Patented Life: Sharing Gardening Seeds Illegal in Numerous US States
It is time for some outdated, unconstitutional laws to be scrapped. Informally sharing seed with a neighbor who gardens down the street is illegal in multiple states in the US. The penalty for violating this ridiculous law is a fine of up to $7,500 a day. Like so many other senseless laws, this rule needs to be put to rest.
You can’t even give away seeds to someone in your own neighborhood under certain laws. For example, in some states you need to buy an annual permit and submit each lot of seeds for germination testing; if you don’t, you are defying the law.
If this smacks of corporate farming infiltration to you, you aren’t alone. just 6 companies in the world have patented most of the seeds grown in the entire global agricultural market. Our food diversity is crumbling and it’s largely because corporations, not people, are in charge of the supply.
Neil Thapar, an attorney for the Sustainable Economics Law Center, has reviewed laws like these and found that many states define seed sharing without a permit as an illegal act.
People have been saving and sharing seeds for millennia. It isn’t just our grandparents and great-grandparents who saved and exchanged seed – it has been practiced among farmers and gardeners since we first became an agrarian society.
More importantly, it is a vital practice which must be protected, not only because of biotech seed monopolies, but because gardeners in each area of the world are keenly aware of which kind of organic, heirloom seeds grow best, and are especially adapted to their climates. We can’t let corporations and even government agencies like the USDA regulate non-GMO, organic seed banks to death.
Keeping seed exchanges local ensures a better food supply, that is not tainted by corporate interests, but also that will allow the smaller farmer and gardener to grow better food. Never has planting an organic garden been such an act of defiance against corruption.
According to EcoLife:
“[Seed saving and exchange] is a great way to preserve what is left of the diverse, exotic, and interesting of our food and flower history. Some are forming seed exchanges through local libraries like . . . while others are organizing their efforts through online seed swap groups.”
Additional Sources:
Mother Earth News April-May 2015 Issue, p. 4
Informally sharing seed with a neighbor who gardens down the street is illegal in multiple states in the US.
I don’t think that’s accurate. Since the author mentioned Minnesota, I checked the Minnesota Dept of Agriculture website. It only takes about the need for labelling and permits for commercial sellers, not for getting seeds from your neighbour.
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/seed
Even the 300 seed libraries throughout the US can’t give away seeds or facilitate the exchange of seeds between organic gardeners unless they purchase a permit.
That’s simply not true.
“the library is free to distribute seeds, but it can’t accept harvested seeds without following the state’s testing and labeling requirements for seed distributors. The library is…free to host seed swaps where individual gardeners can exchange seeds with one another.”
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/12/08/seed-libraries-and-state-laws/
http://www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/sites/default/files/SIM/Documents/Misc/2014_SeedLibrary_Protocol.pdf
Yet another example of why Christina Sarich is not a credible source for information.
Grow your own garden.
Use NON GMO HEIRLOOM Seeds only.
Boycott ALL Monsanto products.
Yes that’s the way to combat this evil menace. Americans must regain what is rightfully theirs and to establish their democratic rights.
Would like to know which 30 states.
do a search for community rights and learn how to beat corporations “legally” in the courts at a local level it’s easier than you would think
Sorry if the government and Monsanto want you to lose you will lose. Community rights – Have you totally lost your mind? You’re living in fantasy land with spectomaniac and Bozo.
yes I would like to know which states as well. Weird.
Which states? It would be nice to have an article that has complete information.
I agree. This gets annoying when she says something without anything to back it up. I went to the site and couldn’t get a real definitive answer to which 30 states they’re talking about. I see the same story is all over the net with the same ho hum as to where they’re talking about. Maybe Ed Shultz, Bill O’Reilly or Anderson Cooper knows?
http://www.shareable.net/sharing-cities
Could just be another psy-op. It seems everybody is getting in on the act.
Anybody worth their salt, when publishing an article, backs it up with documentation.
Heck, even if you are commenting in a forum, most people expect documentation if you make a claim that sounds off the wall.