Bioethics and Cultivars - Comparative study between Bill 827/2015 and the Act on Cultivars Protection

Abstract

Under the approach of the bioethics of intervention, guided by Unesco's Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, this article seeks to verify whether the proposed amendments to the Law on Protection of Cultivars (Law No. 9456/1997) and the contents of the Bill (PL) no. 827/2015, in course in the Brazilian House of Representatives, guarantee the food security of the Brazilian population, including the protection of traditional forms of farming, developed by small farmers and traditional communities. Based on the theoretical foundations of bioethics of intervention, the study seeks to demonstrate that, if approved, PL 827/2015 may restrict the traditional practices developed by small producers and by traditional communities, which are the basis for maintaining agricultural diversity and even the protection to the environment. By means of redefinitions in cultivar legislation, the changes on the Bill increase the restriction on access to cultivar variability, and may adversely affect the food security of the population, especially the traditional communities and small community groups, which constitute the most vulnerable layers of Brazilian society.