permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Access to unpatented seeds, Kent Whealy and the Seed Savers Exchange

<><>
Kent Whealy responds to SSE board's letterhttp://wlkr.org/2008/02/08/
kent-whealy-responds-to-sse-boards-letter/

Kent Whealy responds to SSE board’s letter
8 Feb
Written by: Glenn Welker, filed under Gardening
<http://wlkr.org/category/gardening/>, Opinions
<http://wlkr.org/category/opinions/>.
kent whealy <http://wlkr.org/tag/kent-whealy/>, seed savers exchange
<http://wlkr.org/tag/seed-savers-exchange/>, SSE <http://wlkr.org/tag/sse/>

The conversation continues. Kent has once again sent another letter to all
listed members of the Seed Savers Exchange, SSE. In this letter he once
again tries to clarify his position and the call for a truce. At this point
it is apparent that the disagreement between Mr. Whealy and the board are
causing undo stress on the organization he founded. He outlines 3 points at
the end of the letter as conditions of this truce. Hopefully for both
sides, this separation can come to a conclusion.

I feel deeply for Kent and how this all has transpired. I also feel concern
over an organization that I have come to love. I hope that SSE can overcome
this current obstacle and I hope that Kent is given the respect and
benefits deserving of the man that created this wonderful organization.

Kent Whealy refers to a couple of new documents in his response. These can
be found on the Seed Savers web site.
Letter from Diane Ott Whealy <http://www.seedsavers.org/DianeLetter.htm>
Letter from Advisors <http://www.seedsavers.org/AdvisorsLetter.htm>

Here is the letter in its entirety. It has been slightly reformatted for
easier readability. No content has been altered.

February 4, 2008
To the Listed Members of the Seed Savers Exchange

Dear Friends,
First of all, I want to sincerely thank all of SSE’s members and friends
for the amazing avalanche of support (hundreds of e-mails, letters and
phone calls) that I’ve received during the last couple of weeks. After what
I’ve just been through, all of your messages have been deeply gratifying
and heart-warming for me, and I want to thank each and every one of you for
your kind words of appreciation and support. Your messages have touched me
deeply. Thanks to all of you.

SSE’s Board of Directors will never be able to justify how I was treated,
nor are they making any attempt to do so. Instead (in my opinion), there
has been a constant stream of two-faced rhetoric and outright lies coming
from the board’s public announcements to SSE’s members and also in letters
that SSE’s members will never see. Just one example is the board’s recent
letter to SSE’s private foundation donors that talks about my
“…..desire/plan to take over the organization by somehow installing a new
Board of Directors made up of himself and Advisors…..” (I thought I made it
clear in my previous letter that, “I do not want to come back as SSE’s
Executive Director.”) The board’s letter goes on to say “…..what is
happening may be a natural occurrence in the evolution of organizations
like SSE…..” (No, what is happening is the result of the board’s misguided
actions and incredibly poor judgment.) Another example of an outright lie
in a recent board letter is, “Kent was not asked to remain silent about his
employment at SSE” while the cover letter from SSE’s lawyer that came with
that letter is instructing me that I better not do it again.

SSE’s board is also attempting to rewrite SSE’s history, as is clearly
shown by the assertions in Diane Ott Whealy’s recent letter, “As co-founder
of the Seed Savers Exchange, I have been involved with the day-to-day
operations every day since 1975” and also “I will never have any regrets
about my decision to create and nurture SSE….” My remembrances of that
period are quite different. Diane Ott Whealy’s first real involvement was
in 1981 (six years after I founded Seed Savers), when the first Campout
Convention was held, and when I listed her and my mother as the other two
original board members of the nonprofit organization I was incorporating.
By that time I had put out six SSE yearbooks, completed the first of three
years work compiling the original Garden Seed Inventory, received SSE’s
first two grants, took on John Withee’s bean collection (1,186 varieties he
collected in the Northeast over 14 years), and gave my very first speech at
the “Seed Banks Serving People Conference” in Tucson (in which I first used
the term “heirloom vegetable varieties”). Look, I don’t care if Diane wants
to call herself “SSE’s co-founder” (she did put up with me funning SSE out
of our home for that first decade), but I should rightfully be recognized
as SSE’s founder. Diane was a stay-at-home mom (which I deeply valued), but
this rewriting of SSE’s history and the accomplishments of my life’s work
must stop right now.

