Plant a Little Information

Just in case you missed the memo, most of the seed in the USA, and a large amount of seeds in the world are produced by or for Monsanto. If you work for Monsanto, don't take this personally - people need jobs. However, variety is not only the spice of life, it is what keeps us all going strong.
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The first list below is a list of Safe Seed Companies- the first few listed under each region sell only organic- then those below sell some conventional seed as well, but it is noted if they sell Monsanto seed. If they do, avoid their conventional seed or check the second list, which lists Monsanto's vegetable varieties.

The second list below is a list of popular Monsanto seed. It would be very lenghty if all were included, but there are links to Monsanto's products pages so that you might do further research. Many seed re-sellers buy seed from a broker who has purchased a huge block of seed, the broker breaks up the order, and then re-sells to numerous mail-order seed companies. So, many companies carry the same seed. And unfortunately many of these seed companies then re-name the seed, adding to the further confusion as to which is a Monsanto seed. :-

NorthEast _____________

High Mowing Organic Seed www.highmowingseeds.com 100% organic certified seed: vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. Over 450 organic heirloom, open-pollinated and organic hybrid. Vermont

Dirt Works www.dirtworks.net 100% organic vegetable seeds and hardy organic heirloom seeds. Some open pollinated. Grain, hay, forage, wildflowers, compost, organic fertilizers, pest control and accessories as well. Note there are some complaints about shipping times posted on-line. Dirt Works was hit hard during recession and we hope they can hire more help. Safe Seed Pledge. Vermont

Turtle Tree Seed www.turtletreeseed.com Vegetables, flowers, herbs, grain and cover crops. Mostly organic- clearly marked. Biodynamic, open pollinated, no hybrids. New York

Fedco www.fedcoseeds.com Untreated vegetable, tubers, herb, & flower seed. Many certified organic. Cover crops, soil amendments & supplies for organic growers. Safe Seed Pledge. No GMOs, etc. Good prices. Order early. Website a bit difficult to navigate. Maine

Heirloom Seeds www.heirloomseeds.com All seeds are open pollinated (non-hybrid) and untreated. No GMO. Many Organic. Good selection of organic. Many garden packages. Organic fertilizers. SW Pennsylvania

Harris Seeds www.harrisseeds.com 22 organic veg choices- large selection of untreated seed. Sells only large quantities. Sells Monsanto conventional seed. New York

Johnny's Seeds www.johnnyseeds.com Johnny's has 324 organic products, including 198 vegetable seed varieties. Many heirloom. Safe Seed Pledge.Still carries 40 Monsanto varieties, which is about 4% of their conventional vegetable varieties. Their intention is to replace them. See Monsanto vegetable seed list below, if you wish to avoid. Maine

Cook's Garden is owned by Burpee Seeds. www.cooksgarden.com 50 Organic Vegetables and Herbs. European and American heirlooms. Good recipes. Their conventional vegetables might be Monsanto seed. Check list below for list of Monsanto vegetable seed. Pennsylvania

Mid-Atlantic _________________

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange www.southernexposure.com Vegetables and herbs. Most certified organic, all untreated. 99% of seeds open-pollinated. No GMO. Safe Seed Pledge. Grows 40% of own seed. Also sells bulk. Nice catalog. Virginia

Sow True Seed www.sowtrue.com Vegetables, herbs and flowers. Only non-hybrid, untreated, open-pollinated, heirloom and organic seed. Safe Seed Pledge. Asheville, NC

Seeds for the South www.seedsforthesouth.com Untreated heirloom vegetable and herb seed. Very small selection of organic. Sells Monsanto seed. Georgia

Park Seed Company (bought Sow Organic Seed Co. in 2007) www.parkseed.com Flower, vegetable and herb seeds. Untreated, non-GMO, and some Certified Organic seed. Note- it is easy to go off their organic pages onto the conventional and they sell some conventional Monsanto seeds. See list of Monsanto products below. South Carolina

MidWest _____________

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds rareseeds.com Vegetables, flowers, herbs, bulk seed.

1400 heirloom varieties. Hugh selection. Good prices. Only open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural & non-GMO. Good reviews. Missouri

Botanical Interests www.botanicalinterests.com/store/index_index.php 400 untreated vegetable, flower, herb seeds. A large selection of Certified Organic. Signed Safe Seed Pledge. No-GMOs. Beautiful packets- good info. Nice website. Colorado.

