Seed Keepers

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

Lucy,

Are you absolutely sure that NONE of those GMO beet plantings are
being done for the purposes of producing GMO seeds for sale to
gullible farmers? They have to be raising them in a massive manner
SOMEWHERE, and where ever that place is will have GMO beet pollen in
an abundance plentiful enough to contaminate every beet field for
miles.

Also, I don't know that I quite buy the claim that 100% of all such
beets will be harvested in the year in which they are planted.

I garden about 2 acres. I have had turnips reappear in the spring and
bloom after they have been plowed under. And I pay attention to
detail. These folks will not care about the details. Profit is the
goal.

As an analogy, in commercial chicken houses there are always some
birds that are not harvested because they run around the periphery of
the house. At some point the cost of gathering the last few more than
offsets the benefit of catching them, and so they are left behind.

It will be the same thing with the beets. People are fallible, and
they are sloppy. Life (and death) sometimes gets in the way. Harvest
does not always occur. Rains come and wash planted seed downstream and
they sprout and grow outside the area maintained by mechanical
cultivators or seed is accidently scattered in unplanned places. In
large-scale commercial farming, harvest will only be done on a scale
that is fiscally profitable. I just do not buy the suggestion that any
extra effort will be expended to round up any plants that grow outside
the designated mechanical harvest area.

On top of that, Mother Nature is fickle. There is the way she usually
does things. But there is also usually an exception.

The effects of even a small-scale contamination of this sort will be
cumulative to those who save their own seeds. And contamination of
this sort will not be easily contained or reversed.

Elise



On Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 6:49 AM, lucy Owsley <boulderbelt@voyager.net> wrote:
> i know about the Monsanto vs Schmieser case. But canola is an ANNUAL crop
> that makes flowers/pollen/seed/ the same year it is planted. beets are
> BIENNIAL which means they have to be over wintered in order to make
> flowers/pollen/seed the following year after they have been planted.
>
> My point is the GMO beets grown for the suugar trade will be harvested long
> before they go to seed.make pollen. Thus should not be a problem for anyone
> growing out beets or chard for seed. And if this becomes a problem Isolate
> the flowering beets with hoop houses (this is what I do with my chard I save
> for seed)
>
> Thus the argument that GMO beets are bad because they will cropss pollinate
> is not a good argument and we can come up with much better ones. I have been
> in the anti-GMO fight a long time (15+ years) and one thing I have learned
> is if you come up with a bad arguement that the Biotech shills can poke
> holes in they will and they will turn the argument back on you quickly and
> with devistating effects. they are good at what they do. So choose your
> arguements and examples carefully. beet pollen can be shot down too easily
> (I just did it using the fact beets are beiennial and that a food crop will
> be 100% harvested the 1st year so no pollen to contaminate non GMO beets the
> second. this is basic plant sex people, don't get blinded by your rage)
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 22, 2008, at 5:13 PM, mayo.eh wrote:
>
>    You might want to read about Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian grower sued by
> Monsanto because their GMO pollen contaminated and ruined his crop!
> http://www.percyschmeiser.com/
>
>     The website above explains the reason for, and the beginning of, the
> lawsuit.  The movie by Deb Garcia "The Future of Food" brings the story up
> to date, explaining how Percy lost (not only the lawsuit but his life
> savings) and Monsanto won this ridiculous suit.  There are interviews with
> other farmers as they experience the problem themselves and show their anger
> at first, then do an about-face after Monsanto gets to them.   It's
> definitely worth watching.   http://www.thefutureoffood.com/
>
> Greenly,
> Mayo
>
> By the way, it's great to have this up and going with seed and plant
> questions.  Thank you, Lawrence.
>
>
>
>
> Because when I grow beet or sweet chard seed organically to supply organic
> farmers and gardeners, some of the GMO pollen will get into the female
> flowers of my organic beets or chard and then my organic seed will be
> contaminated.  Then someone tests the seed and finds GMO and then it would
> no longer be organic nor pure and I would have my crop rejected.  I did not
> ask for the pollen to come and contaminate my table beet seed or swiss chard
> seed - it is trespassing on my place - but I (or other organic seed grower)
> would be the loser - the victem.  Don' t think that is worth caring about?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: lucy Owsley <mailto:boulderbelt@voyager.net>
> To: seedkeepers <mailto:seedkeepers@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 1:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [seedkeepers] Thanks to Lawrence
>
> 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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> Lucy Goodman
> Boulder Belt Eco-Farm
> Eaton, OH
> http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com
>
>
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