During these last two weeks, many of you have asked about Diane Ott
Whealy’s involvement, because what has happened is difficult to understand
without that piece of the puzzle. For Diane Ott Whealy (in my opinion)
these last four years since the divorce have been unceasing attempts to win
over family, friends, staff, and now the board. I have refused to play
those games at all, but have taken a terrible beating for not playing.
During those four years, we have both continued to work in the same office
which has been difficult for me and SSE’s staff and board. Amy Goldman,
Neil Hamilton and Deborah Madison have all bought into Diane Ott Whealy’s
bogus grievances (in my opinion), which should never have been allowed to
affect any of the decisions of SSE’s board. Instead, I was severely
reprimanded at one board meeting (after Diane vented her grievances
privately to board members the night before) without any of the board so
much as asking me what was really going on. Just one other example of how
the board has been played – shortly before I was fired Amy Goldman
pointedly questioned me in an e-mail (to SSE’s entire board) about Diane
Ott Whealy’s ridiculous claim that I was “logging in SSE’s orchard” (which
Diane already knew wasn’t true). Although Diane Ott Whealy’s actions have
contributed greatly to creating this current situation, I don’t think she
even realizes the damage she has done to Seed Savers and its future.

Related posts:

   1. July 2009 Kent Whealy letter
   <http://wlkr.org/2009/07/23/july-2009-kent-whealy-letter/>
   2. The latest in the Kent Whealy / SeedSavers saga
   <http://wlkr.org/2009/01/14/the-latest-in-the-kent-whealy-seedsavers-saga/>
   3. Seed Savers Exchange’s Board Responds
   <http://wlkr.org/2008/01/22/seed-savers-board-responds-2/>
   4. Seed Savers, Executive Director, Kent Whealy fired!
   
<http://wlkr.org/2008/01/14/seed-savers-executive-director-kent-whealy-fired/>
   5. Seed Savers Exchange, A Hard Decision Not To Renew My Membership
   
<http://wlkr.org/2010/09/27/seed-savers-exchange-a-hard-decision-not-to-renew-my-membership/>



<><><><>
Seed Savers Exchange: The (New) Real Story Including Intrigue, Deception &
the Doomsday Vault- Excerpt of A Letter from It’s Founder

http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/

Posted on January 25, 2010 by in Farming Resources
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/category/farming-resources/>, Publications
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/category/publications/>, Statistics and
Trends <http://www.beginningfarmers.org/category/statistics-and-trends/> //
17 Comments

