Plants and the Law: Legal Approaches to the Plant World

Thursday, June 22, 2017, from 8:55 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Study Day as Part of the Montpellier–Sherbrooke Meetings
School of Law and Political Science, Building 2, Lecture Hall 201

Plants are a major issue of our time. The presentations at this conference will seek to examine how the law addresses plants, from ensuring redistributive justice to the patenting of living organisms.
Whether it provides food directly or indirectly for humans and animals, plants—and the laws that protect them and regulate their production and use—are at the heart of vital issues ranging from global food security to international trade in foodstuffs, to past, present, and future methods of agricultural production, as well as the recognition of the value of biodiversity and its impact on health.
On the other hand, as living plant matter becomes a raw material for certain industries and is utilized in a wide variety of ways, it constantly gives rise to new risks for patients and consumers—whether in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agricultural, or agri-food sectors—risks that the law should be able to address proactively.
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