They see it as a threat to millions of resource-poor farmers who depend on saving seeds, and exchanging seeds with neighbors, for their livelihood. Some even see it as threat to world food security. The fact is that wars and civil disturbances and catastrophes of a natural variety occur. Those are the kinds of things that can wipe out seed supplies. If farmers can't plant the stuff that they harvest, and become totally dependent on this, you are really raising the ante on the possibility of mass starvation.
Industry sees an entirely different world.
It's a place where companies can develop ever-improved seeds and expect farmers to pony up a return on their investment. These technologies, they say, may be our only way of averting mass starvation. What is clear is that the technology will provide impenetrable patent protection for the products of seed companies like Delta and Pine. As federal research budgets shrink, USDA, like other agencies, looks to the private sector for help. Its public-private partnerships have been an effective way to commercialize the extraordinary discoveries made by USDA scientists, a way to create a revolving fund for future agriculture research.