*<><><><> *
*Seed Saver's Exchange, Svalgard, and the USDA *by Kent Wheatly, co-founder
of *Seed Savers Exchange* The following is an excerpt from a July 2009
letter sent by the founder of Seed Saver's Exchange to SSE members. In its
2009 Catalog of Heirloom Seeds, Books and Gifts, SSE called itself "a
non-profit membership organization dedicated to conserving and promoting
heirloom vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. These include our members'
family heirlooms' and [26,000 endangered] traditional varieties from around
the world." This letter demonstrates that its original purpose has been
usurped. Those with a different motive have, by slow infiltration and
financial contributions, taken over one of humanities greatest collection
of treasures' -- seeds. Nearly three decades ago, I incorporated the Seed
Savers Exchange (SSE) as a nonprofit corporation, the only legal structure
in the U.S. designed to live on beyond its founder, which I knew would be
essential for maintaining its long-term genetic preservation projects. For
33 years I worked to create and fund SSE and the Heritage Farm and Twin
Valleys Ancient White Park cattle herd. All of my writings and photos,
every book I've ever published, every business opportunity and land deal
that ever came my way, I selflessly gave to Seed Savers. I put substantial
and highly functional facilities into place, along with an increasingly
solid staff, because I knew the transition from my leadership would be
difficult. SSE's greatest treasure is its seed collection of 26,000 rare
vegetable varieties, being permanently maintained at Heritage Farm, which
represents the legacy and combined efforts of more than 3,500 of SSE's
Listed Members who generously contributed their families' heirloom seeds to
SSE's collection during the last three decades. As stated in SSE's Articles
of Incorporation, SSE's seed collection was developed as a permanent backup
for our members' efforts (so that they could get their seeds back if ever
lost), and over the years it has become the best collection of heirloom
food crops in the world, truly a Peoples Seed Bank, like all of the
collections of traditional seeds being maintained by villages of indigenous
farmers throughout the world.
<><><><>
A year later, SSE deposited 936 more varieties, along with statements by
SSE's board that additional batches of seeds will be deposited annually
until samples of SSE's entire collection are stored in Svalbard (all 26,000
varieties). SSE's deposits in Svalbard probably include some of those
Native American seeds and, given the defiance of SSE's board, legal action
will probably be required to get those seeds returned. Amy Goldman has
purchased SSE's highly questionable relationship with Svalbard by means of
SSE's seed collection and a $1 million grant that the Lillian Goldman
Charitable Trust, her mother's foundation, just made to the Global Crop
Diversity Trust, which is the entity that oversees and regulates Svalbard.
It is headed by Cary Fowler, also on the SSE board of directors, and is
backed by corporate donors Seminis and DuPont/Pioneer (two of the gene
giants he used to fight so hard against). *Amy Goldman* Amy Goldman is on
the board of the New York Botanical Garden, a group that has traditionally
ignored the FAO Treaty, (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization),
and adheres instead to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty
because it endorses "national sovereignty" over seeds, recognizes the
intellectual property rights of indigenous farmers and attempts to provide
revenue sharing. The FAO Treaty claims to be "in harmony with the CBD
treaty" but doesn't even recognize "country of origin." The U.S. hasn't
signed the FAO Treaty yet, but has refused to ratify the CBD treaty; and
the USDA is already making extensive deposits in Svalbard, including many
Mexican varieties from the USDA's seed collection. Many developing
countries who do not accept the FAO Treaty have seen samples from their
countries placed in Svalbard without their permission (right now there are
79,404 Mexican varieties in Svalbard even though Mexico hasn't signed the
FAO Treaty). Indeed, the real purpose of Svalbard, far from being just safe
storage, is to allow national seed banks and the CGIAR [*Consultive Group
on International Agriculture Research*] institutes who hold samples from
other countries to place those samples in Svalbard under the FAO Treaty
without national permission. Derivatives of samples can then be patented
without knowledge or permission of the country of origin, which is a real
kick in the teeth for farmers in developing countries. Since my
termination, I have been contacted by several people who have told me that
it is not an uncommon occurrence for the founder of a nonprofit
organization to be thrown out, especially when it is extremely successful
(either financially successful or has a great reputation with lots of media
involved). Each described situations they had been through or witnessed,
and warned that board members interested in using an organization for their
own personal agendas will patiently wait in the background for years until
an opportunity presents itself, and then will make their moves. Looking
back that is exactly what Amy Goldman did, attending board meeting after
board meeting, occasionally writing a large check from the Lillian Goldman
Charitable Trust, while she placed people on SSE's board who were
financially beholden to her. During the last decade she used her position
as one of SSE's funders to demand access to SSE's assets for her own
personal use. She has used SSE's staff inappropriately to do research for
her books during work hours, and has demanded preferential access to SSE's
rarest seeds which have provided many of the photos for her books. When she
alienated me and lost my support, her future publishing depended on taking
over SSE and forcing me out.
<><><><>


Seed Savers Exchange: The (New) Real Story Including Intrigue, Deception &
the Doomsday Vault- Excerpt of A Letter from It’s Founder

Posted on January 25, 2010 by in Farming Resources
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/category/farming-resources/>, Publications
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/category/publications/>, Statistics and
Trends <http://www.beginningfarmers.org/category/statistics-and-trends/> //
17 Comments