Sand Hill Preservation www.sandhillpreservation.com 700 heirloom seeds- vegetable, herbs, flowers, grains. Root vegetables, poultry. Produce 90% of the seed they sell. Untreated, some certified organic. Signed Safe Seed Pledge. No GMOs. Ordering only by regular mail. Iowa

Seed Saver's Exchange www.seedsavers.org A non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds. Largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States. Maintains more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties. Hugh selection of open pollinated vegetables, beans, potatoes, flowers and herbs. Many certified organic. Good prices. Iowa

Heirloom Acres Seeds www.heirloomacres.net 1000 varieties of open pollinated and heirloom seed. Good selection of Certified Organic. Very few seeds treated. Missouri

Nature's Crossroads www.naturescrossroads.com Seed varieties grown in Indiana for Midwestern gardeners. Vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers. Safe Seed Pledge. Most seed certified organic. Produce much of their own seed. Indiana

Grannys Heirloom Seeds www.grannysheirloomseeds.com Good selection of heirloom vegetables and gardening suplies. Strawberries, onions No organic but all open-pollinated. Signed Safe Seed Pledge. Inexpensive peat pots. Missouri

Northwest ________

Abundant Life Seeds www.abundantlifeseeds.com Certified Organic and Biodynamic vegetable, flower and herb seeds, garlic and potatoes. Garden accessories. Safe Seed Pledge, no GMOs. Oregon

Wild Garden Seed www.wildgardenseed.com Certified organic farm-original varieties of salad greens, vegetables, herbs and a few flowers. Certified Organic heirloom and other open-pollinated seed varieties adapted for the Pacific Northwest. Oregon

Victory Seed Company www.victoryseeds.com Rare and heirloom seeds. All seeds open-pollinated, non-hybrid and untreated. Signed Safe Seed Pledge. No GMOs. Good size selection. Oregon

Irish Eyes - Garden City Seeds www.irisheyesgardenseeds.com Potato, vegetable, flower and garden seeds. Most all seeds organic, many heirloom. All untreated. Washington

Territorial Seeds www.territorialseed.com Large selection of vegetable, herb, flower. Safe Seed Pledge. Sells a small amount of Monsanto's conventional seed. See list below.* Oregon

Southwest _____

Bountiful Gardens www.bountifulgardens.org A non-profit and a project of Ecology Action which does garden research and publishes books and research papers. Large selection untreated, open-pollinated, non-GMO, heirloom seed. Vegetables, herbs, flowers, grains, mushroom kits, green manures, compost and carbon crops. Good prices. Some Certified Organic and Biointensive. Willits California

Seeds of Change www.seedsofchange.com 100% organic certified seed: vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Over 1,200 varieties: many heirloom, open-pollinated, native and hard-to-find. New Mexico

Peaceful Valley www.groworganic.com Certified Organic Vegetable and Herb Seeds and much more. Packets or bulk. Sells own brand of Certified organic- plus sells Seeds of Change, Renee's Garden Seeds, Turtle Tree Organic Seeds, TomatoFest Organic Seeds, Horizon Herbs Organic Seeds. Grass Valley, California

Seeds Trust www.seedstrust.com Vegetable, wild flower, herb and grass seeds Sells only open-pollinated and untreated seed. Organic seeds are marked with an asterisk. Signed Safe Seed Pledge. Sells many of their own seeds. Website a bit challenging. Specializes in high-altitude and southwest seeds. Arizona

Sustainable Seed Company www.sustainableseedco.com Only heirloom open-pollinated seed. No hybrid, treated or gmos. 65% of all heirloom vegetable seed grown on organic farms in California. Over 100 varieties of heirloom seeds for less than $1. Petaluma, California

Native Seeds www.nativeseeds.org Non-profit. Sells 350 varieties of heirloom arid-land adapted seed.

Natural Gardening Company www.naturalgardening.com Vegetable, herb and flower seeds. Many organic and open-pollinated. Organic plants, but hybrids too. Sells some Monsanto seed. Check list below. Petaluma, California

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Popular Monsanto (Seminis) seeds- for full listing of Seminis seeds, see the references list at the bottom of this page. To see De Ruiter varieties, see the De Ruiter link at the bottom of the page. To make things even more confusing, each mail-order seed company might resell the same seed but use a different name for it. The only way you can be 100% positive you are not buying a Monsanto seed is to check with the re-seller or buy from a company selling their own seed or organic or open-pollinated.

