Food for Thought

The book "THE FUTURE CONTROL OF FOOD:  A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on Intellectual Property, Biodiversity and Food Security," edited by Geoff Tansey and Tasmin Rajotte, has become available for free download at http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-118094-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html.

It addresses key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity, and food security. In addition to an introduction and overview of the issues, the book’s chapters cover negotiations and instruments in the World Trade Organization, Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, and various other international bodies. The final part discusses civil society responses to relevant changes and developments in these issues, how they affect the direction of research and development, the nature of global negotiation processes and various alternative futures.