SEE BACK PORCH FOR FORT KNOX OF FOODAunty's on her hobby horse again--it bein' gardenin' prep time. Mah wee garden this fall will feature less thangs grown fer eatin' an' more grown fer savin' the seeds. ( oh we will eat them, it's jes' I'se plannin' to let some thangs "go to seed".)
An why is this?
Heh.....
"The American nursery trade is a 39.6 billion dollar a year industry. With the purchase of Seminis in January of 2005, Monsanto is now estimated to control between 85 and 90 percent of the U.S. nursery market. This includes the pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer markets. By merging with or buying up the competition, dominating genetic technology, and lobbying the government to make saving seeds illegale, this monolith has positioned itself as the largest player in the gardening game."
"Monsanto holds over eleven thousand U.S. seed patents. When Americans buy garden seed and supplies, most of the time they are buying from Monsanto, regardless of who the retailer is."
"Six companies, DuPont, Mitsui, Monsanto, Syngent, Aventis, and Dow control 98 percent of the world's seeds."
"Before it was acquired by Monsanto, Seminis eliminated 2,000 varieties of seeds from its inventory."
[Note: the seeds being eliminated are the older, open-polinated, heirloom varieties. They are being eliminated because they are not patented or genetically modified, which means they are not profitable.]
"Seed biodiversity will be compromised globally [as the old varieties are not propogated and, therefore, lost] while the corporate stranglehold tightens . . ."
It is an act of wisdom to save the old fashioned, open pollinating seeds. An act of patriotism. Can I persuade anybody to try a few pots of old fashioned flowers too?
here are some old fashion seed sources:
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/
http://www.fedcoseeds.com/
http://www.seedsavers.org/
