THE BEST
BIOPIRATES
The "Captain Hook Awards for Outstanding
Achievements in Biopiracy" were presented
at the May meeting of the Biodiversity
Convention in Nairobi by a group of NGOs
working together in the Coalition Against
Biopiracy. Winners were announced in
categories including "Worst National
Behaviour", "Greediest", "Most Offensive"
and "Most Dangerous".
The US government won the "Most
Dangerous" category for patenting the human
cell line of a Hagahai man from Papua New
Guinea. The Pod-Ners company was voted
"Greediest" for suing Mexican bean
exporters, claiming that yellow beans grown
for generations by farmers infringe the
company’s monopoly patent. The L’Oreal
company was awarded runner-up for "Most
Offensive" for patenting the use of Kava, a
plant used in many Pacific countries and
the source of a ceremonial beverage, to
reduce hair loss. "Worst Corporate
Offender" went to DeCode Genetics for
winning the exclusive rights to
commercially exploit the genetic
information of Iceland’s 270,000
inhabitants. DeCode has a US$200 million
deal with Hoffman-LaRoche to identify
"disease genes" derived from the DNA of
Icelanders.
Honours also went to those opposing
biopiracy. The quinoa farmers of Bolivia
were awarded "Best People’s Defense" for
courageously confronting the Quinoa patent
by taking the issue to the UN General
Assembly and forcing the holders to abandon
their claim. The Wapishana indigenous
peoples of Guyana and Brazil were awarded
for challenging patents on the Greenheart
tree and the Cunani bush that are based on
the indigenous knowledge of these peoples.
And the people and the governments of the
Philippines and India were recognized for
their success in defeating predatory
patents and defending their intellectual
integrity.
Source: Rural Advancement Fund
International (RAFI) website
(www.rafi.org).
