A Growing Problem

I linked yesterday to a TCS Daily article by Dr. Henry I. Miller calling for a Manhattan Project for the bird flu, saying that government regulation and lack of financial profitability are hindering scientific progress that could help stop an Avian flu pandemic. There is another piece today at TCS that looks at a similar quelling effect on advances in biotechnology, caused by disregard and disrespect for intellectual property rights. Miles D. White writes that there are "a dizzying array of advances made possible by biotech investment." It's possible to increase the nutritional value of crops, enable plants to grow on land previously unsuitable for farming, grow crops with a higher resistance to drought and cold, and help plants resist pests without the use of pesticide. All of this, of course, would help feed the 800 million or so people that Mr. White says are chronically undernourished in the world.

With so much potential in biotech it's no wonder that White is frustrated by the growing trend to violate intellectual property rights. His complaint is similar to Dr. Miller's; when financial incentive is stripped from an enterprise, investment lags, and progress is slowed. Regardless of one's opinion of genetically engineered foods, it's worth considering the consequences of any violation of intellectual property, and the long-term damage it may do in order to garner some short-term gains.