Theme Of Seed Freedom

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The central theme that “seed freedom—what is at stake?” chapter conveys to us is that seed freedom is the very fabric of human life and the life of the planet. Farmers’ seed freedom transcends saving seeds for the subsequent years; in fact, it gives farmers the right to enjoy their sustainable ways of life without depending on the corporations genetically modified seeds. Corporations’ patents on seeds with the help of TRIPS and WTO have had profound impacts on the farmers, who have been reliant on traditional seed saving practices for generations such as breeding seeds, exchanging seeds, and so forth. The irony is that farmers whose seed freedom has been encroached are accused of committing intellectual property crime, while corporations are …show more content…

Two participants came to the conclusion that powerful corporations are equipped with science and bio-technology, thus giving them the opportunity to monopolize life forms and plants. They cross-referred to the two previous chapters—“Can life be made? Can life be owned? Redefining Biodiversity” and “The seed and the Earth”. Caesarian section, genetic shuffling, and the use of junk DNA were given as prime examples of how science and bio-technology enabled corporations to take advantage of humanity. However, another participant stressed that Burma had not suffered from bio nullius due to economic stagnation and sanctions from the West in recent years, but there was a likelihood that it might become a potential threat as the country cooperates with foreign countries in the …show more content…

One participant, however, added that it is prudent to take precautionary actions beforehand since the newly elected government had shown a strong interest in welcoming foreign corporations into the country in the near future. One student suggested that boycotting on the GM products and seeds would be a viable idea to cope with this issue. Another students went on to say that government play a crucial role in protecting seed freedom for farmers, and the government should have agricultural subsidies at its disposal to enable poor farmers with financial burden. In doing so, they are convinced that it would reduce the potential threat that the country could

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