Sowing the Seeds of Corporate Agriculture: The Rise of Canada’s Third Seed Regime

Abstract

The seeds that form the basis of all agricultural production are the focus of Devlin Kuyek’s article. Building on regime theory, he argues that, historically, the Canadian seed system has been marked by three “seed regimes.” The third regime, still being constructed, and contested, entails measures that transfer control of seeds to a few transnational corporations. While this involves relaxing some state regulations, he shows that it also involves reorienting many old regulations and creating a whole new set, in particular in the area of intellectual property rights, which protect corporate profits and prohibit farmer practices of earlier regimes. He suggests that the result of this regime, if stabilized, will be to make genetically modified (GM) crops, and enhanced corporate control, a permanent feature of Canadian agriculture.