Will Heirloom Seeds Be Outlawed?

I do try and buy only heirloom seed. Good thing about looking at my Seed Savers catalog so much, since they specialize in only heirlooms, I can recognize the heirloom seeds in the stores here. I also know not to buy any plant/seed with an F1 label on it. Monsanto can kiss mine.

 

"Food is power. We use it to change behavior. Some may call that bribery. We do not apologize" Cathering Bertini, Exec. Director, UN World Food Program, from the mid '90's...

 

VHesten> "I do try and buy only heirloom seed." It may not be enough to buy heirloom seed is truly what I've been trying to say. " When their GM seed cross pollinates with our "heirloom" seed…. well you get the point since pollen from GM corn has been found on top of the Sears Tower... the offspring... the seed we save.... is a hybrid." What I should have added is that the resulting offspring is little more than an unstabilized mutt. Let me try my best to explain.
Cultivar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heirloom tomato - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Open pollination - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
All open pollinated heirloom plants are actually hybrids... stabilized hybrids to more exacting-
National Gardening Association :: Gardening Articles :: Care :: Seeds & Propagation
Let us say heirloom tomato WI07 is in bloom at the same time heirloom tomato MN13 is in bloom and that a neighbor has yet another variety of tomato in bloom and there's other varieties of tomato upwind blooming at a garden center a mile away. If any of the pollen from those tomatoes makes its way by bee butterfly or the wind to cross pollinate with ours, the offspring from our beloved heirloom tomato WI07 will no longer be a pure strain of our WI07 heirloom. The offspring will not be like their momma meaning they will not be true to type. The offspring will be WI07 x MN13 or WI07 x ?. They will not be true to type WI07 x WI07. The offspring could very well be superior to momma and could over the years stabilize as a new variety but... in consideration of the onslaught of all the GM varieties out there polluting the gene pool that are getting patented and released at an unprecedented rate and considering all our neighbors unwittingly buying 'Shelf Extender Plus' or 'Pest Resistant A2'.... "new & improved" heritage tomato varieties from WallyWorld or their local nursery, it's highly doubtful the offspring of our heirlooms will be superior to their momma.
This is why seed savers have so many darn problems keeping heirloom tomato strains pure. They end up with F2s... mutts. Seed savers who understand how tricky it is group tomatoes together by variety then cage each variety separately. This minimizes the risk of insects cross pollinating varieties but... the grower must then hand pollinate each bloom which as you guessed is.... very time consuming and... not cost effective but.... in the best interests of mankind's future.
Open pollination ensures genetic diversity of the heirloom as long as there's no interlopers present contributing pollen. Heirloom seed isn't always organic (free of genetically modified organisms) these days.... we're led to believe by many highly effective marketing campaigns that it is but... they're keeping secrets.... we know nothing about how or where the seed we're purchasing was grown when it's not certified organic.... all we know is what they want us to know to keep us buying their seed. We don't know that their seed source is uncontaminated.... so many seed sources are blowing positive for GM contamination that unless a grower is conscientiously on their toes protecting their crops.... contamination will occur and is occurring at an unprecedented rate. The sad reality is that heirloom seed certainly isn't always GM free let alone un-treated any longer unless.... it's certified organic heirloom seed. The best way to minimize our risk of spending our hard earned money on seed that might be contaminated is by purchasing organic heirloom seed... preferably certified organic heirloom seed.... from folk who have taken the safe seed pledge.

 

Double-checked and the 3 catalogs I'll be ordering seeds from this year are all Safe Seed Pledge ones.

 

Bravo!!! Way to go!!! The last three years were tough. It's gonna become even tougher getting our hands on non-contaminated seed since whole lots are blowing positive and those growers are out of business if they can't find a secondary market to unload their "open pollinated" "heirloom" seed. There are opportunists out there playing the semantics game with their advertising.

 

Reality check.... they don’t need to outlaw our seed….
http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/back-basics/27744-what-will-survive.html
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They’ve been allowing extraction of precious resources for redistribution to other countries that results in vast wastelands and they've been allowing the pollution of our lands to our detriment for a long time. Nothing meaningful has been done cleaning up invasive species or environmental pollutants that reduce our ability to sustain ourselves for the long haul. By this I mean (kudzu, Plum Px Potyvirus from Bulgaria that’s killing off our stone fruit crops, Cryphonectria parasitica from Asia that’s still killing our chestnuts, emerald ash borer, phragmites that invaded lands we could have used to grow rice, imported fire ants, Salt Cedar, West Nile Virus from Uganda, Cane Toad, Phytophthora ramorum bacteria from Europe killing our oaks, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis which is the African fungus killing our frogs, rats, Geomyces destructans which is the fungus from Europe killing our bats, English house sparrows, cheat grass, Asian carp, etc.) and known environmental pollutants… not carbon dioxide that they recently labeled as toxic but very real environmental pollutants (hydrocarbons, lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, CFC’s, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, genetically modified organisms, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, benzene, xylene, tolune, etc.).
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Consider this from the CEC,

Our Federal Government has done nothing but offer lip service to us relying instead upon “public education” to stem the tide while they worked behind the scenes pitting us up against each other selling us their silver bullet knowing full well the land that sustains us were being inundated to the point of no return with even more invasives and pollutants and…. GE pollen.
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[FONT=&quot]While we were distracted with their amusements and entertainment or out and about chasing the wrong dragon…. the elite treated our entire planet (with a focus on US lands) as if it was a chemistry beaker. Big problem- it’s our only beaker.[/FONT]

 

Somewhat related to what you are discussing here:

Oregon House Ag Committee hears lots of debate about raw milk, farmers' markets

Published: Wednesday, February 02, 2011, 5:50 PM Updated: Wednesday, February 02, 2011, 6:04 PM

SALEM -- Everyone knows there's a big difference between the family farmer who sells berry preserves at a local farmers' market and the mega- grower who sells to supermarkets nationwide. But there was some debate inside the Oregon capitol Wednesday over whether the state should ease some regulations on the small guys.

