The work of La Via Campesina, an international organization of peasant
movements, was recognized as "The Best Defense of Food Sovereignty" for
its global seeds campaign, which began in 2003 and strengthened small
farmers all over the world. The prize is awarded annually by the
Coalition Against Biopiracy, a group of organiziations of civil society.

The main protagonists of biopiracy (the process of robbing genetic
resources and traditional and cultural knowledge from the people of the
world), received the Captain Hook Prizes on Friday March 24, during the
International Conference on Biological Diversity (COP8) in Curitiba (PR).

Businesses, people, governments, and projects that exploit the resources
preserved by traditional people from farming communities were denounced
in this prize. Those who struggle against the acts of biopiracy all over
the world received the Cog prize, named for the ships that fought off the
pirate attacks.

The multinational corporation Syngenta Seeds was among those awarded the
Captain Hook prize, since it is accused of planting transgenic seed
illegally in Brazil and using the Terminator patent, which prevents the
birth of seeds. In the category of "Most Greedy", the winner was the
scientist J. Craig Venter, for having carried out "a global biopiracy
expedition" to collect and patent natural organisms throughout the world.
The government of the United States won the prize for the "Most Shameful
Act of Biopiracy". George W. Bush imposed laws of intellectual property
over plants in Iraq, which makes it illegal for Iraqis to use seeds
collected from new varieties, thereby threatening the food sovereignty of
that country.

The group that insisted during the COP8 on allowing Terminator
technology, composed of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, won the "Axis
of Evil" prize.