Ch.8 — The Application of Genetics to Plants • 159 
The arguments parallel those pi-e\ iously clis- 
cussetl in C\)iigress for protection of enclan- 
geretl species (see lech. Note 15, p. 163). The 
last decade has shown that modes of [)i'oduction 
and de\ elo[)ment can se\ erely affect the ecolog- 
! ical balance of com[)le.\ ecosystems. \\ hat is not 
known is how much species disruption can take 
place before the ([uality of life is also affected. 
4. The e.\tent to which the new genetic technol- 
ogies will afYect genetic variability, ^ermftlasrn 
I storage methodoloy,ies, ami crop vulnerability 
has not been tietennineii. 
rhe new genetic technologies could either in- 
crease or tleci'ease crop \ ulnerahility. In theoi'y, 
they could he useful in de\eloj)ing early warn- 
ing systems for \ ulnerahility by screening for 
inherent weaknesses in major crop I'esistance. 
However, the relationship between the genetic 
characteristics of plant \ arieties and theii* j)ests 
and pathogens is not understood (see l ech. Note 
16, p. 164). 
The new technologies ma\ also enhance the 
prospects of using variability, creating new 
sources of genetic div ersity and storing genetic 
material by: 
• increasing v ariabilitv during cell regenera- 
* tion, 
1' 
• incorporating new combinations of genetic 
information during cell fusion, 
• changing the ploidy lev el of plants, and 
• introducing foreign (nonplant) material 
and distantly related plant material by 
means of rDX.A. 
With the potential benefits, however, come 
risks. Because genetic changes during the devel- 
opment of new varieties are often cumulative, 
and because superior varieties are often used 
e.xtensively, the new technologies could in- 
crease both the degree of genetic uniformity 
and the rate at which improved varieties dis- 
place indigenous crop types. Furthermore, it 
has not been determined how overcoming natu- 
ral breeding barriers by cell fusion or rDXA will 
affect a crop's susceptibility to pests and dis- 
eases. 
5. Because pests and pathogens are constantly 
mutating, plant resistance can be broken down, 
requiring the introduction of new varieties. 
Historically, success and lailure in biXHHling 
[programs are linked to pests and pathogens 
overcoming resistance. H(mic(\ plant breeders 
try to kee|) one step ahead of mutations or 
changes in |)est and pathogen populations; a 
plant v ariety usually lasts only 5 to 15 years on 
the market. rher(> is some ev idence that patho- 
gens are becoming more vii'ulent and aggres- 
sive — vv hich could increase the rate of infection, 
enhancing the potential for an epidemic (see 
Tech. Xote 17, p. 164). 
6. Other economic and social pressures affect the 
use of genetic resources. 
The Plant \ ariety Protection Act has been 
criticized for being a |)rimary cause of planting 
uniform varieties, loss of germplasm, and con- 
glomei’ate acxiuisition of seed companies. In its 
op[)onents' v iew, such ownership I’ights prov ide 
a strong incentive for seed com[)anies to en- 
courage farmers to buy "superior" varieties that 
can he })rotected, instead of indigenous varieties 
that cannot, rhe'v also make plant breeding so 
lucrativ e that the ow nership of seed companies, 
is being concentrated in multinational corpora- 
tions— e.g., opponents claim that 79 percent of 
the U.S. patents on beans have been issued to 
four companies and that almost 50 once-inde- 
pendent seed companies have been acquired by 
The Upjohn Co., ITT, and others.^® One concern 
raised about sucb ownership is that some of 
these companies also make fertilizer and 
pesticides and have no incentive to breed for 
pest resistance or nitrogen-fixation. For the 
above reasons, one public interest group has 
concluded^’’ 
(tlhanks to the patent laws, the bulk of the 
world's food supply is now owned and devel- 
oped by a handful of corporations w'hich alone, 
without any public input, determine which 
strains are used and how. 
Xumerous arguments have been advanced 
against the above position. Planting of a single 
variety, for instance, is claimed to be a function 
of the normal desires of farmers to purchase 
the best available seed, especially in the com- 
R. Mooney, Seed of the Earth (London: International 
Coalition for Development Action, 1979), 
^'Brief for Peoples' Business Commission as Amicus Curiae, 
Diamondx. Chakrabarty, 100 S. Ct. 2204 (1980), p. 9, 
