New law makes it illegal to save seeds in Iraq

[JackieO]

One more step towards making Iraq "safe" for exploitation, one more step towards making the Iraqis slaves. 97% of Iraqi farmers save seeds, as they have done for thousands of years.

As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations -- including seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. 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.


http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/iraq_seeds.htm

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/11/303374.shtml

http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf

[Blue Gardener]

1. This is just absurd

The crops they have developed I'm sure are more suited to Iraq growing conditions and are less prone to diseases and pests found in this area. To make these farmers into criminals should be a crime itself.

[Deja Q]

8. Criminals that are using nothing criminal, except for what God gave them,

it seems.

[ReadTomPaine]

13. Of course they are better suited, but this way you also get to sell..

... those pesticides and shelters required to grow those seeds, as well. See how nicely it all works?

RTP

[rman]

44. it's common practice,

everywhere where the globalists have struck a deal with some corrupt government (one that was already there, or one installed by the globalists), and where genetically modified crops are part of the deal.
Don't be so negative about it, it's good for the economy. which is to say: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

[louis-t]

2. I bet Bremer had somethhing to do with this

One of the many 'laws' he imposed before hightailing it out of there.

[Chiyo-chichi]

3. Beautiful. Ya gotta love it when an evil plan comes together.

[immoderate]

4. Are there laws like this anywhere in the US?

--IMM

[TheFarseer]

9. yes, if you saved seeds in the US

you would get fined one million dollars, casterated, and boiled in ethanol. Well, maybe not, but it's a violation of copywrite laws or something and they would f*ck you hard for doing it.

[Bullshot]

19. U.S. farmers are increasingly using genetically-modified organisms (GMO)s

for crops. This technology enables them to grow crops that are resistant to certain pests and herbicides. Unfortunately, they come with a licensing fee and if you save the crop for planting in the future, you are setting yourself up for some stiff fines. The biotech companies such as Monsanto supposedly have the technology to detect whether you planted these crops illegally.

It's probably the same principle in Iraq. It's another sign that a handful of vertically-integrated corporations are controlling what we eat and who owns the seeds we plant.

[Djinn]

27. it's generally only Monsanto et al's tests

that say they aer more resistant to pests and herbicides (although herbicide resistance isn't neccesarily a great thing meaning more chemicals in the rivers and water tabels etc)

The reason most of the rest of the world has said no to atleast most) GMO's is because the science doesn't actually back it up - the chem companies have been allowed to make up their own results in the US and Americans are being used as guinea pigs.

A website (and book) well worth checking out re the falsification of test results is http://www.seedsofdeception.com/

It is utterly revolting to ban someone from saving seeds from crops they have been growing since before Monsanto existed.

[Chicago Democrat]

5. No freedom of Speech, Collective Punishment of whole cities and

peoples,

Complete lack of Law and Order,

Complete corruption and unaccountability,

No free press,

Arresting Religious leaders who criticise the US puppet government.

Using dispropartional force every time ...

Murderers of 100,000 children, men and women for reasons that turned out to be LIES.


In short...

WORSE THAN SADDAM

[SammyWinstonJack]

41. But "democracy" is on the march

and the Iraqi people will soon have "elections" :crazy:

[louis-t]

6. 'Paul Bremer,updated Iraq's intellectual property law'

And, I was right.

[TheFarseer]

7. I suppose I'll get flamed for saying

It's a bunch of crap that our farmers have to pay Monsanto's "tech fees" and no one else in the entire universe does because it's not enforcable anywhere else. But how in the world can we say that they can't save seeds when neither Monsanto or any other US company had anything to do with the seeds they are using? Yeah, this war had nothing to do with economic opportunity!

[Djinn]

28. it is crap

but it's a result of people in other nations being better informed and therefore farmers being resistant to plant GMO crops because customers wont buy them, they (and the huge agriculture lobbies) pressure the governments to ban GMO's.

[Cerridwen]

10. My first thought went to Germany.

Weren't one of the first pogroms against the Jews that they couldn't have gardens?

[struggle4progress]

11. All together now: OH-NER-SHIP SO-SIGH-EH-TEA. eom

[HuskerDem]

12. I can't find it in the regulations.

Did anyone else? I trust Indymedia but it'd be nice to know exactly what to point to. I don't like going into battles half armed.

[JackieO]

14. I'm having trouble wading through the legalese...

...but Article 37bis looks relevant.

[JackieO]

17. Actually

A whole slew of these articles look applicable to the seed situation.

[Minstrel Boy]

25. Here you go:

"Coalition Provitional Authority Order 81: Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Law."

One of Bremer's "100 Orders" before handing over "sovereignty," which engraved Iraq's thralldom into law.

