--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a phenomenon that started in the…" description: "\"It's a phenomenon that started in the United States in which corporations make claims on the life forms, biodiversity and innovations of other cultures..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg" --- # It's a phenomenon that started in the United States in… ![“It's a phenomenon that started in the United States in which corporations make claims on the life forms, biodiversity and innovations of other cultures by applying for patents on them.” quote by Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg) > “It's a phenomenon that started in the United States in which corporations make claims on the life forms, biodiversity and innovations of other cultures by applying for patents on them.” [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Corporations claim ownership over cultural and biological resources via patents, exploiting indigenous knowledge. **In simple terms:** Companies patent traditional knowledge and biodiversity. Key Takeaway Protect indigenous rights and limit patent claims. Themes culture property indigenous rights corporate ethics Mood concerned critical Type ethical political When to use this quote - policy advocacy - legal reform - community education - research ethics Key Concepts biopiracy intellectual property law cultural appropriation Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance innovation with cultural respect? - What legal mechanisms protect indigenous knowledge? A Different Perspective Patents may spur innovation but can also marginalize original creators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biodiversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biodiversity/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Other cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other-cultures/) [Patents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patents/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [In China, the state controls the corporations, whereas in the United States, the corporations control the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/in-china-the-state-controls-the-corporations-whereas-in-the-united/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [Marijuana was a new phenomenon when we started. Now it's for everyone - doctors, lawyers, presidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheech-marin/marijuana-was-a-new-phenomenon-when-we-started-now-it-s-for-everyone/) [Cheech Marin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheech-marin/) > [“While big corporations make huge, tax-free profits, taxes for the everyday working person skyrocket. While politicians take free trips around the world, those same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/while-big-corporations-make-huge-tax-free-profits-taxes-for-the/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [Our supporters can send the message that it's wrong for politically connected corporations to make millions while people doing an honest day's work are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-dees/our-supporters-can-send-the-message-that-it-s-wrong-for-politically/) [Morris Dees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-dees/) > [“We think of ourselves now as eaters of the pie instead of makes of the pie...Corporations make the pie. They make it and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-think-of-ourselves-now-as-eaters-of-the-pie-instead-of-makes-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“No decision-making system is going to guarantee corporate success. The strategic decisions that corporations have to make are of mind-numbing complexity. But we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/no-decision-making-system-is-going-to-guarantee-corporate-success-the/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Large corporations make strategic investment decisions based upon calculations of rate of return and payback period, not to promote the social justice ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/large-corporations-make-strategic-investment-decisions-based-upon/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [We were a commodity used by corporations to make their brand look fashionable, but then they used us to keep kids out of venues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-cole-smith/we-were-a-commodity-used-by-corporations-to-make-their-brand-look/) [Zachary Cole Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-cole-smith/) > [Most of the gains in the last years since the Great Recession have gone to the very top. So we are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/most-of-the-gains-in-the-last-years-since-the-great-recession-have/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [While big corporations make huge, tax-free profits, taxes for the everyday working person skyrocket. While politicians take free trips around the world, those same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/while-big-corporations-make-huge-tax-free-profits-taxes-for-the-2/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [Cultivating and conserving diversity is no luxury in our times: it is a survival imperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/cultivating-and-conserving-diversity-is-no-luxury-in-our-times-it-is/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [We have a very old conservation movement, particularly in the United States, which has focused on campaigns to protect endangered species: the spotted owl,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/we-have-a-very-old-conservation-movement-particularly-in-the-united/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [When the forest is destroyed, when the river is dammed, when the biodiversity is stolen, when fields are waterlogged or turned saline because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/when-the-forest-is-destroyed-when-the-river-is-dammed-when-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Uniformity is not nature's way; diversity is nature's way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/uniformity-is-not-nature-s-way-diversity-is-nature-s-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/for-us-not-cooperating-in-the-monopoly-regimes-of-intellectual/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) ## More by Vandana Shiva > [We share this planet, our home, with millions of species. Justice and sustainability both demand that we do not use more resources than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/we-share-this-planet-our-home-with-millions-of-species-justice-and/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The enclosure of the biological and intellectual commons in this way is a real threat to the future of people everywhere because it creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-enclosure-of-the-biological-and-intellectual-commons-in-this-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Ecofeminism is a good term for distinguishing a feminism that is ecological from the kind of feminisms that have become extremely technocratic. