FYI - posted by Ericka Dana
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From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Biotech Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: U.N. FAO approves precedent setting framework

DAILY GRIST
05 Nov 2001
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/default.asp?source=top>

THOUGHT FOR FOOD
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has approved a
precedent-setting, legally binding framework for protecting the
genetic diversity of the world's crops.  The deal reached over the
weekend marks the culmination of years of difficult negotiations
between poor countries and environmentalists on the one hand, and
developed nations and multinational corporations on the other.  Under
the framework, plant breeders will now have to pay for access to the
public seed banks that store past and current crop varieties.  With
high-yield uniform crops squeezing out thousands of local varieties
and plant species becoming extinct at unprecedented rates, scientists
say the preservation of agricultural diversity and the creation of
new crops that are resistant to disease, drought, and salinity are
more critical than ever to ending world hunger.

straight to the source:  Planet Ark, Reuters, David Brough, 05 Nov 2001
<http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/13114/story.htm>

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