*Seed Saver's Exchange, Svalgard, and the USDA *by Kent Wheatly, co-founder
of *Seed Savers Exchange* The following is an excerpt from a July 2009
letter sent by the founder of Seed Saver's Exchange to SSE members. In its
2009 Catalog of Heirloom Seeds, Books and Gifts, SSE called itself "a
non-profit membership organization dedicated to conserving and promoting
heirloom vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. These include our members'
family heirlooms' and [26,000 endangered] traditional varieties from around
the world." This letter demonstrates that its original purpose has been
usurped. Those with a different motive have, by slow infiltration and
financial contributions, taken over one of humanities greatest collection
of treasures' -- seeds. Nearly three decades ago, I incorporated the Seed
Savers Exchange (SSE) as a nonprofit corporation, the only legal structure
in the U.S. designed to live on beyond its founder, which I knew would be
essential for maintaining its long-term genetic preservation projects. For
33 years I worked to create and fund SSE and the Heritage Farm and Twin
Valleys Ancient White Park cattle herd. All of my writings and photos,
every book I've ever published, every business opportunity and land deal
that ever came my way, I selflessly gave to Seed Savers. I put substantial
and highly functional facilities into place, along with an increasingly
solid staff, because I knew the transition from my leadership would be
difficult. SSE's greatest treasure is its seed collection of 26,000 rare
vegetable varieties, being permanently maintained at Heritage Farm, which
represents the legacy and combined efforts of more than 3,500 of SSE's
Listed Members who generously contributed their families' heirloom seeds to
SSE's collection during the last three decades. As stated in SSE's Articles
of Incorporation, SSE's seed collection was developed as a permanent backup
for our members' efforts (so that they could get their seeds back if ever
lost), and over the years it has become the best collection of heirloom
food crops in the world, truly a Peoples Seed Bank, like all of the
collections of traditional seeds being maintained by villages of indigenous
farmers throughout the world. I remember two decades ago when trust in Seed
Savers had grown to the point that Native Americans began offering their
sacred seeds through SSE's Yearbooks. In 2005 Gary Nabhan, one of our
advisors, was able to give back samples of all of the Hopi varieties to the
Hopi in a ceremony that was the largest repatriation of native seeds in
history. I had anticipated repatriating most of the Native American
varieties in SSE's collection to their respective tribes, about 140 Indian
varieties from 40 different sovereign nations. But Amy Goldman [the new
head of the board of directors] doesn't share my reverence and respect for
SSE's seed collection. Her unilateral actions have now made possible the
patenting of 485 varieties that [under her leadership] SSE deposited at
Svalbard's official opening in February 2008. [Svalbard, a giant arctic
"Doomsday Seed Vault" located in northern Norway, was built by the
Rockefeller and Gates Foundations and Agribusiness giants Syngenta and
Monsanto ? the largest patent owner in the world of genetically modified
seed. It is operated by gene bank NorGen (See I.O. 12/07 and 10/08).]
A year later, SSE deposited 936 more varieties, along with statements by
SSE's board that additional batches of seeds will be deposited annually
until samples of SSE's entire collection are stored in Svalbard (all 26,000
varieties). SSE's deposits in Svalbard probably include some of those
Native American seeds and, given the defiance of SSE's board, legal action
will probably be required to get those seeds returned. Amy Goldman has
purchased SSE's highly questionable relationship with Svalbard by means of
SSE's seed collection and a $1 million grant that the Lillian Goldman
Charitable Trust, her mother's foundation, just made to the Global Crop
Diversity Trust, which is the entity that oversees and regulates Svalbard.
It is headed by Cary Fowler, also on the SSE board of directors, and is
backed by corporate donors Seminis and DuPont/Pioneer (two of the gene
giants he used to fight so hard against). *Amy Goldman* Amy Goldman is on
the board of the New York Botanical Garden, a group that has traditionally
ignored the FAO Treaty, (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization),
and adheres instead to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty
because it endorses "national sovereignty" over seeds, recognizes the
intellectual property rights of indigenous farmers and attempts to provide
revenue sharing. The FAO Treaty claims to be "in harmony with the CBD
treaty" but doesn't even recognize "country of origin." The U.S. hasn't
signed the FAO Treaty yet, but has refused to ratify the CBD treaty; and
the USDA is already making extensive deposits in Svalbard, including many
Mexican varieties from the USDA's seed collection. Many developing