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/ecofeminism-is-a-good-term-for-distinguishing-a-feminism-that-is/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [In the seed and the soil, we find the answers to every one of the crises we face. The crises of violence and war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/in-the-seed-and-the-soil-we-find-the-answers-to-every-one-of-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [We could replace people with fossil fuels, have higher and higher levels of industrialization, of agriculture, of production, without thinking of the green-house gases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/we-could-replace-people-with-fossil-fuels-have-higher-and-higher/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Nobody defines it as something women shouldn't be doing. In a way, there are more mathematicians, more doctors, more scientists in India than there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/nobody-defines-it-as-something-women-shouldn-t-be-doing-in-a-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Because of these new car models there is suddenly on the streets of Delhi a new intolerance by the motorists for both the cows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/because-of-these-new-car-models-there-is-suddenly-on-the-streets-of/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Diversity creates harmony, and harmony creates beauty, balance, bounty and peace in nature and society, in agriculture and culture, in science and in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/diversity-creates-harmony-and-harmony-creates-beauty-balance-bounty/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/for-us-not-cooperating-in-the-monopoly-regimes-of-intellectual/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [I describe what is happening as 'food fascism' because this system can only survive through totalitarian control. With patents on seed, an illegitimate legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/i-describe-what-is-happening-as-food-fascism-because-this-system-can/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [My mother was a tremendous woman. I was just cleaning up old trunks and I found a book with her notes written during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/my-mother-was-a-tremendous-woman-i-was-just-cleaning-up-old-trunks/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Patriarchy is based on appropriating rights and leaving responsibility to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/patriarchy-is-based-on-appropriating-rights-and-leaving/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The poorest of families, the poorest of children, are subsidizing the growth of the largest agribusinesses in the world. I think it’s time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-poorest-of-families-the-poorest-of-children-are-subsidizing-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Water must be free for sustenance needs. Since nature gives water to us free of cost, buying and selling it for profit violates our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/water-must-be-free-for-sustenance-needs-since-nature-gives-water-to/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The abuse of the Earth is the ecological crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-abuse-of-the-earth-is-the-ecological-crisis/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) [Explore all 151 Vandana Shiva quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) ## More Biodiversity quotes > [Agricultural demand for water - probably the largest threat to freshwater species - continues to increase. ... Meanwhile, threats to terrestrial biodiversity - primarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indur-m-goklany/agricultural-demand-for-water-probably-the-largest-threat-to/) Indur M. Goklany > [The thing that I think about most often is the loss of biodiversity. We talk about these food issues so often with concern to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-terry/the-thing-that-i-think-about-most-often-is-the-loss-of-biodiversity/) [Bryant Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-terry/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-will-defend-the-absolute-value-of-mozart-over-miley-cyrus-of-course/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Man has created death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/man-has-created-death/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/civilization-has-ceased-to-be-that-delicate-flower-which-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“The bottom line answer to the question about why biodiversity matters is fairly simple: The rest of the living world can get along without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-a-earle/the-bottom-line-answer-to-the-question-about-why-biodiversity-matters/) Sylvia A. Earle > [If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/if-we-pollute-the-air-water-and-soil-that-keep-us-alive-and-well-and/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [We share this planet with many species. It is our responsibility to protect them, both for their sakes and our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-a-matson/we-share-this-planet-with-many-species-it-is-our-responsibility-to/) Pamela A. Matson > [For us, not cooperating in the monopoly regimes of intellectual property rights and patents and biodiversity - saying "no" to patents on life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/for-us-not-cooperating-in-the-monopoly-regimes-of-intellectual/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [I can't imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity. These are the things that keep us alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/i-can-t-imagine-anything-more-important-than-air-water-soil-energy/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [An agricultural landscape produces food but it also provides water, requires biodiversity to underpin soil function, pollination and other useful services, and also has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-benton/an-agricultural-landscape-produces-food-but-it-also-provides-water/) Tim Benton > [I came to all the realizations about sustainability and biodiversity because I fell in love with the way food tastes. That was it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-came-to-all-the-realizations-about-sustainability-and-biodiversity/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [It is important to recognize that behind the razzmatazz of consumerism, we all remain dependent on basic natural resources - land, air, water and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-topfer/it-is-important-to-recognize-that-behind-the-razzmatazz-of/) [Klaus Topfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-topfer/) > [The byproduct of the main thrust to protect the biodiversity of a given place is that you get especially young people out to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/the-byproduct-of-the-main-thrust-to-protect-the-biodiversity-of-a/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) [Browse all 151 Biodiversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biodiversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a phenomenon that started in the United States in which corporations make claims on the life forms, biodiversity and innovations of other cultures by applying for patents on them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vandana Shiva" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-united-states-in-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biodiversity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-united-states-in-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/vandana-shiva-2756_biodiversity_it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-un_1698576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a phenomenon that started in the United States in which corporations make claims on the life forms…” — Vandana Shiva", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vandana Shiva", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a phenomenon that started in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-united-states-in-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/it-s-a-phenomenon-that-started-in-the-united-states-in-which/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```