This is the time of year when all those inspiring colorful seed catalogs are arriving. I have been spending too much time dreaming of my Spring garden and comparing the offerings of all the different catalogs. That was until the latest issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal (March/April ’06) arrived. There, I read the article by Jerri Cook on page 60 entitled “Do You Know Where Your Seed Come From?” According to this article, just six companies: Dupont, Mitsuri, Monsanto, Syngents, Aventis, and Dow control 98 percent of the world’s seeds. Monsanto holds over eleven thousand U.S. seed patents. Monsanto is estimated to control about 90 percent of the U.S. nursery market. When an American buys garden seeds most of the time they are buying from Monsanto regardless of which catalog they order from. Almost all the large seed and garden companies use the same seed brokers to buy tons of seeds at a low price selling the same seeds to everyone. Furthermore seed companies can resell seeds, plants, roots, bulbs, and trees using whatever names they wish. You may think that because you ordered string beans from three different companies each named differently that you have three different varieties. Think again!
Monsanto, Dupont, Mitsuri, Syngents, Aventis, and Dow are eliminating older open pollinated varieties and replacing them with patented hybrid varieties (which are illegal to save seed from or propagate!). They are also genetically modifying plants so that they won’t produce seeds at all or the seeds that they produce are sterile. Since 1980 there has been a 90 percent reduction of seed varieties available to Americans. Seed biodiversity will be compromised globally. But we can do something about this. We can grow and save heirloom seeds. A great place to start is The Seed Savers Exchange (see: http://www.seedsavers.org.) Order heirloom seeds–not patented hybrid seeds. Then save your seeds and share them with your friends and neighbors.
From The Memsahib: Do You Know Where Your Gardening Seed Comes From?
