Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Seed catalogs for the upcoming growing season are arriving in mailboxes across the Northern Hemisphere with home growers everywhere starting to plan which seeds they will sow in freshly composted garden. A positive trend in recent years is the growing number of gardening enthusiasts choosing to plant gardens using organic and/or heirloom seeds.
What most of these home gardeners don’t realize is that corporate behemoth and GMO titan Monsanto has been gobbling up the seed market faster than a caterpillar can munch a tomato plant! With one fell swoop in 2005, Monsanto grabbed approximately 40% of the US vegetable seed market with its acquisition of Seminis.
This means that a home gardener could unknowingly be supporting the development and proliferation of genetically modified crops if the seeds used are from Seminis. In addition, Monsanto now apparently owns the trademark for many of the names of the heirloom seed varieties themselves!
Planting a sustainable home garden is much more than just choosing certified organic seeds and seedlings, eschewing pesticides/herbicides and using organic compost. This is because Monsanto has cleverly positioned itself to make money off the home gardening trend.
Does this mean that even if you buy organic or heirloom seeds from a completely independent company some of your purchase might be supporting the bad guys?
Yes, it does.
Surprise!
Home gardeners would do well to bone up on where to purchase their seeds so they aren’t inadvertently doing business with companies that maintain a working relationship with Monsanto-Seminis or were acquired by them.
Buying Organic or Heirloom Seeds Without Supporting Monsanto
Here are the recommended steps for the 2014 growing season for those who want to truly strike a blow for sustainability in every way with their home gardens:
Avoid buying from the seed companies affiliated with Monsanto. Here’s a list of these seed companies by location (enter you zipcode for a list of dealers to avoid).
- Buy from companies Monsanto HASN’T bought and are not affiliated or do business with Seminis: The graphic above indicates numerous companies that are worthy of your patronage as compiled by the International Seed Saving Institute. Please note that this many not be a complete list. If your seed company does not appear, just be sure to clarify with the owner about any potential affiliation with Monsanto-Seminis before buying from them.
- Avoid buying heirloom varieties for which Monsanto owns the trademark.
- Ask seed companies if they have taken the Safe Seed Pledge. Here’s a list of companies that have taken the Safe Seed Pledge and believe in responsible plant genetics. These are good companies to buy from.
Background on Monsanto’s Quest for World Seed Domination
Monsanto’s corporate quest is clearly to make money on each and every one of us whether we choose to eat supermarket frankenfoods produced with abominable, patented GM crops or carefully plant and tend an organic garden at home. Here’s some background information on the subject you may find interesting as well as enlightening:
If you are a home gardener and have information to contribute regarding these steps, please add to the discussion in the comments section. Also, please spread the word via gardening forums you may participate in that folks need to be very careful when seed sourcing for their spring gardens this year else they might be unknowingly supporting Monsanto.
Let’s make this the year when Monsanto’s grip on the worldwide seed market loosens and the movement to seed sustainability gains momentum!
Update
The day after this article was originally published in 2013, the CEO of a large GMO soybean seed company in the Midwest emailed me complaining that the article was short-sighted and insisting that Monsanto is helping feed the starving people of the world. He even went so far as to say that GMO crops are “proven safe”. Click here for the text of this CEO’s entire email plus my written reply.
I have also received email complaints from two other seed companies, one in Canada and one in Arkansas, that do business with Monsanto-Seminis and were offended by what they viewed as inaccuracies in the post. In response, I have adjusted the text slightly and moved linked sources to within the text rather than only listed at the end to make the message of the post as clear and precise as possible so as to not result in any consumer confusion over the information.
I have received no complaints about this article from seed companies completely independent of any affiliation or ties to Monsanto-Seminis.
