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Gardens and Illegal Veggies
From Off the Mark and Roaming by Amelia Sides
March 14, 2009
I had a strange conversation at work last week. We were talking about what we had done that morning before work. I said I started planting my garden and moving plants back outside. She wanted to know what I had planted and such, but when I said I was planting potatoes, I got the weirdest look. “You can do that?” Where do people think that produce comes from, a cave? I explained I only grow baby potatoes since I am container growing, but you could grow real potatoes, yes.
Has anyone seen the new stickers on apples and such that say it is illegal to propagate them, whether you sale the produce or not? If my potatoes start growing shoots I cut out the eyes and plant them, get a really good squash, save the seeds for next spring. How can they say it is illegal to grow vegetables? I try to avoid these labels because what if they have erradiated the seeds so they will not grow? What would that do to the rest of the fruit or vegetable?
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1. by Laura Parisi on Mar 14, 2009 at 5:08 PM PDT
It’s logical that anyone should be able to plant a seed and let it go. Of course, that’s not the way agribusiness works. Seeds are considered “intellectual property,” and therefore planting one is “stealing.” It’s absurd. I’d steer clear of any fruit or vegetable with a sticker like that.
Not to mention that planting an apple seed ain’t gonna grow a tree that produces tasty apples... seems like an unnecessary sticker to me.
2. by Jen Richmond on Mar 18, 2009 at 1:18 PM PDT
Yeah, you’re seeing gmo fruits and veggies; step away from the food, ma’am, its’ genes belong to Mansanto Corp.
3. by anonymous on Sep 20, 2009 at 8:52 PM PDT
The documentary, The Future of Food, provided me with some helpful information on GMF’s. I just still can’t believe that these companies are legally allowed to patent life like this, and then sue people using these patents as precedent, that’s just crazy! I’d sue them back for bioterrorism and for contamination of my crops. Many countries rely on the seeds they get from their yearly crops, and so what happens if someone in the US decides to patent that particular seed?
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