## What I wanted to show in the article is that attempts to close off the
## spread of information/ideas often elide the fact that the
## idea/information is not exclusively original. In this case US
## agro-business and ethno-botonists and drug companies seek out natrive
## plants spices and medical practices then refine those productize them and
## sell them back to the originators. BUT there is value added by the
## companies. They pay to develop robust hybrid plants, more effective
## compounds, better standad procedures than yield more food and longer lives.
## Shouldn't they be paid for that effort? if o to what degree?
## (Boyle is very good on this)
I think the effort put into research and coming up with "better"
stuff certainly requires "payment" but at the same time the curing
capabilities of "neem"(the leaves of a tree found in abundance
in india--the small branches are used as toothbrush to clean teeth)
and tumeric ( i think its a root of a plant) which is widely used both
as a spice and medicine, have been known to Indians for a very very long
time..
So coming up with a processed product and saying pay me up doesnt
seem ok to me..
Cheers,
-sab
-- Sai Anand Balu http://ils.unc.edu/balus