The Exploitation of Plant Genetic Information: Political Strategies in Crop Development

Controversies on the use and conservation of plant genetic information have become major obstacles in international negotiations on trade, agriculture and biodiversity conservation. This book examines the origins of these controversies. It stresses the importance of agricultural politics in directing developments in conservation and intellectual property protection. Evidence for this argument is derived from historical and contemporary data on Europe and the USA, as well as fieldwork in Latin America.