Seed Keepers

["Elise Lutrick" <seedsaverslist@gmail.com>]

Because, Lucy,

Although in an ideal world, GMO beets would be harvest before they
flower, it will not work that way 100% of the time, particularly since
mechanical harvesters will be used. Some of the stray beets will
remain in the ground to flower the following spring. Beets are wind
pollinated and their pollen is light, so, depending upon variety and
other conditions pollen can travel and contaminate crops up to 5 miles
away. The only practical means of protection against contamination on
a commercial basis is complete isolation. No one can afford to protect
an organic crop from GMO contamination using barrier methods, and such
contamination renders a farmer's organic crop unsalable.

Elise

On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 3:28 PM, lucy Owsley <boulderbelt@voyager.net> wrote:
> I am unhappy about GMO sugar beets but why is everyone paranoid about GMO
> Beet pollen flying around. Beets are biennial and so will be harvested long
> before they go to flower so should not be a threat in this way.
>
> If we are going to fight this do not give bad reasons for banning these
> seeds/plants because this just gives the genejockys fuel to keep on going
> with this.
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 22, 2008, at 3:50 PM, Woody wrote:
>
> Did you know that the few companies that control sugar beet production (and
> beet sugar production) in the USA are quietly switching over to ROUNDUP
> READY     sugar beets with MONSANTO technology?  Yes, right now as we
> converse,  beet seed growers in Oregon's Willammett Valley are transplanting
> planting vernalized plugs for the first mass seed crop of GMO seed.
> This means:
> Beet Sugar and all products that contain this ingredient will most likely be
> GMO
> Pollen from GMO sugar beets will soon be flying all over the sugar beet seed
> growing regions potentially contaminating table beet seed  and swiss chard
> seed.
> Organic seed growers are threatened by GMO contamination!!!!
> The Organic Seed Alliance along with High Mowing Seed and the Center for
> Food Safety and others has filed suit against the USDA APHIS for allowing
> this without proper environmental impact review  but there will be no
> imediate injunction against the planting out of this GMO material.  See
> www.seedalliance.org for more information.
> I wonder if  B.T. Cabbage won't be next.  And then what?  The government
> continues to approve these monsters without due process and prudent review.
> The government continues to resist demands to require labeling of GMO
> products.
>
>
>
> Lucy Goodman
> Boulder Belt Eco-Farm
> Eaton, OH
> http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com
>
>
>
>
>
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