Patents were established to foster innovation, by allowing people to
recoup their investment indeveloping new technology. That objective, I submit,
exists in SOME form in the GM space, icky as that may make us feel. So how do we
foster true innovation?
Patents were never created by congress
to take away my choice of what products i can spend my money on. As far as i
know, i still have a free choice what food to buy, so if we had accurate
labeling laws, which we don't, then the likely hood is that the masses will stay
away from food incorporating GM ingredients, I know i would. And as a result, GM
crops will fail in the market place.
In this scenario, of having accurate
labeling laws, companies like Monsanto may never recoup their investment which
is why there seems to be such a strong desire to leave labeling laws as they are
(down under, i remember the discussion was we need more than 15% GM ingredients
before they need to be labeled as such but don't remember if it was ever
legislated).
And the reality is that Congress never legislated that ones
investment would lead to profits , only that for patentable subject matter they
will have some exclusivity to their inventions for a limited time (but hardly
limited in time in practice). Many patentable inventions can and do fail in the
market place. So I just wish people would stop equating patents as being an
enshrined law that ones investment must be returned in multiples.
And it
seems you believe that only through GM foods will we solve the supposed global
food shortages. The reality is that human greed creates these shortages within
all markets segments as monopoly businesses should have taught us by now.
Artificial scarcity created by allowing such monopolies results in less product
at a higher price which we call a shortage.
So do you really want people
lining up for food like Apple fan boys line up for their patent encumbered
toys?. I don't.
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