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The Future of “Termination Technology”
The “technology protection system” is not expected to come into effect until the year 2005; however, it has already generated much controversy from various groups around the world (Service, 1998). As soon as the patent was announced, a large public outcry took place. The news spread especially quickly through the Internet. The Indian government has banned every aspect of this type of technology from their country (M2 Presswire, 1999). RAFI has taken large steps to prevent the technology from being patented in other areas around the world. It has even sent letters to hundreds of leaders of numerous countries urging them to reject patents from these companies (http://www.biotech-info.net/RAFI_abandon.html, 2004).
It will be interesting to see the outcome of “termination technology” as companies prepare to commercialize the product within the next couple of years. Will the large multinational companies be able to protect their interests? Or will environmentalists and small farm advocacy groups beat them to it?
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Farmers looking at seeds at a Seed Bank Show, 2004 (Permission Pending) |
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