Thanks to RAFI for posting the warning re The Seed Grain Enclosure Movement.
This is a serious threat to food security and therefore to human health.
What is Canada's role on this?

At 12:09 AM 2/19/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Date:     Fri, 19 Feb 1999 00:09:17 -0500
>Reply-To: Canadian Network on Health in International Development
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>Sender:   Canadian Network on Health in International Development
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>From:     Automatic digest processor <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:  CANCHID Digest - 17 Feb 1999 to 18 Feb 1999 (#1999-9)
>To:       Recipients of CANCHID digests <[log in to unmask]>
>
>There is one message totalling 157 lines in this issue.
>
>Topics of the day:
>
>  1. The Seed Grain Enclosure Movement: A ThreatL
>Date:    Thu, 18 Feb 1999 18:10:40 -0500
>From:    Sam Lanfranco <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: The Seed Grain Enclosure Movement: A ThreatL
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------4125C8F785BE1CE805C9F6FD"
>
>CANCHID is posting this message since the issue discussed presents a two
>pronged assault on health and sustainable development. This "seed grain
>enclosure movement threat" has the capacity to further impoverish the
>poorest of the poor - and at the same time put the whole bio-system at
>risk. There is a further risk in that the process may be non-reversible,
>no matter what future research and evidence shows in terms of (a) the
>effects on the biosphere, and (b) the impact on farming communities
>around the globe.
>
>Unlike the earlier threats from DDT, where use could be haulted and a
>slow recovery possible, if rogue hybrid seeds get lose there may be no
>historical gene pool to return to. If there were ever an issue in which
>"Go Slow" was the wise course, this is one. I suspect that this is being
>fast tracked simply because the more people know about it the more
>people will opt for a cautious go slow strategy. Worrysome!
>
>Sam Lanfranco, CANCHID ListMgt
>
>
>Rural Advancement Foundation International
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>www.rafi.org  |  [log in to unmask]
>
>News Release - 17 February 1999
>
>NOTE:
>
>French language version to follow very shortly and will be available at
>
>http://www.rafi.org/pr/
>
>***  Legal "Terminator" Threatens Francophone Africa's Farmers  ***
>
>   Right to Save Seed in Poor Countries May be Eliminated
>   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>   as 15 African States are Pressured to Accept UPOV '91
>    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>Fifteen Francophone African states, among them some of the poorest
>countries in the world, are under pressure to sign away the right of
>more than 20 million small-holder farmers to save and exchange crop
>seed.  The decision to abandon Africa's 12,000-year tradition of seed
>saving will be finalized at a meeting February 22-25 in the Central
>African Republic. The 15 governments have been told to adopt draconian
>intellectual property legislation for plant varieties in order to
>conform to a provision in the
>World Trade Organization (WTO) that obliges signatories to "protect"
>plant varieties.  The legislation (a kind of legal "Terminator" because
>it prohibits farmers from replanting "protected" seed) is also known,
>euphemistically, as "Plant Breeders' Rights".  If adopted, the
>legislation will throw some of Africa's poorest countries into an
>intellectual property cartel dominated by a handful of OECD states led
>by the USA, the UK, and Japan.
>
>During meetings in East Africa a few days ago, RAFI's Pat Mooney and
>Hope Shand learned that OAPI (l'Organisation Africaine de la Propriete
>Intellectuelle/African Intellectual Property Organization) has agreed to
>adopt "UPOV 91" - the world's most restrictive form of Plant Breeders'
>Rights.  The Convention is managed by the Union for the Protection of
>New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) - a subsidiary treaty of the Geneva-based
>World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
>
>"Francophone African countries are being bullied into adopting UPOV'91",
>says Pat Mooney, "even though the WTO is about to conduct a review of
>its plant variety 'protection' clause."  Adds Hope Shand, "The review is
>not expected to be completed before 2001.  Many analysts predict that a
>whole new trade negotiating round may be launched before the review is
>completed."  "African patent offices are being asked to climb on a wagon
>other countries in other regions may never accept," agrees Pat Mooney,
>"Conceivably, a new trade round could render compliance unnecessary.
>Since six of the 15 OAPI states are "least developed countries"
>(according to UNDP definitions), regardless of the review or a new
>negotiating round,
>they have until at least 2006 before they have to introduce any kind of
>legislation. " "In a worst case scenario," Hope Shand concludes, "OAPI
>members would still have the option to accept legislation that would
>allow farmers to save, re-use, and even sell purchased seed.  Where is
>the pressure coming from and why are sovereign countries selling off the
>historic rights of their farmers?"
>
>Urgent Action: RAFI is writing to each of the 15 OAPI countries,
>contacting both Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers responsible for
>patent offices. "Depending on the country," Pat Mooney notes, "between
>one-fifth and one-half of all the farmers are small-holders who depend
>heavily on their ability to save seed in order to keep production
>reliable and costs low. There are at least 20 million such farmers in
>OAPI states," Mooney says, "Next week's decision could be a major blow
>to the region's food security. We suspect that most Agriculture
>Ministers don't even know what their patent offices are proposing to
>do."
>
>What is OAPI?  The precursor to OAPI was established on September 13,
>1962, by 12 francophone African heads of state.  It was called the
>"Office Africain et Malgache de la Propriete Industrielle (OAMPI).  The
>agreement establishing OAMPI was revised in Bangui, Central African
>Republic on March 27, 1977, and gave birth to OAPI, the "Organisation
>Africaine de la Propriete Intellectuelle". It has 15 members: Benin,
>Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Djibouti,
>Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo.  Of
>these, the following are considered least developed countries by UNDP:
>Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and
>Togo.
>
>What is UPOV 91?  The original international Plant Breeders' Rights
>convention was adopted in Paris in 1961.  Since then, the Convention has
>been amended several times and two forms of PBR are now in common use.
>Most UPOV members, in fact, adhere to its 1978 convention, which is
>widely interpreted by governments to allow farmers to save and exchange
>seed. UPOV's 1991 convention, however, assumes that farmers cannot save
>seed unless governments permit specific exceptions.  Around the world,
>1.4 billion people depend on the ability of small-holder farmers to save
>seed for their family food security.  To date, the only UPOV members to
>confirm the 1991 convention are Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Israel,
>Japan, Netherlands, Moldova, Russia, Sweden, UK, and USA.  If OAPI bows
>to WTO and UPOV pressure during the meeting February 22-25, the 15
>francophone African States will more than double the Convention's roster
>of members.
>
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