EU Seed and Plant Law

[Mariam]

I was scanning the Mother Earth News website, when I came across an article on EU seed and plant laws. It was posted a couple of weeks ago and has me curious. Apparently, there is a proposed law, that threatens small seed and plant businesses. It could also lead to a huge reduction in the range of vegetables and flowers you can buy.

This is just horrible! Can anybody enlighten me on how this is a good idea? How do you think it is going to affect you, if it goes into place? Could the aftermath spill over to the United States or elsewhere?

 

[headfullofbees]

Don't worry; it's just anti-EU propaganda.
I'm no friend of the EU, but this is nothing short of scurrilous lies.

 

[headfullofbees]

https://www.gardening-forums.com/th...legal-to-use-saved-seed.869/page-3#post-14361

 

[Mariam]

I was just thinking how horrible it would be, not to be able to get certain plants. What if future children never knew how sweet an apple tasted, just because it was outlawed. You think I could spot propaganda when I see it, I live in the U.S. after all.

Well, the search function does not work well for me. I swear I put in most of those words and nothing came up. Thanks for directing me to the discussion!

 

[gata montes]

I have to agree with headfullofbees on this one - in that this kind of news has been bandied around for years and to be honest I too think it really is just scare mongering.
There have been lots of threats over the past few years, that laws like this were going to become a reality - and even if they did I really don't think that they would actually be enforced where I live - as it would put all the agricultural growers out of business and have a very damaging effect on the country's economy - especially when you consider that most of the fruit and vegetables grown here supply the rest of the World.

 

[Trellum]

I was scanning the Mother Earth News website, when I came across an article on EU seed and plant laws. It was posted a couple of weeks ago and has me curious. Apparently, there is a proposed law, that threatens small seed and plant businesses. It could also lead to a huge reduction in the range of vegetables and flowers you can buy.

This is just horrible! Can anybody enlighten me on how this is a good idea? How do you think it is going to affect you, if it goes into place? Could the aftermath spill over to the United States or elsewhere?

Have you heard about how GMOs are making their way to our table? It's pretty scary if you ask me. Big corporations are pushing small farmers to buy their GMOs seeds. I read about it today, it made me feel kinda scared. It's more scary in the US isn't mandatory to actually let the buyer know the product they're about consume is a GMO. So I'd not be surprised if they plan to do what you said with the seeds in the US.

 

[Mariam]

The number on stickers can tell you if it is genetically modified, I think. Correct me if I am wrong. Organic starts with 9, genetically modified with an 8, and I believe regular grown start with 4. I found that out when I started juicing vegetables/fruits. However, if you buy something prepackaged, like a can of beans or frozen meals you would never know. I think there is something going on in the U.S. forcing farmers to buy certain seeds. I think the seeds can not be saved the following year to plant with. That is some scary stuff!

 

[Trellum]

Miriam, I believe you are correct, but not many people know that. In other countries they mark GMOs foods in a way there is no place for doubt whether a vegetable or product is a GMO or was made with GMOs. In the states they're not very clear about that I mean, did you know cheerios were being made with GMOs?? They now claim they have marked as non GMO, but someone said that's not valid... the only valid way is the official seal. Without that seal (according to what this guy said) you can't take this company's claim seriously. It's very scary !!!!!

 

[Mariam]

Food companies here are shady as heck! It makes me not even want to eat anything! That is one big reason I try to maintain a high raw diet. Even eating veggies can be dangerous, though! I hear that in other countries, a lot of the foods we eat are banned.

 

[Jewell]

I have been following GMOs and related articles for sometime now. We had on the ballot to have labeling in our state, but Monsanto and Dupont paid for advertising every fifteen minutes picturing farmers saying how it would hurt them the last week before the election. Needless to say it failed.

Most corn raised in the USA is now GMO. A lot of GMOs are seed/plants that can tolerate Round-Up. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/06/dr-huber-gmo-foods.aspx.

The reason that this topic became such an interest for me was after discovering I am gluten intolerant. Not liking being sick and a natural curiosity led to lots of overlapping information about food being raised in the States. With one in ten people having reactions to gluten it has to make you wonder. My son who is a chef, says it is necessary to create and maintain menus and kitchen practices that recognize the huge population of people with food allergies.

Pressure is being applied to manufactures, but the response is slow and only regular Cheerios (not HoneyNut Cheerios) was changed. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-cheerios-gmo-20140103,0,1700502.story#axzz2pYLFh8wV

Controlling seeds around the world has led to some interesting conflicts with Monsanto. Over fertilizing with chemicals has added more to the mix. There is a lot out there on this topic. The more you know what you eat and how it is grown certainly can't hurt.

 

[Jewell]

Does anyone know what became of the seed law proposed in the EU? The latest info I could find was from last June.

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/pressroom/docs/proposal_aphp_en.pdf

Here is an article from May. http://www.activistpost.com/2013/05/all-about-new-eu-seed-law.html

Edited: here is something from December but didn't know whether it was 2012 or 2013. http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedlaw2.html
Wonder if this will impact my buying seeds from the UK that aren't available here. The UK has many varieties of seeds for sale that do well in my cool maritime climate. Looks like I better order and start doing a better job of seed saving.

 

[headfullofbees]

We've been genetically modifying plants for centuries.

 

[Jewell]

We've been genetically modifying plants for centuries.

Headfullofbees, there is significant differences between selective breeding and mutation breeding (that have been done for hundreds of years) from genetically modifying (first done in a laboratory in 1972). GMOs are "genetic modification that involves the mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes. When genes are inserted, they usually come from a different species." Wikipedia Commercial sale of genetically modified foods didn't even begin until 1994. And yes, some believe they (GMOs) are safe.

Labeling is required in the EU (61 countries total worldwide), but not so in the US. Some here in the US would just like to be able to know what we are buying and make choices. Other places don't even want GMOs grown in their region (one state in Australia has made it illegal to grow GMOs).

It will continue to be a hot topic for some time based on current court cases.