Are heirloom seeds on the way out?

[keepitlow]

In this talk show they say Monsanto and DuPont are patenting heritage seeds. (I think they mean heirloom seeds?) Is this possible? Can these corps eventually patent all the heirloom seeds and make seed saving illegal for everyone?

See:

http://www.metrofarm.com/mf_Food_Chain_Radio.php

Show #659: THE SEED GIANTS

[topper]

I would bet the large companies would get patents on everything if they could. That way we would be FORCED to buy seed.

[Shooter45]

Word is the seeds are now called Terminator seeds....only able to grow one crop then new seeds must be bought. :mad:

[flintlock]

My wife has been collecting seeds from the garden for a couple of years now. The things she starts seem to grow just fine. We have heard of the "terminator seed". Seems that it is only good for one crop/season, and you can't get any good seed from plants grown from it. So yeah, they get you for seed every season. Get seed from places like Seed Savers. They sell a lot of heirloom varietys, and seeds that are not genetically modified.

[Helix_FR]

Monsanto has been doing that for a while. They patented the roundup resistant seed. They have spend years and years finding the genetically perfect seed that works with their herbicides. Can they patent genetics? I guess, they altered them. Is is a monopoly? probably. Monsanto has already sued several farmers in mid Missouri for planting harvested seeds the following season. They want you to buy every year.
Monsanto is one of our clients and I know there senior producer really well. They invest millions of dollars and millions of man hours doing what they do. Replanting and not buying is a big no no to them.

[Maximilian II]

I thought most of the hybrid seeds were sterile anyhow. I'm not a farmer though, definitely not my area of expertise.

For a terrifyingly informative view of our food corporations, search out the documentary "Food, Inc." I saw it on pay per view and can't look at store bought food the same now. It's scarier than "The Jungle" in my opinion.

Makes me want to start cultivating Dad's farm again. At least a garden maybe.

[jack404]

Monsanto in Australia is like a invading army

instead of guns athey use lawyers and buy political representation

its actually a big kick in the guts for the US with statements from thier CEO when he visited that went

" We as a US company will tell you what you can and cannot buy as its been proved you just dont understand the future of food production"

this at the Royal Agricultural Society in Sydney, while he had armed body guards flanking him

did you know they patented the gum tree?
the wattle seed?
stuff we have native here since time began

now we have to PAY a US company to grow wild flowers

folks they are making you look like invaders

they corrupt our politicians worse than the UN does

and make statements that inflame people to be anti US

we have independants now running and winning seats in parliment on a anti US ticket

thats what monsanto is doing

look what they are doing in south america and sprukeing this "we are the US" crap

i know they dont represent the US people

but the average bloke in the street generally only knows what they are fed

and this is what they are feeding the press

stop em please ,

for your own sakes if not anything else

cheers

jack

[Bobitis]

Monsanto in Australia is like a invading army

instead of guns athey use lawyers and buy political representation

its actually a big kick in the guts for the US with statements from thier CEO when he visited that went

" We as a US company will tell you what you can and cannot buy as its been proved you just dont understand the future of food production"

this at the Royal Agricultural Society in Sydney, while he had armed body guards flanking him

did you know they patented the gum tree?
the wattle seed?
stuff we have native here since time began

now we have to PAY a US company to grow wild flowers

folks they are making you look like invaders

they corrupt our politicians worse than the UN does

and make statements that inflame people to be anti US

we have independants now running and winning seats in parliment on a anti US ticket

thats what monsanto is doing

look what they are doing in south america and sprukeing this "we are the US" crap

i know they dont represent the US people

but the average bloke in the street generally only knows what they are fed

and this is what they are feeding the press

stop em please ,

for your own sakes if not anything else

cheers

jack

Jack, I was starting to wonder what was taking so long.:confused:
I know how you feel on the matter already, and folks do need to sleep.;)

This is a PERFECT example of why I invited you here.
The average US citizen is blind when it comes to this sort of crap. We aren't told, so it simply goes unnoticed.

How long has this been going on in your country?
And we are just now hearing about it?

Monsanto should be jailed for crimes against humanity.
NO ONE has the right to control the growth of food.

Sleazy bastards.:mad:

[artabr]

Sleazy bastards.:mad:

This sums them up perfectly.


