The Future of Code
Paw Prints: Writings of the maddog
I went to watch a movie at our local "Art" movie theater the other day. The movie was called "The Future of Food" by Deborah Koons Garcia, which talked about the issues of generically modified food.
Without going into all of the issues surrounding altering genes in food, one part of the film was devoted to the fact that some farmers were being sued by companies who found genetically modified grain in the farmers' fields without the farmers having purchased the grain. The farmers claimed that the grain was carried there by the wind or birds, and that they had no way of keeping the modified grain out of their fields, nor even knowing that it was there. "No defense" was the reply of the seed companies, according to the film, since the genes were patented and the farmer was obviously including those seeds in their crop. Unfortunately it seemed as if a lot of courts were agreeing with the seed companies, not the farmers, and these issues were causing the farmers to destroy many of the seeds that they grew to renew their crops every year.
The film also discussed the issue of seed companies going to seed banks, "finding" unpatented genes in plants, and applying for patents on them. The companies would then sue farmers for using genetic material that the company had spent no time or money in developing.
I found this a bit disheartening. I remember that I learned in elementary school that pollen and seeds were spread by the wind and birds, and that this was a perfectly plausible explanation of why these genetically modified seeds were ending up in farmer's fields. I also thought about the similarity between software companies taking out frivolous patents on software concepts that had existed for a long time, but had simply not been previously patented.
I thought to myself, if these courts and the legislators can not understand about "the birds and the bees", then how can we get them to understand about the complex issues of computer software and patents?
maddog
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.
-
DebConf24 to be Held in South Korea
Busan will be the location of the latest DebConf running July 28 through August 4
-
Fedora Unleashes Atomic Desktops
Fedora has combined its solid distribution with rpm-ostree system to make it possible to deliver a new family of Fedora spins, called Fedora Atomic Desktops.
-
Bootloader Vulnerability Affects Nearly All Linux Distributions
The developers of shim have released a version to fix numerous security flaws, including one that could enable remote control execution of malicious code under certain circumstances.
I have eaten at many places that serve generically modified food