Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge

Rating:
Summary: A powerful theme that is let down by sensationalist writing
Review: Amidst all the tirade and rhetoric, cold hard truths emerge: the way IPRs are framed, especially those pertaining to the biotechnology field, is biased towards the interests of multinational corporate entities, and that the current mechanistic gene-centric paradigm in the "life" sciences ignores holistic perspectives of lifeforms and nature which are useful in their own way. While the urgency and potency of the message is not in doubt, the presentation of the content, with all the sidetracks and rambling discourses, leaves much to be desired. Read this book with an open mind, don't take everything in it too seriously, and look up alternative sources of information as well.

Rating:
Summary: A sharp warning cry of alarm
Review: Biopiracy by physicist, ecologist, and environmental activist Vandana Shiva is a harsh but perceptive survey and analysis of the expansion of population pressures on the environment, and more importantly, the technological advances which have been made and which seemingly have begun to dominate and shape life itself, as well as the process by which life is generated. A timely and critically important contribution to environmental policy discussions, Biopiracy is recommended as a sharp warning cry of alarm at where humanity's current tendency to pollute and put the dollar first can lead, as well as the damage that modern trends have down to traditional ways of life, -- especially among native peoples.

Rating:
Summary: hard to say really
Review: i didnt really like this book as much as stolen harvest. it was hard to read and kind of boring, but i learned alot and i appreciate the effort i put into reading it. but it didnt suck me in like stolen harvest, so im only gonna give it 3 stars.. its average.

Rating:
Summary: For the weak willed and easily fooled
Review: If your IQ is less than your age, you might actually like this book. I was forced to read this as an assignment for a college course, and I lost all respect for anyone stupid enough to be swayed by such a weak argument. Shiva uses only fear and hyperbole to convince the reader that corporate America is out to destroy everything, much like all the other pieces we read in that course. I beg of you, don't submit yourself to this ... (can I say that?), for if you are really stupid, you might be persueded by it. This is the stuff that people who support acts like the Word Trade Center attack read for inspiration. Just ask my professor.

Rating:
Summary: A good idea but a mediocre book
Review: In "Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge" Vandana Shiva posits that the biotechnology industry of today is but a continuation of the piracy of Columbus, John Cabot and Walter Raleigh. Euphemistically called "discoveries" their exploitation legitimized piracy as the "natural right of the colonizer, necessary for the deliverance of the colonized."

Shiva maintains that this system of exploitation, continuing under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, now treats "biopiracy" as a "natural right of Western corporations, necessary for the development of Third World communities." Shiva writes that Western capital is now seeking out new colonies, new properties - the interior spaces of women plants and animals - to invade and exploit. Shiva posits that to understand and fight against "biopiracy" is to resist "the ultimate colonization of life itself - a struggle to conserve both cultural and biological diversity."

hBiopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledgeh is a fascinating and invaluable book that sheds much-needed light onto the controversies surrounding the ethics of biotechnology.

Rating:
Summary: Impeccable analysis of one of world's greatest problems
Review: In Biopiracy, the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge, Vandana Shiva starts from the very reasonable premise that life forms, used for nutritional and medicinal purposes by native cultures for centuries, should not be patented by foreign multinational corporations as "new discoveries". In other words, this book is not for anyone who feels that it is okay to patent life forms which are modifications of already existing species. If you are interested in the problems with this approach and its political, economic, and moral implications, this book is necessary reading. Shiva exposes this exploitation of the intellectual and material wealth of the third world in the name of profits. Shiva's Monocultures of the Mind is also strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Deftly argued, but fundamentally flawed
Review: Shiva argues for a "collective intellectual property right", i.e., a state ownership, of any chemical or drug derived from a plant or organism found in a given country. She uses all the right code words designed to raise the hackles of rightousness- words like "racism" and "exploitation" and "diversity"- to in effect argue that people who live in a region- or rather, their rulers- own any and all possible profits that might arise from the use of a natural resource, whether or not they themselves choose to exploit it.

This is an economically naiive argument that doesn't understand that a resource isn't a resource if no one is using it. The book is basically framed as an argument for wealth transfer to the third world, as if that was the only source in the world of useful resources.

In the end, Shiva is arguing against the very system that allowed the exploitation of natural resources for use by humans. If we had to peel the bark from a tree every time we had a headache, we'd go through a lot of trees- and those in colder climates would be out of luck. But Bayer's asprin patent eventually allowed people the world over to buy the synthetic equivalent for pennies.

Rating:
Summary: Passionate writing about an important global subject
Review: Shiva takes on globalization and the overall anthropocentric view of the world's powers with an in depth look at how Intellectual Property Rights have been stripped from the commons into the hands of multinational governments and companies. Although the writing is sensational, the feelings run deep in the developing world. Acknowledgment of these feelings is an important step in the realization that the Western World has infringed on human rights and ecological balance. The conclusion that placing value in the diversity of cultures and in biodiversity can lead to a more peaceful world if IPR's are left out of private pockets should not be taken lightly.