Beating the bounds: how does ‘open source’ become a seed commons?

In response to ongoing plant genetic enclosures, the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) is creating a ‘protected commons’ for seed. It is a project, I argue, that reflects characteristics of a growing transnational commoning movement. From the Zapatistas to seed wars, such movements draw attention to commons not simply as a resource, but as a dynamic and evolving social activity: commoning. In the US, OSSI includes 38 plant breeders, 48 seed companies and 377 crop varieties. Yet challenges remain for OSSI to gain wider legitimacy for ‘freed seed’, to build trust in a moral pledge, and to establish fair guidelines for which people and which seed can participate in making the commons. Using the metaphor of ‘beating the bounds’ – a feudal practice of contesting enclosures – I ask how OSSI defends the commons in intersecting arenas. The first way is legal, as OSSI negotiates a move from contract law toward moral economy law. Next is epistemic, as an informal breeder network revitalizes farmer knowledge, while proving more structurally able and culturally equipped to lead commoning efforts. Finally, I reflect on the nature of boundary beating itself, aided by Global South movements. Seed sovereignty perspectives suggest room for a pluriverse of commons to grow.     

农业现代化与国家种业安全

农业现代化的基础是种业现代化。位于农业产业链最上游的种业是农业现代化进程中基础性、战略性核心产业,是保证国家粮食安全的根本。我国必须高度重视农业现代化进程中的种业安全,积极应对种业安全面临的挑战。提升种业竞争力,主体是企业,核心是品种,关键是创新。应加强政策引导,健全法规体系,转变发展方式,着力提升种业科技创新能力、企业竞争能力、供种保障能力和市场监管能力。通过体制机制创新加快构建“育繁推一体化”的商业化育种体系,做大做强民族种业。     

后备母猪的遗传繁育和营养促进对母猪繁殖效率

繁殖效率是现代成功猪业生产体系母系性能评定指数。全基因组选育法,结合传统的数量性状位点基因选择（QTL）的遗传改进进展使得遗传优势能有益于最好种用性能的生产效率。一个优秀的种用母种群是从一个好的后备母猪生长发育方案开始的,基于这个方案有3个重要基础。他们是遗传基础、生理基础和营养基础。该文将讨论它们在现代种用猪群的繁殖效率改进中的作用,重点是集中在后备母猪。     

The EC Zoos Directive: A Lost Opportunity to Implement the Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity 1992 requires contracting parties to take ex-situ conservation measures to protect biodiversity. This paper considers the effectiveness of the Zoos Directive in implementing this obligation within the European Union. The directive requires zoos to have an education role and at least one further conservation activity, which may be research, training, information exchange, captive breeding, or species reintroductions. However, the Convention requires parties to engage in all of these activities. EU member states have been reluctant to implement the directive. In any event, it is unlikely significantly to affect the conservation activities of the majority of zoos, as they are either already in compliance or they may comply with minimal effort. Most significantly, the directive does not specifically require zoos to participate in the captive breeding and reintroduction of endangered species, and this is arguably their most important potential (if not actual) conservation role.     

农业现代化视阈下的民族种业安全研究

农业现代化的前提是种业现代化。位于农业产业链最上游的种业是农业现代化进程中基础性、战略性核心产业，是保证国家粮食安全的根本。我国必须高度重视农业现代化进程中的种业安全，积极应对种业安全面临的挑战。提升种业竞争力，主体是企业，核心是品种，关键是创新。应加强政策引导，健全法规体系，转变发展方式，着力提升种业科技创新能力、企业竞争能力、供种保障能力和市场监管能力。通过体制机制创新加快构建“育繁推一体化”的商业化育种体系，做大做强民族种业。     

妇女生育权实现的法律保护

生育权作为一个法律概念,在现代社会有着特殊的含义,妇女生育权的实现与社会经济的稳定增长和持续发展有着密切的联系。政府必须运用经济的、法律的和必要的行政手段,通过物质利益的导向作用,来保护、影响并引导人们的生育行为。     

陆生动物产业深度转型：构建生态大农业循环链

陆生动物产业是大农业生态大循环链条中的主要节点，它具有鲜明的两重性，面临大发展的机遇和市场的严峻挑战。为迎接农业产业革命必须运用自然规律和经济规律的合力，掌握其特殊规律，实现深度转型，走农牧紧密结合的路子，由粗放养殖向集约化、规模化、生态化转变，构建和优化循环经济环链工程，构成高端生态大农业的关键环节，并铺就生物能源的基础。这一过程需要用好“政府主导、科技引领、市场发力”的宏观调控、资源配置新型三元机制。     

国际植物新品种保护制度的变革发展与我国应对

植物新品种保护制度发展历史表明,育种技术和农业商业化是推动植物育种创新保护制度发展与变革的重要因素。文章从育种技术和种业发展对植物新品种保护制度影响的角度,分析国际植物新品种保护制度的发展与变革,以及我国植物新品种保护的实践探索与面临挑战,认为制定《植物新品种保护法》是我国种业现代化的必然选择。《植物新品种保护法》既是种业企业基本的产权保障法,也是种业领域最重要的“反不正当竞争法”。唯有制定《植物新品种保护法》,才能有效解决品种权保护中的“取证难、周期长、成本高、保护弱”的问题,才能有效完善现行法律法规之不足,为我国种业发展的现代化、开启种业发展新纪元提供法治保障。     

Inside Lobbying on the Regulation of New Plant Breeding Techniques in the European Union: Determinants of Venue Choices

In July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided that new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) fall within the scope of the restrictive provisions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Previously, various actors had lobbied in order to influence the European Union’s (EU’s) regulatory decision on NPBTs. This study examines the venue choices taken by Cibus, a biotech company that promoted NPBT deregulation. It shows that the firm bypassed the EU level and that it lobbied competent authorities (CAs) in certain member states to gain support for the deregulation of NPBTs. Cibus chose the CAs because their institutional “closedness” reduced the risk of the debate over the deregulation of NPBTs becoming public. However, the CA’s specific competences and their influence on EU decision making were of likewise importance. The firm lobbied CAs based in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Two factors appear to have influenced Cibus’ choices for these countries: high‐level political support for agribiotech and the high relevance of biotech sectors. In contrast, public support for GMOs turned out to have hardly any influence, and virtually no association could be observed for the agricultural application of biotechnology in the past nor for the weakness of domestic anti‐GMO lobby groups. Finally, the in‐depth study on Germany affirms that “closedness” was important for Cibus’ choices and reveals that technical information served as a venue‐internal factor that influenced the firm’s choices.