Food Security Biological Diversity and Intellectual Property Rights

This volume advances the claim that the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) adopted in 2001 is the only existing international agreement with the potential to promote food security, conservation of biodiversity and equity. However, for germplasm-rich countries, national interests come into conflict with the global interest. This work shows that the pursuit of national interests is counterproductive when it comes to maintaining genetic resources, food-security and rent-seeking and that optimally, the coverage of the FAO Treaty should be widened to apply to all crops. Part I Crop Improvement and the Challenge of Food Security, Conservation and Equity; Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Crop Improvement: The Science, the Business and the Law; Chapter 3 Conciliating Food Security and Conservation; Chapter 4 Equity; Part II The FAO International Treaty – A Necessary One?; Chapter 5 The FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources: How Will the Multilateral System Work?; Chapter 6 Case Studies: Organization and Legal Framework of Seed Markets in China and Ethiopia; Chapter 7 The Global Community Needs the FAO Treaty;