And a mention of something rather important and not brought up…patenting!
One issue that Roz is particularly concerned about was the American attempt to patent 'basmati' rice. If they had been successful it would have meant that the traditional Indian and Pakistani basmati rice growers would have been banned from called their rice 'basmati', a name they had used for hundreds of years. The attempt to rob the traditional farmers of their brand, by replacing it with rice grown in a large, mechanical system, was called 'bio-piracy'. They were not successful because a number of rice trading companies, decided to fight the case on behalf of the thousands of small-scale farmers, who would not have had the resources to do so. And won the case.
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Ross (TA)
Megan Batchelor
Lauren Hill
Kiana Tiheri