Reddit reviews First the Seed: The Political Economy of Plant Biotechnology (Science and Technology in Society)

I see GMOs as part of a trend that began with the privatization of hybrid seeds in the US and the Green Revolution globally. They didn't start the project of taking the means of production away from farmers, but they absolutely are a part of it. (For a really thoughtful take on how biotechnology has been used to increase corporate control over agriculture, I recommend Jack Kloppenburg's First The Seed.)

As for the point about uneven food distribution--what good will increasing food production do if the people who need it can't get it? If worldwide food production increases by 50%, but all of that additional food either goes to waste or is used inefficiently because poor people can't afford it, then what is the point? We need to make sure that everyone gets a more-or-less equal slice of the pie before we need to worry about having a bigger pie.

I'd also quibble with your assertion that organic farms take up more land than conventional farms. That may be true (I don't really have the time to comb through the methodology of the paper you linked to), but that assumes that organic farms and conventional farms have comparable ecological impacts. This seems to be comparing apples to oranges.

It seems you have a balanced view of patents.. their potential benefit and their pitfalls. However, your history is lacking. In the US, hybrid seed development and distribution was created by farmers and land grant universities based off of public funds. Since food was thought of as a public good, the incentive to develop the experimental technologies for hybridization was fortified with taxes and public support. University extension agents would distribute these varieties for public use and feedback without expectation of massive profits. This was social contract. Then, in the search of profits private breeders worked IP protection on plant varieties, destroying this system entirely and limiting the options of production for farmers. Power shifted away from growers and public universities and into private breeding companies who now represent a handful of firms with total control over the majority of domestic seed production. You can read about it here in a book called First the Seed


There are so many things and conveniences I enjoy that did not require patent intervention. Patents are a young, human creation. Some more imagination and historical lens show how many other incentive systems can be employed to support these conveniences rather than consolidation of power for monied interests