countries who do not accept the FAO Treaty have seen samples from their
countries placed in Svalbard without their permission (right now there are
79,404 Mexican varieties in Svalbard even though Mexico hasn't signed the
FAO Treaty). Indeed, the real purpose of Svalbard, far from being just safe
storage, is to allow national seed banks and the CGIAR [*Consultive Group
on International Agriculture Research*] institutes who hold samples from
other countries to place those samples in Svalbard under the FAO Treaty
without national permission. Derivatives of samples can then be patented
without knowledge or permission of the country of origin, which is a real
kick in the teeth for farmers in developing countries. Since my
termination, I have been contacted by several people who have told me that
it is not an uncommon occurrence for the founder of a nonprofit
organization to be thrown out, especially when it is extremely successful
(either financially successful or has a great reputation with lots of media
involved). Each described situations they had been through or witnessed,
and warned that board members interested in using an organization for their
own personal agendas will patiently wait in the background for years until
an opportunity presents itself, and then will make their moves. Looking
back that is exactly what Amy Goldman did, attending board meeting after
board meeting, occasionally writing a large check from the Lillian Goldman
Charitable Trust, while she placed people on SSE's board who were
financially beholden to her. During the last decade she used her position
as one of SSE's funders to demand access to SSE's assets for her own
personal use. She has used SSE's staff inappropriately to do research for
her books during work hours, and has demanded preferential access to SSE's
rarest seeds which have provided many of the photos for her books. When she
alienated me and lost my support, her future publishing depended on taking
over SSE and forcing me out. *Cary Fowler* Back in 1979 I worked with Cary
Fowler, co-author of *Shattering: Food, Politics and the Loss of Genetic
Diversity*, published in 1990 to oppose "UPOV legislation" in the U.S.
(Geneva-based plant variety protection legislation with its Common
Catalogue that has outlawed and caused the extinction of thousands of food
varieties as each successive country joined the European Union). He and I
first met at Gary Nabhan's "Seed Banks Serving People" conference in Tucson
in 1981. I have watched Cary Fowler's career for more than 30 years, all
the way from the Frank Porter Graham Center in North Carolina to the United
Nations in Rome. That path has apparently required abandoning some of his
former ideals, such as championing the rights of indigenous farmers. In
turn, Cary Fowler has watched for 26 years as I put together the best
collection of heirloom food crops in the world, so it is despicable that he
never said one word to me about putting SSE's seeds into his "doomsday
vault." Right now Cary Fowler is moving heaven and earth to place as many
seed collections as possible under the control of the FAO Treaty. But
despite all of his rhetoric about protecting genetic resources and needing
to get past the contentiousness of the Seed Wars a decade ago, this is
still just legally legitimized biopiracy. By putting SSE's seeds into
Svalbard and under control of the FAO Treaty, Amy Goldman and SSE's board
have broken the trust of thousands of SSE's members who have sent samples
to SSE's collection believing that their families' heirloom seeds would
always be maintained and protected from misuse and patenting. SSE's secret
arrangement with Svalbard is the most serious threat that Seed Savers has
ever faced! Svalbard?s Trojan horse publicity is designed to focus the
public's attention strictly on the Svalbard seed vault and its claims of
saving the world's food production from climate change and nuclear
catastrophe, with never any mention of the FAO Treaty whose real purpose is
to facilitate access to the world's genetic resources for breeding purposes
and patenting. *SSE's actions a violation of law* There are serious
questions concerning whether or not Amy Goldman and SSE's board have the
legal right to turn over the assets of a U.S. nonprofit to the control of a
United Nations treaty. So far SSE's board has refused to make public the
documents signed with Cary Fowler, and they have lied to SSE's members
through their publications and website about the true nature of Svalbard
and the obligations the treaty places on SSE. All depositors are required
to sign the Svalbard Depositors Agreement that links those deposits to the
FAO Treaty, Article 7 of which states, "The Depositor agrees to make
available from their own stocks samples of accessions of the deposited
plant genetic resources and associated available non-confidential
information to other natural or legal persons in accordance with the
following terms and conditions:.... " The agreement goes on to dictate that
"original samples" (other seeds of those varieties stored in the seed