A .pdf here:
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf

I wrote about this on my blog a month ago:
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2004/10/iraq-against-grain.html

[Nikepallas]

15. It just proved this war was all about money!

[OneTwentyoNine]

16. Yeah !!! They can buy them through Halliburpee

SBJ,how fucking crooked can one administration be. Shit...this blows past Nixon and Reagan like an Indy car going by grandma on Sunday. SOAB....

David

[sharman]

18. Bringing the blessings

of laissez-faire capitalism to the grateful Iraqi people.

The real eye-opener to me was Naomi Klein's excellent article in Harpers, "Baghdad: Year Zero." Among other things, she explained that the whole "transfer of sovereignty" was a legal smokescreen, designed to circumvent international law which forbids an occupying country from selling off that country's assets.

[burythehatchet]

20. Indian villagers have been fighting US multinational agribusiness firms

for years for this very reason. Vandana Shiva is one of the world's leading activists in this area. She is an INCREDIBLE speaker. Monsanto has, for example, patented some strains of the fragrant and delicious Basmati rice that have been developed over hundreds of years by indian farmers. They are being forced to buy seed from the US companies. Some seeds have been genetically modified so that they produce no seed, thereby forcing the farmer to buy every year. Yeah. They hate us for our freedom.

[JackieO]

22. this kind of bullshit

just screams out for a revolution

[burythehatchet]

24. the revolution has begun. they can't hold a damn wto meeting without the

protection of a small army.

[JackieO]

26. true

I noticed that. :)

[liberalpragmatist]

21. Insane

These guys are insane. We are fucked.

[Jim__]

23. Seeds, water, all natural resources are to be owned by corporations

who will then be nice enough to sell us the right to access the earth. When will people wake up?

[Stephanie]

35. They want to privatize everything.

Nothing should exist on this earth that they can't get a piece of the action.

[MisterP]

42. our procession into a Max Headroom future contiues as planned

that will be all

[jdj]

29. who was it that said that the reason Bill Gates donates so

much of his money to the charities that he does is somehow tied in with intellectual property laws? Oh yeah, Palast.

That is bullshit, BULLSHIT. Seeds some from the earth, no one owns them except the earth mother. I bought some beautiful lantana that plants that had "no propagation" on them, and I have about ten beautiful plants from their seeds sitting outside on my porch. I really hate these fake xtian lunatics, every particle they exude is cursed and evil.

[gristy]

30. I wouldn't sweat it over this.

Yes, I have heard of the "illegality" of using the seed from a crop for next year's planting when the genes in said crop is owned by a corporation. But I just can't worry about that right now. Certainly in Iraq, who the f*** is going to enforce this friggin' law?

[JackieO]

31. Contaminated

This is great little video by GNN (producers of eminem's Mosh video) that gives a good overview of these issues: http://gnn.tv/videos/video.php?id=21

[Darranar]

32. This is a blatant attempt to make Iraqi farmers dependent on the US...

"Freedom." "Democracy." "Liberation."

[Tsiyu]

33. They want to do that here SOOOOOO Badly

Many of us have been saving seeds and hoarding the heirloom varieties. What a cluster fuck Bush is.

[Stephanie]

34. Monsanto -

Isn't that the corp. that patents the seeds and makes sterile seeds?

[Oilwellian]

36. We should all write our local papers

This is a crime against nature and an indictment of our true reason for being in Iraq...war profiteering. To deny natural seeds to ageless farmers that feed an entire nation, one that has hungry citizens after a fierce city battle, it's utterly despicable, and an affront to the very soul of the Iraqi people.

[bhikkhu]

37. Bringing freedom to the cradle of civilization - n/t

[JackieO]

38. bump

:mad:

[AP]

39. Just spreading the oil wealth...among all Bush's cronies.

[GreenPartyVoter]

40. GM seeds on the march

-----------------------------------
Fight the fraud; fund the recount!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[Auntie Bush]

43. They are really going to LOVE us for that one...Oh to be liberated!

[MadHound]

45. Coming soon to a country near you.

The big agribusiness companies are working towards this very scenario in the US. They have patented and copyrighted so much, and passed so many laws under the radar that now, if your corn crop is cross polinated with a GM corn from your neighbor, your crop is seized, with no monetary reimbursement, and you could be fined in some cases. It is getting ridiculous, to the point where one will not be able to grow a garden without violating some patent law. And what do we get in exchange? Fish genes in our strawberries:eyes:.

It is time for us to back our local organic farmers, and grow organic ourselves. And suppport the Seed Savers Exchange, these are good people, with great seeds<http://www.seedsavers.org/Home.asp>

[JackieO]

46. sick of these eco-terrorists

we need a real war on terror...