permaculture

[SArjuna@aol.com]

I asked a friend who works inside the world of seed/variety saving for an 
informed view of the changes at SSE and Seeds of Change, which to some appear 
to be hostile takeovers, and received the following.
-Shivani in Wi

Seed Saver’s Exchange, co-founded by Kent Whealy, was the product of many 
other people’s work as well as KW’s.   But KW hogged pretty nearly 100% of 
the credit.   The handful of varieties collected originally by KW as well as 
the thousands collected by others are still there and still available.   KW 
ultimately got deposed for behaving in a way that, as best I can evaluate, 
would pretty much require any board of directors to fire him.   As far as I 
know, none of the volunteers, advisors, specialty area curators, or employees 
jumped ship.   That pretty much says it all, I think.   Now the current 
issues of SSE publications seem to feature many of those involved in SSE and 
the seed saving movement instead of just KW.   KW’s skill at publicity was 
undoubtedly crucial to SSE’s success initially.   But I’ll bet some of the 
others are glad to finally be getting at least a little credit for their 
work.  
 So KW’s lifework has not been “lost.”   And it wasn’t so totally his 
lifework as he made it seem to outsiders.   The success of SSE was the 
accomplishment of many.   And it wasn’t any kind of Monsanto takeover.   It 
was more 
an internal upheaval, I think, one that was probably long overdue.   So don’
t worry.   SSE is fine.       

As for Seeds of Change, clearly something has happened, but it isn’t yet 
clear what.   However, the research and plant breeding was and is nearly all 
done in Oregon by Alan Kapuler, not in New Mexico.   The Seeds of Change 
Research Farm was a research farm mostly in name only.   It did do variety 
trials, however.   Alan Kapuler, a co-founder, is now retired as Research 
Director of Seeds of Change, but he continues to do research in his Oregon 
gardens. 
  And he is breeding plants faster and more furiously than ever, and 
introduces them through both his own small seed company Peace Seeds as well 
as 
through Seeds of Change.   Mars bought Seeds of Change years ago and saved it 
from financial ruin.   Mars is now heavily involved in promoting the growing 
of chocolate organically, and has introduced a line of organic (non-candy) 
foods.   The Seeds of Change Research Farm in New Mexico probably never made 
sense economically.   And moving the warehouse and company headquarters to 
California where the organic food operation is probably also makes financial 
sense.   However, I don’t yet know exactly what is going on, or who has been 
fired or not fired, or whether the SOC scope or mission is going to be 
changing.     

As for people being fired without warning and escorted off the property by 
security—that seems to be pretty much the norm with corporations these days. 
  (I don’t know if that is what SOC did to anybody, but that is what SSE 
did to KW.)   Many such companies are pretty much their mailing lists.   So 
the company needs to keep the fired employee from stealing the mailing list, 
which most would certainly do if they had warning.   Alternately, these days, 
a pissed off employee could screw up a computer system or send nasty emails 
to all the mailing list.   Usually, the company has to give a couple weeks 
or more of pay to employees, the amount represented by whatever notice 
employees are supposed to get.   But usually the company cannot really afford 
to 
have the employees around once they have been notified that they have been 
fired.   It’s hard and humiliating for the fired employees, undoubtedly.   
But I rather suspect any company that behaves otherwise these days comes to 
regret it pretty fast.













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