More Information
Why I Avoid Organic Hydroponic Produce
The Hydroponic Invasion of USDA Organic
Heirloom vs Hybrid Produce
Photography Credit
I’m definitely anti gmo. This topic is informing, but I’m concerned at how many people are quick to judge without thinking of the consequences. I’m a faithful customer of William Dam Seeds. My grandma was and still is a faithful customer as well. They have consistently given excellent customer service and high quality. They work hard, and have worked hard for decades. Their grandad was a poor immigrant who built up this business from scratch, lacking many advantages established businesses had. Now years later, along comes a careless, thoughtless blogger who doesn’t think about what damage her words will do. She doesn’t think about how her article could ruin a family business that has taken years to establish, and tarnish their reputation for years to come. It’s easy to see why any owner of a small seed company might get frustrated, or even angry watching years of hard work and earned trust go down the drain with one little article. Oh, they shouldn’t sell Monsanto seeds or administration seeds you say. Okay. Where do you work? Who owns your company? Which companies is your company linked to? How much waste does your company generate? Does your company support in any way any of the following: deforestation, unfair wages, slave labour, child labour, water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, soil erosion, oil industry, plastic industry, pharmaceutical industry, agriculture industry, factory farming, etc. See what I mean? It’s easy to say you buy organic, they can too. But how are you getting the money to BUY organic? Have you gone after the company you work with for supporting and contributing to any of the above? I thought not. It’s easy to get on our high horse and ruin another person’s life. But you would sing a different song if it happened to you. I’m not saying it’s okay to buy administration seeds or support gmo companies. What I wish people would realize is the damaging affects their words can have on people, especially today.
Wow, so you really haven’t given any solutions but rather just added another layer to the problem.
Why not give the author a hand for for all of the research and presentation of an important issue that affects millions of people. Sure maybe her company or yours has immoral dealings and practices, but is the author “Super Woman”? Should she research her company, her bank, her grocery store, deparment store, and perhaps her neighbors and family too? Come on now, be realistic, a person should be allowed to focus on one thing at a time and do it well. Stop trying to make people multitask themselves into a nervous breakdown. Remember… “Jack of all trades and Master of none”.
So how many Super human feats have you accomplished this week?
; )
To inform folks about what companies sell GMO free seed’s is not a crime. If the seed company you use decided to work with Monsanto then maybe they will change their minds and go with GMO free seed’s in the future.
As far as supporting other companies that are big polluters, I make it a point to not do my research and not do business with them a well. I would urge others to, for example, not buy anything made by Georgia Pacific. Owned by the Koch family and one of the biggest polluter’s of our country. That’s just one example but do some research.
Kudo’s to the blogger for doing the research and sharing this important information.
What exactly are you saying. That despite the facts we shouldn’t do our part in exposing these companies. Small or not and I’m sorry for them but if they chose to buckle under the big guys propaganda and what should be illegal in the US then so be it for them. If we don’t shut them down and I’m not sure we can since they own so much and threaten so many farmers then what is the alternative. As you say in your post what about all the others. Well let me tell you that if we all do our part in some way that adds up to a big part in the scheme of things. These people are evil and they are convincing even the small people that they are the way to go either by schmoozing or by arm twisting. Either way is wrong and if they can’t be stopped then we must stop buying from them.
Tapi antara daftar terbesar kekurangan di baik memeriksa biasanya yang itu benar-benar pasangan hanya dapat selesai dengan Galaxy Sadarilah tiga , ​​ yang berbeda peserta untuk Anda Samsung Galaxy Keluarga .
Thanks for another wonderful publish. Exactly where different could any person get that kind of info ordinary fantastic way with words? I get a demonstration pursuing week, that i’m around the hunt for similarly info.
Many of the links to the non-GMO, non-Monsanto companies are no longer working. However, I just called today, 9/24/13 and this company in Ashland, OR has only non-GMO seeds, has signed the Safe Seed Pledge, and is not owned by Monsanto nor it’s affiliates. They are called Restoration Seeds http://www.restorationseeds.com/
or you can call them at 541-201-2688
I found them through the following link http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/ViewPage.aspx?pageId=261
What is the best therapy for old oak fence panels please?
I keep seeing posts addressing what seeds are currently GMOs. While they are correct in that the GMO seeds sold are only being sold commercially, you have missed a big one. While you all list corn, wheat, soy and canola you have ignored the fact that ALL the sugar beets grown commercially are GMO. So, whenever you purchase a processed food that contains any sugar, you are buying GMO containing food. As someone else noted, the only way to guarantee what you eat does not contain GMO products is to buy organic and, preferably, buy fresh organic and prepare your meals from scratch.
As for companies now owned by Monsanto or a subsidiary of Monsanto (which means it really is owned by Monsanto), no, they are not selling GMO seeds to consumers (yet). However, to say this makes it ok to do business with these companies is disingenuous. If you buy from them you are STILL supporting Monsanto. Period. No way around it. The only way to not support Monsanto is to buy from companies that have NO connection with the monster.
You are aware of therefore significantly in the matter of this disorder, made me many people feel consider it coming from a number of diverse angles. Their just like men and women don’t seem to be included until it’s related to Pixie lott! Your special items good. Continually attend to that!