Art

[jack404]

Oh let's see, hmmm about the same ammount of time they been guarenteeing jobs for FDA higher up folks and getting the FDA to hire Monsanto cronies, so about the same time Bill Clinton got into office give or take A WEEK

PS monsanto is one of the biggest fund providers to your anti gun lobby
, and here, and in the EU and in South America

They are the biggest single supplier of funding to the UN's international peace initiative ( removing guns from private citizens) and provided lawyers on the arms trade limitation talks free of charge

cant have farmers with guns saying "no way" can they , things may not go as they want

look at how many of your corn farmers have been sued into oblivion

we have a few here,mainly from Iowa , they may only have bolt action rifles here but they can grow what they want for now

remember without your guns you dont get a choice and a people who cannot defend themselves , well they gotta eat what they are told eh

grow what they are told etc etc etc

BO BO made a speach as a senator on how they where so nice and wonderful

they are one of his puppet masters

they influence the UN and one of what i call the evil enterprises

those directing the UN to do what they do

remove people rights and choices
and install there own controls over humanity

on personal level they have tryed to have me and some mates here who fought against them via the courts , locked up

false charges of threatening thier boss with a gun ( loss of licence here and mandatory jail sentance) pity i was at a party with about 300 police at the time, a reunion of the Army, Navy and police who went to the Solomon Islands to end the civil war there,

Dumb eh

especially when you realise they armed the malatian eagles who where trying to take over the islands at the time , they want control of the Palm sugar industry there as its the biggest single supplier of palm sugar in the world and the courts there rejected thier patents a few years before

so they did a deal with asian gangsters and provided them with guns and tryed to have a coup,

did not work

the old SI er's may be laid back but they dont take things like that lying down

and fought back

palm sugar globally is worth $140 Billion USD annually

and Monsanto controls about 1/2 but declares only $50 Million of it, the rest they hide via the Un in varios EU nations

i know the doco by the krauts about them was blocked by the courts in the US and anyone who displays it is locked up pretty quick

PBS was going to run it but PBS took a $5 million donation and forgot about it

the whole deal sucks and not in a good way

one day the US will wake up

i hope soon

Monsanto, ICI or whatever they became , Anderson consulting ( or whatever they are now) Microsoft, Carlsyle corp ( dick cheneys mob ) halliburton all Big UN supporters, all makeing the US look like a totalitarian state and all on the anti gun anti freedom UN bandwagon

and sadly leading that pack is the press which are aussies

Packer and Murdoch

i am so ashamed eh.. when they sold out to the UN interests they grew so big so fast as they got a share of all the satellittes that US companies paid for but the UN ruled that they had to have a share, part of Globalisation

they stole all the hard work by the american free press and took over and now your press aint so free so the evil enterprises can say what they want anywhere in the world almost

as a side line who do you think gives more to Al Jazeera ?

Saudi or the US corps via thier overseas shells ??

Packer gives them 60% of thier funding

and calls him self a aussie

PTTTTToooie

slime bucket with $$$$$$$$$ and greedy for more at any cost

his grand father old Sir Frank would be rolling in his grave

cheers

jack

[pickenup]

one day the US will wake up
I SURE hope so, and with your help (letting us know how it is there) maybe they will wake up.

Thanks

[Maximilian II]

Here's the ironic part fellas- a lot of the best documentary type info about US (and apparently Aussie) "big food" corporations comes through the neo-hippie "green" types. I started hearing about this from some leftward leaning friends. It's worth looking into, even having to sometimes wade through political messages. Hippies or not, when they're right they're right. This time I believe they are. I see mostly chicken farms here as far as agriculture goes, and it can be scary.

We are eating pretty, large, cheaply produced foods that make us fat but still don't satisfy us.
If you don't believe me, eat a "grocery store" piece of produce or meat, then immediately after it eat a home-grown example of that same food. If you don't notice a difference feel free to tell me I'm wrong!

That's just the quality issue. Our American food corporations are worldwide entities that aren't afraid to use any tactics to make more money. They legally force farmers into buying their seeds or using the methods they make more money from. The individual, non-corporate farmer is on his way out.
In the old days, a land owner would provide the land while serfs, slaves, or sharecroppers provided labor. Nowadays the landowning farmer provides both while being subjugated to a corporation's directions on how to use his resources, a way that of course provides the corporation with the big profit. The farmer also takes the risk if a crop goes bad!

[5string]

I seen that documentory on Food, Inc. It is scary to think about what is going on in our food.

I guess(sp) soilent green , with charlston heston wasn't too far off. I have noticed more and more folks wanting heirloom seeds and organic.

Hybrid seeds are usually not steril, they just may not reproduce the same crop variety. But might be close to the original. It depends on what it was crossed with to start with. Does'nt mean they are bad for you, just like a cross bred cow aint bad beef.

[jack404]

actually instead of the term Hybred i think they mean the Binary hybred

like banary gas that gets around laws and treaties ( two chemicals in a shell when the shell hits the glass wall busts and the chemicals mix making a nerve gas so we can claim we dont have any nerve gas )

these are similar

seeds wont germinate without the right fertilizer ( they are missing a enzyme in the Chromsomes) plant the seeds fertilise with any other fertilizer and they wont grow

add the special fertilizer that costs 10 times the regular and yes then they'll sprout

they have not developed new plants

just plants that are missing the enzyme and a delivery system for the enzyme

and charging between 10 and 40 times normal fertilizer once your signed up and they dont tell you this before hand

you think your getting a good deal until you sign

not all the Monsanto seed is this way but this is where they are going with more and more plants every year

hope this explains it

i'm a grunt who's good with bombs because i ran away from farming

cheers

jack

[petesusn]

Since we're talking about seeds. Check this out. This article is from Feb. 26, 2008.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2008/02/26/tech-seed-vault.html

[millwright]

Hmmmm......Not what I expected per the thread title....

