Wheat

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Wheat Biopiracy The Real Issues the Government is Avoiding

By Vandana Shiva

The epidemic of biopiracy is an assault on our living heritage of biodiversity and cumulative innovation embodied in the traditional knowledge of agriculture and medicine. In the long run, it determines livelihoods and economic sovereignty because what is commonly available becomes an ?intellectual property? of a company for which royalty must be paid.

It is the governments duty to protect the resources and heritage of the country and prevent its usurpation by foreign interests and commercial corporations. The governments affidavit is in effect arguing that the government will allow the theft of our heritage and the public good that belongs to the Indian people.

The moment a patent is taken on plants and seeds derived from Indian biological resources, biopiracy have occurred. Challenging and stopping such biopiracy is the duty of government. The governments repeated failure to legally challenge biopiracy has forced the petitioner to take up such challenges on behalf of the Indian people, and to protect the public interest and the national interest.

Biopiracy refers to the use of intellectual property systems to legitimize the exclusive ownership and control over biological resource and biological products and processes that have been used over centuries in non-industrialized cultures. Patent claims over biodiversity and indigenous knowledge that are based on the innovation, creativity and genius of the people of the Third World are acts of ?biopiracy?. Since a ?patent? is given for invention, a biopiracy patent denies the innovation embodied in indigenous knowledge. The rush to grant patents and reward invention has led corporations and governments in the industrialized world to ignore the centuries of cumulative, collective innovation of generations of rural communities.

.....

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2007-11/16shiva.cfm

[jeff30997]

1. I believe that in my lifetime I will see....

Some corporation presenting the 1st patented Human being.I'm not kidding.

[provis99]

2. I'll second that prediction and raise you another

Patents will be extended to 150 years for anything human that is patented, whether it be gene therapy or whole made-to-order humans.

[seemslikeadream]

3. I love wheat

[bonito]

4. Ok, what does it represent?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[seemslikeadream]

5. It's a house blessing

I have this book, really nice



Here's a couple more







http://www.wheatweavers.com/

[magellan]

6. Those are gorgeous

I had no idea you could do that with wheat!

[seemslikeadream]

7. Here's a cool site and some simple ones

http://www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk/project03.html

[magellan]

11. My husband is British

...and he didn't know about this craft either. We both really enjoying learning about folk customs so thanks, slad!

[StarryNite]

8. Those are amazing.

[seemslikeadream]

10. Now I've got to find some more pictures

[kestrel91316]

9. I think they call those corn dollies. Corn, as in the root word of kernel.

In the olden days they called wheat and rye and barley by the name "corn", IIRC. It's why the Brits still call our corn by the name "maize", cause it's NOT CORN to them.......

Those thingies are a form of fertility worship, I think. Very pagan; and I especially like the one with black beards and the feathers.

[seemslikeadream]

12. Yes corn dollies