World Food Day: Livestock keepers warn about patents on animal genes

Diversity in our livestock is essential to confront future threats to food supplies, but livestock breeds are becoming extinct at the rate of 5% per year.

Local livestock keepers and pastoralists hold the key to keeping this diversity alive – but only if their rights are recognized.

On World Food Day, 16 October 2006, the League for Pastoral Peoples organized a workshop where small-scale livestock keepers and pastoralists from Africa, Asia and Latin America demanded the safeguarding of Livestock Keepers’ Rights to the genes of their breeds.

Timetable and presentations

More information:

English 226 kb

Français 119 kb

Deutsch 241 kb

Call to join the movement for Livestock Keepers’ Rights

The League for Pastoral Peoples is helping livestock keepers and their organizations prepare for FAO’s First International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources, which will be held in Interlaken (Switzerland) in September 2007.

As part of these preparations, LPP organized a workshop in Bonn, Germany, on 16 October 2006, and will organize further workshops in Asia and Africa during 2007.

LPP invites all interested individuals and organizations to join in the movement to support the rights of livestock keepers in the run-up to the Interlaken conference.

More information:

English 64 kb, 40 kb

Français 58 kb, 43 kb

Español 64 kb, 40 kb

Workshop on animal genetic resources

On 16-18 October 2006, LPP together with the LIFE Initiative will host an international workshop on “The future of animal genetic resources: Under corporate control or in the hands of farmers and pastoralists?

The workshop, to be held in Bonn, Germany, will prepare for FAO’s First International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources, to be held in Interlaken in September 2007.

The Bonn workshop will enable civil society organizations dealing with environment and development to focus on issues of biotechnology, biopiracy, animal welfare and livestock biodiversity. It aims to:

  • Draw attention to the Interlaken Conference and its importance
  • Raise awareness on the related topics
  • Identify potential for action
  • Devise cooperation opportunities.

More information and registration form: pdf, 52 kb; doc, 122 kb

Contact: Susanne Gura, LPP

Map of venue