House Bill 2336 proposes to ease state licensing requirements for farmers who sell small quantities of certain products -- think pickles or preserves -- directly to consumers at local markets or through coops.

"In the last 15 to 20 years there's been a huge change in the way farmers market their produce," says Anthony Boutard, who owns Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston, a fruit, vegetable and grain grower who sells at the Hillsdale farmers' market.

That's why he's backing changes in Oregon law that would ease licensing burdens on farmers and others who sell directly to consumers.

But the proposal has run into opposition from the Oregon Farm Bureau, which has "some concerns," according to Katie Fast, the bureau's director of government affairs.

The Northwest Food Processors Association also raised questions about food safety.

All of that meant the bill will get more discussion in House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Or maybe not.

"We'll get back to this bill perhaps at a later time," said Rep. Bob Jenson, a Republican from Pendleton and committee co-chair.

Next up: Milk. Raw milk.

There was nearly two hours' of testimony about another proposal -- House Bill 2222 -- which would allow the widespread sale of raw milk in Oregon.

"Although milk and milk products provide nutritional benefits, raw unpasteurized milk can be a source of dangerous bacteria that can pose serious risks to public health," wrote Carolyn Raab, an Extension Foods and Nutrition Specialist at Oregon State University, wrote in a statement provided to the committee.

Meanwhile, small farmers and dairy operators said the state should make it possible for them to serve customers who want local and raw products.

The committee adjourned without comment.

 

Believe it or not that's totally related. They must maintain the "illusion" that they're trying to be "green" and supportive of all the little "We" the People. It isn't easy being "green" when a higher power already laid out the yellow brick road for them. Why I do believe they've got a public relations nightmare on their hands.... oh my.... time to buy time while they call in Villsack's hoods for reinforcement.

 

As I posted in a discussion about (pro)Raw Milk, government stupidity never ceases to amaze me. I hope the bill to ease regulations passes, I would like to be able to legally sell my dried herbs(can't now because they're 'processed') and some food goodies. I think it's STUPID to claim that easing regulations on small growers would be a health hazard. Where were these people when BIG agribusiness was poisoning us with bad spinach? I have yet to meet a small farmer/grower who doesn't take enough pride in their work to make sure they have a quality product, or to hear about a small farmer/rancher having their products be 'tainted'.

 

No… they’re not stupid in the least. It’s all about control IMHO. Control of our food… control of our water and…. control of our energy and they’re doing it without ever having signed the Kyoto Protocol. They know exactly what they’re doing. I don’t mean to sound cynical but….. it’s been methodically calculated into their end game. Do you think they don’t have computerized death models they rely upon for direction…. that don’t assume global warming? They’re systematically and methodically crippling the ability of our huddled masses to feed ourselves and reorganize. Think there hasn’t been a method to the madness in failure to control our borders (think of the leprosy/antibiotic resistant TB/dengue fever/chagas disease/hepatitis/polio alone sneaking over our borders to work in our fields and restaurants) and don’t forget to think about invasive species they’ve chosen to “control” in the best interests of public health via “public education”. Nope…. no reason for the sharp rise in disease across our populace and certainly no “connection” at all to recent disease outbreaks in our own communities. Ya know…. those invasive species they’ve allowed to run rampant aren’t just invading our wilds disrupting entire ecosystems…. they’re invading our agricultural lands and the backyards where we’re growing our food and most of the invasive fauna are ticking time bombs not to mention the invasive flora that’s pesticide resistant out-competing our crops and native plants. Think the “elites'” conscientious decision to “fund” all things “globally warm” and macro over micro alternative energy and their blind eye to the straws in our fresh water aquifers or the toll taken on our lands “feeding” the burgeoning “global” population via industrialized petroleum dependent practices wasn’t factored in too. How about the continued exploitation of our western range lands and the extraction of even more of our resources (leaving the waste byproducts behind on US soils) that’s being sent to “developing” nations like China and India>>>>?
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Pssst…. “they” took care of that spot spinach “issue” by harmonizing with the UN and WHO. All our spinach and lettuce is now irradiated. Another problem solved or.... so they would have us believe.

 

Well I should have specified that when I use the word stupid(ity), I use it broadly in ways that have nothing to do with what society at large considers 'intelligent'. I suppose I consider stupid as A: having no common sense, B: selfishness/arrogance, C: *willful* ignorance, and D: laziness. For example, what I think of when I say stupid, here's a sample: Hitler, most politicians these days, reality TV, using GMO sugar(beets) in chocolate syrup, serial killers, thinking nothing bad will ever happen, and my last ex.

 

Oh and Bountiful Gardens nursery has nonGMO sugar beet seeds!