I'm the "owner" of several "heirloom seed strains" of tomatoes by default. The "owner" died ! I still plant them every few years to "rejuvenated" the strain - and my seed stock - to preserve them. Taste one of "mine" and you won't eat one of "theirs" !!

While I want to preserve this strain a lot of practical and political obstacles exist. I can 'donate' them to my local mud college with no guarantee they'll be preserved. I can send samples to various organizations proclaiming they'll "preserve" them sans guarantee, of course........

So I've decided upon a "diaspora solution"........I've given the seeds to everyone expressing even a glimmer of interest in hopes the strain will survive....... >MW

[the morning light]

Is there any corn that isn't genetically modified?

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/8720/monsantkidsdees.jpg (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/monsantkidsdees.jpg/)

[Maximilian II]

Millwright, your plan seems the best. Keep it going!
I'd actually like some of those seeds.

[millwright]

Max,
Send me a PM as to where to send them !! >MW

[jack404]

theres been a seed bank of traditional seeds here in Oz started in the 50's by the CSIRO ( commonwealth science information research organisation)

same seeds as the first fleeters had in 1787

but we cant send em to the US as thats ILLEGAL

despite many of them coming here via US whaling ships

oh and since BO Bo took over we cant send you booze, any food what so ever ( not even cookies)

every year i been sending some home brew beer and spirits to friends in the US and they send me thiers

no more

another reason to thank Bo Bo and his crew of clowns

[Bobitis]

Hmmmm......Not what I expected per the thread title....

I'm the "owner" of several "heirloom seed strains" of tomatoes by default. The "owner" died ! I still plant them every few years to "rejuvenated" the strain - and my seed stock - to preserve them. Taste one of "mine" and you won't eat one of "theirs" !!

While I want to preserve this strain a lot of practical and political obstacles exist. I can 'donate' them to my local mud college with no guarantee they'll be preserved. I can send samples to various organizations proclaiming they'll "preserve" them sans guarantee, of course........

So I've decided upon a "diaspora solution"........I've given the seeds to everyone expressing even a glimmer of interest in hopes the strain will survive....... >MW


How much are they?

[Maximilian II]

Jack...no more Tim Tams? BUMMER! Those little things are tasty!
Kinda like Kit Kat but better.
By the way, we have Vegemite here, not made by Kraft. Different name though. I had Kraft's, bleah!

[petesusn]

theres been a seed bank of traditional seeds here in Oz started in the 50's by the CSIRO ( commonwealth science information research organisation)

same seeds as the first fleeters had in 1787

but we cant send em to the US as thats ILLEGAL

despite many of them coming here via US whaling ships

oh and since BO Bo took over we cant send you booze, any food what so ever ( not even cookies)

every year i been sending some home brew beer and spirits to friends in the US and they send me thiers

no more

another reason to thank Bo Bo and his crew of clowns

I thought it was strange that Fosters was brewed in Georgia.

By the way Jack, is Fosters really Australian for beer as per our TV commercial?

[Heirloom Seeds]

I Have head "terminator seeds" in the past. Looks like it's the same as heirloom seeds. My mom is maintaining these kind of seeds according to its season. Thanks for sharing.

[jack404]

Cheers for the Link Heirloom

Fosters was bought by Lion Nathan UK in 1969 and relicenced globally in 1972

Fosters has been pigs swill since about 69 as they wont use real hopps but dried processed hopps only , i dunno too many Aussies that drink the stuff

VB
XXXX
Carlton Draught
these are the biggest beers in Australia

Fosters dont rate in the top 20 now


back to seed's

Terminator seed controversy
Main article: Genetic use restriction technology
In June 2007, Monsanto acquired Delta & Pine Land Company, a company that had patented a seed technology nicknamed Terminator. This technology, which was never used commercially, produces plants that have sterile seeds so they do not flower or grow fruit after the initial planting. This prevents the spread of those seeds into the wild, however it also requires customers to repurchase seed for every planting in which they use Terminator seed varieties. In recent years, widespread opposition from environmental organizations and farmer associations has grown, mainly out of the concerns that these seeds increase farmers' dependency on seed suppliers.
In 1999, Monsanto pledged not to commercialize Terminator technology.

in 2001 they denied making this promise and started fast tracking terminator styled seeds throughout the third world

59% of Monsanto's income was from suing farmer and heritage seedbanks into including their products , making them buy their products or their neighbours when see'd sown on one farm sent pollen on the wind and cross pollinated other crops , this is theft under monsanto's terms and not a accident or act of nature, but premediatated theft

nice folks eh