner? The farmer, who sows and harvests or the company that improves and sells? Who owns the rights to the use of seeds? A number of multinational companies require seeds from local farmers to improve them and sell again. The right of farmers to increase, improve seed itself is thus violated. Varieties are threatened with extinction at the expense of biodiversity. The consequences for millions of farmers in developing countries are large. Rising costs, significant dependence on large seed companies and threats to food security. The International Convention for Phylogenetic Sources (2001) emphasizes the rights of farmers to cross, exchange and multiply seeds themselves. The current trend in among others the EU to commercialize seeds further puts this right under heavy pressure. What exactly is going on? How can biodiversity and the rights of farmers be protected? Are there other ways?

The speakers

Nikita Shahhbazi (FIAN Netherlands), Stineke Oenema (specialist Food Security and Nutrition ICCO Cooperation), Robert Ali Brac de la Perrière (general director of BEDE and co – author of the Watch 2013 article ‘Seeds and peasants sovereignty’) and Rudy Rabbinge (Special Envoy Food Security of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, former professor of Sustainable Development and Food Security Wageningen University).

Details

  • English
  • 15:00
  • 15:30
  • 17:30