The Commercialization of Traditional Medicines.

Bioprospecting is the process by which individuals or groups involved in the international drug trade (medicinal) attempt to discover new and useful ways to utilize biological resources to create new medicinal remedies and drugs. Often times, the knowledge of an areas indigenous people is sought after and utilized, and then marketed. The folk-medicine of certain cultures is explored, tested, and often times exploited. I remember twenty some years ago, my mother, a registered nurse midwife, grew her own goldenseal plant, and harvested the roots to cure ailments of all types for me and my three siblings. To testify to it's effectiveness, not one of us ever spent the night in a hospital. Back then, it was not widely available, or accepted as a means of treatment. Now, you can find commercialized goldenseal on the shelves of any Walmart, Walgreens, or local drug store. This is just a small aspect of how bioprospecting hit home for me.

Biopiracy is a common occurance. This is when a company exploits the folk medicine or indigenous knowledge of an area, often times without any thought of recompence or compensation to the indigenous people. Huge drug corporations like Pfizer and Eli Lilly have been partaking in this practice for years. There are very few laws governing acts like these, which often take place internationally, and so huge companies and conglomarites, in their quest for the almighty dollar, unabashedly exploit native cultures and resources.