Biopiracy on the Border: The Battle for the Yellow Bean
Author(s)
Carlsen, Laura
Abstract
Biopiracy refers to the appropriation, generally by means of patents, of indigenous biomedical knowledge by foreign entities (including corporations, universities and governments) without compensatory payment. Colorado Bean Broker Larry Proctor spurred a cross-border turf war in the long fight against biopiracy. The yellow bean he claims to have invented has become emblematic of the inequities between the North and the South. Proctor’s unapologetic use of patent laws to take over an emerging U.S. market for Mexican yellow beans highlights both the inequities and the injustices in the current intellectual property regime.
