Monsanto/Bayer has been proven to knowingly falsifying documentation about the severity of harm their products cause humans and the environment. In 2019 punitive damages were ordered by the court as the jury found that Monsanto “engaged in conduct with malice, oppression or fraud committed by one or more officers, directors or managing agents of Monsanto” who were acting on behalf of the company. Evidence laid out in three trials included numerous scientific studies that showed what plaintiffs’ attorneys said was proof Monsanto’s herbicides can cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. As well, the attorneys presented jurors with many internal Monsanto communications obtained through court-ordered discovery that show Monsanto has intentionally manipulated the public record to hide the cancer risks.
We home gardeners need to do our homework to make sure we purchase seeds from companies that aren’t in partnership with Bayer-Monsanto-Seminis.
It’s pretty important to make sure that none of the seeds you buy this year support Monsanto or one of the companies owned by them.
40% of US seed market is own by Monsanto GUILTY OF FRAUD and MALICIOUS HARM
In 2005, Monsanto grabbed 40% of the U.S. seed market and 20% of the global seed market when it bought out Seminis, making them the largest seed company in the world. They supply the genetics for 55% of the lettuce on U.S. supermarket shelves, 75% of the tomatoes, and 85% of the peppers, with strong holdings in beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and peas! (source)
And Monsanto has been buying up every seed company they can ever since. By going to the Seminis site, you can see their history of acquisitions. You can see Syngenta and Dow are doing the same.
Apparently, Monsanto is now legally registered or established to hold the trademark for a plethora of the named heirloom seed varieties. (See a list of names below.) This company has strategically positioned itself to profit from the growing heirloom or open-pollinated home-gardening market.
(source) Click here for zoom.it (scroll in and out version)
Bayer, Monsanto and Their Terrible Little Secrets
First, as of “2015, the Bayer takeover of Monsanto merges a chemical giant with a seed giant and leaves the control of the world’s food supply in too few hands. The merger also links two key parts of agricultural production, reducing competition in the food chain. Bayer is now expected to control 29 per cent of the global seed market and 24 per cent of the global pesticide market.
Global seed market is projected to witness a CAGR of 7.82% during the forecast period to reach a total market size of US$99.041 billion by 2022, increasing from US$67.970 billion in 2017. (source)
“Second, there are serious concerns about increased farmer dependency on a smaller number of suppliers, and higher prices due to weak competition.
“Third, the deal increases the power of an even smaller group of companies over the intellectual property, and patents that already lock up much of the world’s commercially produced food supply. The patents weaken farmers’ ability to use and reuse their own seeds.”
“Finally, there are ongoing food health and safety concerns related to the seeds and chemicals produced by these companies. Increasing their market share increases their power over the market and over the producers and consumers that use their products. In 2015, the World Health Organisation declared glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide, Roundup, as “probably carcinogenic in humans,””(source). There are THOUSANDS of court cases in the process regarding the carcinogenic components of the pesticide and Monsanto’s malicious cover-up of the harm caused to humans and the environment. You can follow the cases here.
How long will we tolerate the growing monopolization and genetic engineering of seeds by a monopolistic pesticide company that poses a deadly threat to our health, our environment and the future of our food?
(source)
4 Ways To Keep Monsanto out of Your Garden:
So, it’s pretty important to make sure that none of the seeds you buy this year support Monsanto or one of the companies owned by them.
Excellent seed companies that are NOT affiliated with Monsanto:
Our Favorite for the Treasure Valley is a LOCAL Seed-CoOp – SNAKE RIVER SEEDS
1.) Avoid buying anything from companies that are affiliated with Monsanto or Seminis. You can search the companies they do business with to avoid them as they are potentially compromised.
2.) Avoid buying seed or seedlings varieties that are trademarked and owned by Seminis or Monsanto. This includes popular tomato varieties such as ‘Early Girl’, ‘Better Boy’, and ‘Burpee’s Big Boy’, as well as a host of other common home garden varieties like ‘Habanero’ hot pepper and ‘Packman’ broccoli. These are not GMO varieties, but their purchase does profit Monsanto.
3.) Ask seed companies if they have taken the Safe Seed Pledge and tested their stock for GMOs. Here’s a list.
4.) Purchase, plant, and save seeds from heirloom varieties. We need to support Snake River Seed CoOp, Rare Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, and Clear Creek Heirloom Seeds and others that specialize in heirlooms and that are NOT owned by Monsanto or Seminis. The legacy of Seed Saver’s Exchange is to tell you how to collect and store seeds.
List of companies that specialize in heirlooms and that are NOT owned by Monsanto or Seminis:USA:
Note: Always ask questions of a company if you want to verify they are not part of the corporate giant. Things change and companies are under pressure to survive. Some may sell out.
Let’s boycott all gene-altering companies. Together, we can build a more sustainable world, one garden at a time!
Adaptive Seeds
All Good Things Organic (SW)
Amishland Seeds
Annie’s Heirloom Seeds
The Ark Institute
Backyard Beans and Grains Project
Baker Creek Seed Co. (Rare Seeds)(MW)
Beauty Beyond Belief (BBB Seeds)
Botanical Interests
Bountiful Gardens
Crispy Farms
Diane’s Flower Seeds (she has veggies now, too)
Deep Harvest Farm and SeedsFamily Farmer’s Seed Co-op
Farm Direct Seed (Hobb’s Family Farm)
Fedco Seed Co.
Garden City Seeds
Gourmet Seed
Grow Organic
Heirlooms Evermore Seeds at Azure Standard
Heirloom Seeds
Heirloom Solutions
High Mowing Seeds
Horizon Herbs
Hudson Valley Seed Library
Humbleseeds
Growing Crazy Acres
Ed Hume Seeds
Irish-Eyes
J.L Hudson
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Kitchen Garden Seeds
Knapp’s Fresh Vegies
Kusa Seed Society
Lake Valley Seeds
Landreth Seeds
Larner Seeds
The Living Seed Company
Livingston Seeds
Local Harvest
MI Gardener Organic Seeds
Moonlight Micro Farm
Mountain Rose Herbs
My Patriot Supply
Native Seeds (for the Arid Southwest)
Natural Gardening Company
New Hope Seed Company
Nichol’s Garden Nursery
Organica Seed
Organic Sanctuary (SE)
Peace Seeds
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
Prairie Road Garden
Renee’s Garden
Restoration Seeds
Sand Hill Preservation Center
Seeds Now
Select Seeds
Siskiyou Seeds (NW)
Southern Exposure
Sow True (SE)
Sustainable Seed Co
Tiny Seeds
Tomato Bob Heirloom Seeds
Tomato Fest
Trees of Antiquity
Turtle Tree Seed
Underwood Garden Seeds
Uprising Seeds
Victory Seeds
Vermont Wildflower Farm
White Harvest Seed
Wild Garden Seeds
Wildseed Farms
Wood Prairie Farm (NE)
SNAKE RIVER SEED is run by locals is a community/family based business as are many of the remaining smaller seed companies! They work extensively to supply free seeds here at home in school gardens and other educational projects. It is their goal to educate everyone about a better, safer food supply.
Don’t forget Seed-Savers! Here you can shop hundreds of heirloom, organic, non-GMO vegetable seeds and plants to grow in your garden.
RESOURCES:
The Healthy Home Economist gives us 4 ways to forget Monsanto
