Where Do Your Seeds Come From? 1
I have long been a proponent of saving and exchanging seeds and small regional seed companies, but recently I was shocked by two news stories in the world of commercial seeds. The first was the purchase of two of the largest seed suppliers in the country by Monsanto: Seminis, purchased in 2005, controlled 40% of the U.S. seed market at the time, and De Ruiter Seeds Group BV, a large Dutch vegetable seed breeder in 2008. This feels pretty ominous to me, that Monsanto, with their “copyright everything that exists” policy, should have such a large control over our seeds.
The second piece of news, which was more recent, was the discovery of a newly discovered pathogen that exists in much higher concentration in Roundup Ready soybeans and corn that may be responsible for “significant harm” to both plants and animals. continue reading »