vaults at Heritage Farm) are also covered by the FAO Treaty. By signing the
treaty, Seed Savers cannot refuse any requests for seeds of those deposited
varieties (Monsanto and others now can, as a right, request those varieties
from SSE's own seed vaults at Heritage Farm, splice in GMOs, then patent
and sell the seed). Indeed, a 1.1% tax on patents from "derivatives" of the
varieties in Svalbard is the main way the FAO Treaty will generate funding.
The entire Svalrard agreement was done behind the scenes in conversations
with Amy Goldman, probably because they both knew I would oppose such
efforts. Svalbard has never been a necessary step for SSE - duplicate
samples of SSE's seed collection are already stored in an underground seed
vault at Heritage Farm as insurance against fire and tornadoes, plus
another set of duplicate samples is in "black box storage" at the National
Seed Storage Lab in Fort Collins, Colorado. (Black box storage means the
seeds are only being stored against catastrophic loss and that the samples,
which still belong entirely to SSE, can be returned at any time upon
request.) When first confronted with my letter to SSE's members expressing
my concerns about Svalbard, SSE issued a defensive statement (posted in
SSE's chat room, but then pulled a day later) claiming the seeds in
Svalbard belong entirely to SSE and cannot be distributed, patenting cannot
occur, SSE can get its seeds back upon request, and SSE has the signed
contracts stating all that. While it is true that the samples of seeds
actually stored in Svalbard can't be distributed, it is the linking of
those deposits to the FAO Treaty that facilitates the distribution and
patenting. A more extensive letter was later posted on the SSE website
defending SSE's relationship with Svalbard and claiming there is no linkage
between Svalbard's Depositors Agreement and the FAO Treaty, which is an
outright lie. That letter goes on to argue that Monsanto has had the legal
ability to obtain and genetically modify our heirloom varieties ever since
Heritage Farm started distributing portions of SSE's seed collection
through the yearbook. Well, there is a huge difference between obtaining a
few varieties from SSE's yearbooks and these deliberate actions by SSE's
board that will gradually open up SSE's entire seed collection to Monsanto
and similar players. If it's written into the treaty, it will eventually
happen, exactly the same way that the rights of farmers to save their own
seeds have gradually been made illegal by similar treaties. *Neil Hamilton* 
Amy
Goldman has continually overreached her power as the Chair of SSE's Board,
and Neil Hamilton is responsible for enabling her abuse. Amy Goldman did
not have the right to usurp the duties of SSE's Executive Director (which
she did repeatedly before I was fired), but with Neil Hamilton's legal
advice and guidance they rewrote SSE's Bylaws to give her that power. Neil
Hamilton has proven to be an opportunistic, self-serving, deceitful little
man. A decade ago he was involved in a similar transformation of the
National Gardening Association in Burlington, Vermont, during which NGA's
"electronic assets" (all articles and photos from its past publications)
were sold for $3 million and the organization's focus was changed from
garden research to children?s gardens. Neil Hamilton has used tactics
learned at NGA to enable Amy Goldman's takeover of Seed Savers. And
although each of SSE's board members is supposed to annually sign a
Conflict of Interest Statement to identify any self-serving financial
relationships that board members have with SSE, the financial relationship
between Amy Goldman and Neil Hamilton ($70,000 by the Lillian Goldman
Charitable Trust given during 2007 to Drake University where Neil Hamilton
is head of the Agricultural Law Center) has never been disclosed. Neil
Hamilton is a social climbing politico, throwing garden parties in Des
Moines for his buddy Tom Vilsack, then widely known in Iowa as the Hog Lot
Governor (for blocking DNR regulation of all facilities with less than
4,000 hogs) and also named Governor of the Year in 2002 by "BIO"
(Biotechnology Industry Organization) for his enthusiastic approval of open
air tests of "pharma crops" (pharmaceuticals produced in our food supply).
Tom Vilsack, the Obama Administration's new Secretary of Agriculture
despite more than 100,000 letters of protest, recently came back from the
G8 financial summit vowing to do much more than the Bush administration to
force genetically modified foods down the world's throat. And *Neil
Hamilton* is right in there as *Chair of the National Genetic Resources
Program*, a USDA committee composed mainly of agricultural industry leaders
who advise the Secretary of Agriculture. For more than a decade SSE's
publications have reprinted articles to keep our members informed about the
battle over genetically modified foods, because Terminator technology is
the antithesis of SSE's efforts to make our families' heirloom seeds freely
