[Market-farming] Gurney's Cold Set Open Pollinated Tomato

Road's End Farm organic87 at frontiernet.net
Tue Apr 1 17:05:07 EDT 2008


Not all soy is GMO; though it may take some looking to find non-GMO 
seed.

If "open pollinated" is part of the name, then either it's open 
pollinated (not a hybrid) or the seller isn't worth dealing with. Open 
pollinated seed can be GMO, just as not all hybrid seed is GMO (most of 
it isn't, in vegetables).

I would ask Gurney's whether it's GMO; and, if they say not, ask if 
they'll send you, with the seed, a note saying "to the best of our 
knowledge the seed we have sold you is not genetically engineered". 
Certified organic growers are required to get a statement like that 
with all seed that we buy, if there's no statement to that effect 
already printed in the seed catalogue; so they shouldn't be astonished 
at the request. If you can't get the statement, and if this matters to 
you, then don't buy/plant the seed.

The phrase "to the best of our knowledge" is generally included as 
nobody's willing to guarantee absolutely no chance of accidental 
contamination. That shouldn't be likely in tomatoes, but has happened 
in corn.

(I just looked up Gurney's on Garden Web and they've got very mixed 
ratings. I've never ordered from them myself, so can't give an 
opinion.)

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale

On Apr 1, 2008, at 3:40 PM, lucy Owsley wrote:

> all soy is OP  and GMO. Doesn't seem to matter what kind of seed you 
> start with when gene splicing. But if you buy GMO's in the US you will 
> sign a contract saying you will not save seed so if no contract 
> probably not a GMO seed.
> On Apr 1, 2008, at 3:30 PM, Sean Albiston wrote:
>
>> By definition a open pollinated variety is not a hybrid. Couldn't 
>> imagine
>> OP seeds being GM either.
>>
>> sean
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Does anyone know if Gurney's Cold Set Open Pollinated Tomato is a 
>>> hybrid or
>>> GM seed ?
>>
>>
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