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Bolivia's National Association of Quinoa Producers (ANAPQUI) is asking two professors at Colorado State University to abandon their controversial patent on one of the country's most important food crops - quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) - a crop that feeds millions throughout the Andes, including many Aymara and Quechua Indigenous People.

Commercial development of sweet proteins derived from African plants could be worth millions if new, natural sweeteners can bite into the (US) $2 billion low-calorie sweetener market.(1)

Research on intensely sweet proteins is not new, but recent breakthroughs may improve prospects for commercial development.

It's not whether drug companies need patents to create new drugs - but whether society can survive monopoly control over medical research, according to research undertaken by RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International). The world's drug industry represents a health risk and cannot be entrusted with the task of medical research," Pat Mooney, executive director of RAFI insists.

RAFI's analysis of overlapping agendas for biodiversity, food security and genetic resources in the multilateral arena. The year 1996 was critical for food security, agricultural development, and biodiversity. The fights and fora include: FAO World Food Summit, the Leipzig Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). A 12 page document.

If you have a close eye on bioprospecting, you may have heard about the particularly grandiose plans of the International Organisation for Chemical Sciences in Development's (IOCD) Biotic Exploration Fund". The Fund is a major international effort to promote bioprospecting originally proposed by Thomas Eisner, an academic who "conceived and facilitated" the Merck/InBio deal in Costa Rica. IOCD has hired a former Science and Technology Adviser to the World Bank to push the Fund, which is being aggresively promoted to many potential Northern funding agencies.

IOCD, a Belgian-chartered international NGO with a legal identity in the United States, is unabashedly fanatical about the potential for bioprospecting to protect the environment and be a "sustainable source of economic development." In fact, according to IOCD, without bioprospecting, the world's diversity may be doomed: "In comparison with the severity of the global biodiversity crisis, the amount of bioprospecting in developing countries is clearly far too small. Hence, the only appropriate response to the global crisis would be a great expansion of the scale and quality of bioprospecting throughout the developing world."

Company Estimated 1996 seed sales (US) millions Comment

Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl. (USA) $1,721 Dupont now owns 20% share in Pioneer

Novartis (Switzerland) $991 formerly Ciba Geigy and Sandoz

Limagrain (France) $552 French cooperative; claims to be the world's largest vegetable seed company.

Advanta - joint venture of Zeneca/Van der Have (The Netherlands) $493 Zeneca and Royal VanderHave established joint venture in 1996. The name of their merged company is Advanta

An introduction to intellectual property monopolies. The 70 page booklet produced by IDRC in 1996 is designed as an information and advocacy tool for civil society and policymakers in response to two new, legally binding international agreements: the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Trade Organization's Trade Related Intellectual Property Agreement (WTO/TRIPs).