available to other gardeners. (*Terminator technology was originally
developed as a taxpayer-funded USDA joint project for genetically
engineered seeds to kill their own embryos with the stated goal of
preventing 1.4 billion peasant farmers from saving the seeds their families
depend on for food*). USDA and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
continue to block the labeling of genetically modified foods in grocery
stores throughout the U.S. Using the citizens of the U.S. as guinea pigs
for Monsanto's genetically modified food crops is unconscionable, but
deliberately breaking the chain of the seed after 12,000 years to
genetically prevent seed saving by peasant farmers is really sick -- it's
anti-farmer, anti-nature and anti-life. Instead of the usual 12-20 pages of
articles about GMOs, SSE's latest issue contains only one article and soon
there will be none. That will leave SSE's members in the dark about these
vital issues, while also silencing a strong critic of agricultural
biotechnology at the far end of the spectrum from Neil Hamilton, Tom
Vilsack and the USDA's misguided policies. *The future of SSE* I now
believe that Amy Goldman and SSE's board never intended for there to be any
transition, because they don't intend to carry on with my projects. The *four
board members* who voted to terminate me: *Amy Goldman*, *Neil
Hamilton*, *Deborah
Madison* and *Rob Johnston Jr.* have lied to SSE's advisors, members,
funders and donors, maliciously attacked those who disagree with their
actions, and created a wall of secrecy that would make any funder think
twice. SSE's long-term funders (some have been supporters every year since
1982) were reportedly "horrified" by the board's actions. The brutal way I
was terminated and the subsequent lies by SSE's board in defense of their
actions have destroyed the trust of SSE's members. I am deeply concerned
that the files from my former office will be destroyed as Amy Goldman
systematically attempts to write me out of SSE's history. I was terminated
without any warning and separated from my writings and photos. Since I
never maintained a personal office at home, the entire history of the 33
years I guided Seed Savers was in file cabinets and on my computer in my
office at Heritage Farm. Since last July I have been trying to regain
access to and usage of my files. I have only been asking SSE's board for
"non-exclusive usage" - not ownership, just permission to reprint my
writings and photos that have already appeared in SSE's publications, and
to be able to copy portions of my former files, costing SSE nothing.
Without any reasonable justification, SSE's board has refused. To gain even
partial access to my writings, speeches and photos would have required
signing away my voice, which I will never do. Nothing will change until Amy
Goldman is removed completely from SSE's board, along with all those
financially beholden to her and all others who would use SSE for their own
personal agendas. That most certainly includes Neil Hamilton, who has
facilitated and empowered this entire debacle. The good news is that all of
this is reversible ? Svalbard depositors can annul the agreement and
recover their seeds. Someone whose seeds are in SSE's collection (Native
American or SSE member ) needs to act and will have my full support -
indeed, deserves all of our support - in making that legal challenge. What
I've had to go through has been vicious and is indefensible. I have been
completely shut out of the organization and genetic preservation projects
that I love so deeply and have been treated like some sort of criminal who
is a danger to our organization. All of us love and have worked so hard for
the beautiful idea that is Seed Savers and it is inconceivable that the
Seed Savers Exchange should now be treated so lightly and with such
disrespect. I am deeply grateful for the help and support that all of you
have shared so selflessly, especially your families' seeds. My 33 years
with Seed Savers has been a truly fascinating journey, filled with joy and
deep satisfaction. I sincerely thank all of you for that. More than likely
this will be my final communication with all of you. In closing, I wan t to
acknowledge the deep sorrow that so many people across the country are
feeling right now. My greatest fear is that our Listed Members will start
to pull back and turn away from SSE but that will only make things worse.
Please do everything you can to make sure that our annual seed exchange
continues and thrives, because selfless seed sharing has created
opportunities for gardeners everywhere. If SSE?s seed exchange dwindles
down, then three decades of work by more than 3,500 Listed Members will
indeed have been destroyed. Please don't let that happen. There is too much
at stake to let self-serving personal agendas and misguided decisions ruin
everything that all of us have worked so hard to accomplish. Please
continue to support and participate and stand by Seed Savers. All of this
can still be turned around. No lie lives forever.

