160 • Impacts of Applied Genetics — Micro-Organisms, Plants, and Animais 
petitive environment in which they operate. 
Moreover, hybrid varieties (such as corn), are 
not covered by the plant protection laws; yet 
they comprise about 90 percent of the seed 
trade. 
As for the loss of varieties by vegetation 
displacement, statutory protection has been too 
recent to counter a phenomenon that has oc- 
curred over a 30- to 40-year period, and avail- 
able evidence indicates that some crops are ac- 
tually becoming more diverse. Since most major 
food crops are sexually produced, they have 
only been subject to protection since 1970 when 
the Plant Variety Protection Act was passed; the 
first certificates under that Act were not even 
issued until 1972. Moreover, at least in the case 
of wheat, as many new varieties were devel- 
oped in the 7 years after the passage of the Plant 
Variety Protection Act as in the previous 17.^® 
It is clear that large corporations have been 
acquiring seed companies. However, the con- 
Kept. No. 96-1115, 96th Cong., 2d sess., p. 5 (June 20, 1980). 
Summary 
The science and structure of agriculture are 
not static. The technical and industrial revolu- 
tions and the population explosion have all con- 
tributed to agricultural trends that influence 
the impacts of the new technologies. Several 
factors affect U.S. agriculture in particular; 
• To some degree, the United States depends 
on germplasm from sources abroad, which 
are, for the most part, located in less devel- 
oped countries; furthermore, the amount 
of germplasm from these areas that should 
be collected has not been determined. 
• Genetic diversity in areas abroad is being 
lost. The pressures of urbanization, in- 
dustrial development, and the demands for 
more efficient, more intensive agricultural 
production are forcing the disappearance 
of biological natural resources in which the 
supply of germplasm is maintained. 
nection between this trend and the plant \ ariety 
protection laws is disputed. One explanation is 
that the takeovers are part of the general take- 
over movement that has involved all parts of the 
economy during the past decade. Since the pas- 
sage of the 1970 Act, the number of seed com- 
panies, especially soybean, wheat, and cereal 
grains, has increased. While there were six 
companies working with soybean breeding 
prior to 1970, there are 25 at this time.®° 
Thus, to date, although no conclusix e connec- 
tion has been demonstrated between the two 
plant protection laws and the loss of genetic 
diversity, the use of uniform varieties, or the 
claims of increasing concentration in the plant 
breeding industry; the question is still con- 
troversial and these complex problems are still 
unresolved. 
^“Hearing.s on H.R. 2844, supra note 35 (StatcnuMU ol Harold 
Loden, Executive Oireclor ol the .American Seed Trade \ssiK-ia- 
tion). 
“Brief for Pharmaceutical .\Ianufaciurei-s' Xs.soci.ition as 
Amicus Curiae, Diamond v. Chakrabariy, lOO S ( t. 2204 09801. p 
26. 
• This lost genetic dix ersity is irreplaceable. 
• The world’s major food ci’ops ai’e becoming 
more vulnerable as a I’esult of genetic uni- 
formity. 
The solutions— examining the risks and exal- 
uating the tradeoffs— are not limited to .securing 
and storing varieties of seed in manmade 
repositories; genetic exolution- one of tiu* keys 
to genetic diversity and a continuous supplx ol 
new germplasm— cannot tak(> |)lace on storage 
shelves. Until specific gaps in man's understand- 
ing of plant genetics are filled, and until tin* 
breeding community is ahh* to identify, collect, 
and evaluate sources of genetic dixfisity, it is 
essential that natural resourc(*s prox iding germ- 
plasm he preserx ed. 
