[permaculture] changes at seed saver's exchange

Marimike6 at cs.com Marimike6 at cs.com
Sun Jan 20 13:18:11 EST 2008


This is a sad, ugly mess. And one that seems to be happening more and more 
now, as naive and unprotected individuals try to keep to the high road, while 
ignoring the artful termites that bore beneath them.

The trouble is that overwhelmingly, people directly involved in such sordid 
affairs elect to keep mum-- largely for fear of legal retaliation. Here's an 
example of the kind of scuttlebutt we're hearing:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0119190329556.html?7

Here also, for our edification, is the new reformulated SSE's officially 
worded response:

http://seedsavers.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~108.asp

I don't know about you, but I find this kind of "clarification" to be sadly 
and terribly inadequate. And I find the winners in this affair to be the kinds 
of creatures that flourish in the dark.

Be all that as it may, what we have appears to be an abrupt rupture in 
continuity, and a profound deviation from the original mission of the Exchange-- in 
fact, its legal reformulation. 

This is purely an outsider's view, and I am not privy to any of the 
proceedings. Nor do I know any of the players. I'm just going from appearances and 
offering my uninformed opinion. But it looks to me as though anyone who 
contributed either money or sweat equity into the maintenance of the Seed Savers' 
Exchange over the years since it's founding have just seen their equity stolen by 
people who've apparently come from nowhere-- and who are ready to sue anyone who 
objects to their primacy.

Welcome to the modern world. I feel like some kind of heirloom.

Michael   


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