<><><><>

A few of the comments:


   1. Elise <http://comoxvalleygrowersandseedsavers.ca> // January 31, 2010
   at 10:46 am
   
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/#comment-1278>
   // Reply
   
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/?replytocom=1278#respond>

   The Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers was approached by a supposed
   ‘farmer’s seed security’ project but we found that the organizer had ties
   to Monsanto, we thought we were small enough to stay under the radar. At
   least we’re small enough to make fast decisions and refuse suspicious
   offers. The only way to keep seeds in the hands of everyone is to refuse to
   eat processed and refined foods, which are bad for you anyway. Eat good
   food, grow it yourself, buy at the farmer’s market, share your seeds. It’s
   something we can all do.
   2. David King <http://www.lagardenblog.com/> // May 23, 2011 at 4:31 pm
   
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/#comment-9837>
   // Reply
   
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/?replytocom=9837#respond>

   I wish this post could be taken down. Since 2009 none of Kent’s
   predictions have come true, SSE is stronger and more vibrant than ever
   before. I think Mr. Wheatly has brought upon himself a lot of sadness and
   is having to live with some very bad choices he made. I admire him for all
   he has done for mankind. I do believe however, by now he must have moved on
   and so should the rest of the world – this post is ancient (2009) and
   should be considered in the light of the circumstances existing between
   Wheatly and the board of SSE at that very sad time. I have been, and
   continue to be a proud member of SSE.

   david
   3. Kathryn Stout // June 18, 2011 at 2:06 pm
   
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/#comment-9974>
   // Reply
   
<http://www.beginningfarmers.org/seed-savers-exchange-the-new-real-story-including-intrigue-deception-the-doomsday-vault-excerpt-of-a-letter-from-its-founder/?replytocom=9974#respond>

   I hope someone will take up the legal challenge of getting SSE’s seeds
   out of Svalbard. I do not want to see them patented or manipulated
   genetically by the likes of Monsanto. If Svalbard provides the opportunity
   for that, then people have to stop supporting Svalbard. Rob Johnston Jr.
   (founder of Johnny’s) recently made a statement that he thinks as
   conventional agriculture becomes more environmentally sound, and organic
   agriculture becomes more sophisticated, they will merge. Music to the ears
   of Monsanto. Monsanto promotes RoundUp and GE as environmentally sound.
   They’ll cross-pollinate organic and non-GE out of existence, if they aren’t
   stopped. We cannot cooperate with Monsanto, or seed patenting, or genetic
   engineering, in any way, shape, or form. My sorrow to Kent Wheatly. Calling
   2009 “ancient” and blaming Mr Wheatly is inexcusable.

<><><><>

And more links:
The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food
<https://books.google.com/books?id=TKLJxZPdyyQC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=Kent+Whealy+letter+to+the+public&source=bl&ots=hzs3gpd1DX&sig=gEHWe8HdQz3qt_H45EZ-i2x2-dU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivxJPqo67TAhWk6YMKHdPgDc8Q6AEIUjAH>
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1603583076
Janisse Ray
<https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Janisse+Ray%22&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivxJPqo67TAhWk6YMKHdPgDc8Q9AgIUzAH>
- 2012 - ‎Social Science
*Kent Whealy* went on to say that “original samples,” those stored back in
the home country, are also covered by the order. In a 2010 *public letter*
of rebuttal, the ...
Kent Whealy - Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Whealy>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Whealy
*Kent Whealy* (born 1946) is an American activist, journalist and
philanthropist who co-founded Seed Savers Exchange and has promoted organic
agriculture ...
[PDF]Svalbard Doomsday Vault: Biopiracy by UN Treaty - Center for Food ...
<http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/land-inst-svalbard-portion_40085.pdf>
www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/land-inst-svalbard-portion_40085.pdf
Sep 26, 2010 - Speech by *Kent Whealy* ... Members and the gardening
*public*. ... SSE's Board has refused to make *public* the documents signed
with ... A more extensive *letter*, posted later and still on SSE's
website, claims there is no linkage.




-- 
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/site/avantgeared