THE BUTCHER THE BAKER THE PHARMACEUTICAL MAKER: WHY THE AGRICULTURAL BIOTECH INDUSTRY MAY DIFFER FROM THE GENERAL BIOTECH INDUSTRY

This paper explores the apparent anomaly in the patenting strategies found in the agricultural biotechnology industry, when it is compared to the literature's view of the patenting strategies in the general biotechnology industry and in the pharmaceutical industry in particular. By extending an extensive game model of the agriculture biotechnology industry, we show that, like the rest of the biotechnology industry, the integration of the agriculture biotechnology industry into several large private research firms with accompanying government laboratories can be transactions-costs limiting and thus efficient, given the existing institutional structure. A review of the literature respecting the general biotechnology industry reveals an apparent anomaly between the general industry and our findings with respect to the Canadian agricultural biotechnology industry. The literature seems to suggest, as one might expect, that the choice of patenting strategy in the general industry is dependent upon a positive probability of litigation over opportunistic patenting strategies, with the probability of facing litigation being dependent on the type of patenting strategy adopted. In contrast, we found general opportunistic patenting strategies in the Canadian agricultural biotechnology industry, independent of potential litigation. A comparison of the income elasticities of demand for food compared to other biotechnological products, particularly pharmaceuticals, can account for the apparent differences. We briefly assess the policy implications of these observations, particularly examining why the manner in which publicly funded research programs compensate the inventors of the intellectual property that they control may limit the incentives for these programs to control the apparent opportunistic behavior we perceive in the agricultural biotechnology research sector.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Issues and Options for the Multilateral Regulation of GM Foods

As genetically modified food commodities have entered markets in recent years, domestic regulators have attempted to manage consumer, environmental and citizen concerns about these new products. One result has been incomplete and at times inconsistent domestic regulation, which has created international conflicts about market access. A number of international institutions have attempted in recent years to bridge the gulf between exporters and importers. This paper reviews recent international developments and offers options for different strategies for reducing the current tensions in international markets.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

THE BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

International Relations/Trade,

Centreless governance for the management of a global R&D process: Public-Private Partnerships and Plant-Genetic Resource Management

Public-private partnership is one new model of centreless or networked governance that has emerged in recent years. This article examines the development and use of partnerships in the management and funding of public pulse breeding programs. The paper evaluates the theory of innovation and knowledge management and uses case study and social network analysis to examine the nature and strength of the international public pulse breeding system and analyzes in detail the three major national public pulse breeding systems in Australia, the US and Canada. Australia appears to have the most developed system of public-private partnerships, centred on the Grains Research Development Corporation and, CLIMA. Canada lacks a centralized national body such as the GRDC, but possesses a regional system centred on a university research centre (the Crop Development Centre) and a hybrid organization (the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers). The US is remarkable for the lack of any significant public-private partnerships in public pulse breeding

Collaboration and the Generation of New Knowledge in Networked Innovation Systems: A Bibliometric Analysis

AbstractCanola, a high-value, export-oriented agricultural commodity, was developed in Canada over the course of 40 years in public institutions, driven by imported technology and imported research scientists. The evolution of canola R&D closely mirrors the evolution of the Triple Helix Models of innovation. Through the application of longitudinal citation analysis, using five-year intervals, publications from Canadian public institutions involved in canola R&D have been analyzed. In the most recent five- year interval, the relative citation rates of public sector research increased by 60% compared to the global average. A unique fixed-effect negative binomial regression model is used to demonstrate the critical relationship between the institutional arrangement that governs collaboration and the production of knowledge that underscores technological innovation

Traceability and trade of genetically modified food

The real uncertainties in the global agri-food markets, and especially markets for GM foods, relate to how regulators and industry will manage these two trends: Uncontrolled rapid introduction of too many products that overwhelm the system and cause more national governments to come up with separate regulations, or a coming together of countries to adopt common standards, testing protocols, and regulatory processes that can effectively and efficiently deliver consistent and timely decisions in all key markets

TRADE IN THE MARKET OF BIOTECHNOLOGICAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS AND THE THEORY OF THE INTERMEDIARY FIRMS

This paper was presented at the INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS SYMPOSIUM in Auckland, New Zealand, January 18-19, 2001. The Symposium was sponsored by: the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Venture Trust, Massey University, New Zealand, and the Centre for Applied Economics and Policy Studies, Massey University. Dietary changes, especially in developing countries, are driving a massive increase in demand for livestock products. The objective of this symposium was to examine the consequences of this phenomenon, which some have even called a "revolution." How are dietary patterns changing, and can increased demands for livestock products be satisfied from domestic resources? If so, at what cost? What will be the flow-on impacts, for example, in terms of increased demands for feedgrains and the pressures for change within marketing systems? A supply-side response has been the continued development of large-scale, urban-based industrial livestock production systems that in many cases give rise to environmental concerns. If additional imports seem required, where will they originate and what about food security in the importing regions? How might market access conditions be re-negotiated to make increased imports achievable? Other important issues discussed involved food safety, animal health and welfare and the adoption of biotechnology, and their interactions with the negotiation of reforms to domestic and trade policies. Individual papers from this conference are available on AgEcon Search. If you would like to see the complete agenda and set of papers from this conference, please visit the IATRC Symposium web page at: http://www1.umn.edu/iatrc.intro.ht

TRADE IN THE MARKET OF BIOTECHNOLOGICAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS AND THE THEORY OF THE INTERMEDIARY FIRMS

This paper was presented at the INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS SYMPOSIUM in Auckland, New Zealand, January 18-19, 2001. The Symposium was sponsored by: the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Venture Trust, Massey University, New Zealand, and the Centre for Applied Economics and Policy Studies, Massey University. Dietary changes, especially in developing countries, are driving a massive increase in demand for livestock products. The objective of this symposium was to examine the consequences of this phenomenon, which some have even called a "revolution." How are dietary patterns changing, and can increased demands for livestock products be satisfied from domestic resources? If so, at what cost? What will be the flow-on impacts, for example, in terms of increased demands for feedgrains and the pressures for change within marketing systems? A supply-side response has been the continued development of large-scale, urban-based industrial livestock production systems that in many cases give rise to environmental concerns. If additional imports seem required, where will they originate and what about food security in the importing regions? How might market access conditions be re-negotiated to make increased imports achievable? Other important issues discussed involved food safety, animal health and welfare and the adoption of biotechnology, and their interactions with the negotiation of reforms to domestic and trade policies. Individual papers from this conference are available on AgEcon Search. If you would like to see the complete agenda and set of papers from this conference, please visit the IATRC Symposium web page at: http://www1.umn.edu/iatrc.intro.htmInternational Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,