Beans: Brio, Eureka, EZ Gold, Goldrush, Kentucky King, Lynx, Xera...
Broccoli: Captain, Heritage, Liberty, Packman, more...
Carrot: Nutri-Red, Sweet Sunshine, Karina, Chantenay hybrids, Chantilly, Lariat
Cauliflower: Cheddar, Fremont, Minuteman, more...
Cucumber : Babylon, Dasher II, Daytona, Homemade Pickles, Speedway, Sweet Slice, Yellow Submarine, Sweeter Yet...link to De Ruiter cucumber list...
Eggplant: Black Beauty, Dancer, Fairy Tale, Gretel, Hansel, Tango, Twilight...De Ruiter Eggplants...
Lettuce: Baby Star, Blackjack, Esmeralda, Lolla Rossa, Monet, Red Butterworth, Red Sails, Red Tide, Summer time...
Melons: Alaska, Bush Whopper, Casablanca, Dixie Jumbo, Early Crisp, Stars & Stripes, Sugarnut, ...
Okra: Cajun Delight
Onion: Arsenal, Candy, Hamlet, Mars, Red Zeppelin, Superstar, many more...
Peppers: Aristotle, Biscayne, Camelot, Caribbean Red, Cherry Bomb, Dulce, Early Sunsation, Fat and Sassy, King Arthur, Northstar, Red Knight, Serrano del Sol, Sahuaro, Super Chili, Valencia, many more...De Ruiter pepper varities...
Pumpkin: Buckskin Pumpkin, Orange Smoothie, Prizewinner, more...
Spinach: Bolero, Cypress, Melody, Unipack 151, many more...
Squash: Autumn Delight, Blackjack, Bush Delicata, Butterstick, Daisy, Early Butternut, Fancycrook, Gold Rush, Latino, Lolita, Patty Green Tint, Really Big Butternut, Seneca (all), Sungreen, Sunny Delight, Table Ace...
Tomato: Baby Girl, Big Beef, Beefmaster, Beaufort, Celebrity, Favorita, First Lady I and II, Early Girl, Geronimo, Golden Girl, Maxifort, Pink Girl, Sunguard, Sun Chief Sweet, Sweet Million, Trust...link to De Ruiter tomato varieties...
Watermelon: Bambino, Crimson Glory, Royal Flush, Royal Star, Stargazer, Starbright, Stars and Stripes, Tiger Baby, Yellow Doll
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As an alternative way to shop for seed, visit the non-profit Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) Organic Seeds Database- www.omri.org/seeds - lists certified "final handlers" for organic seed. List is by produce. Pick a vegetable and find a seller.
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Here are some of the brand names that Monsanto owns and 'packages' their seeds as:

American Seeds, Asgrow, Campbell, DeKalb, De Ruiter, Diener Seeds, Fielder's Choice, Fontanelle, Gold Country Seed, Hawkeye, Heartland, Heritage Seeds, Holdens, HPS Seed, Hubner Seed, icorn, Jung Seed, Kruger Seeds, Lewis Hybrids, Peotec, Poloni, Rea Hybrids, R.H. Shumway, Seeds of the World, Seminis, Seymour's Selected Seeds, Specialty, Stewart, Stone Seed,Totally Tomatoes, Trelay, Vermont Bean Seed Company, Western Seeds. ****

But remember seed companies buy Monsanto seed in bulk & then repackage it under their name as well. Always ask!

References:* www.seedalliance.org/Seed_News/SeminisMonsanto/
www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-seeds-of-vegetable-diversity
**www.deruiterseeds.com/Corporate/Monsanto
***www.etcgroup.org/en/node/198
****www.msu.edu/~howardp/seedindustry.html
Taken from : http://inspirationgreen.com/organic-vegetables-start-out-as-seed.html

Monsanto slips us another Mickey...

After divesting itself of Nutrasweet/Aspartame, Monsanto has created a replacement, called Neotame. Believe what you want about artificial sweetners, but my warning system went on alert when I learned that Neotame is not required fy the FDA to be listed as an ingredient. It is allowed to be used in "organic" foods, and not listed. ANY food that is processed could have Neotame.

I see no benefit for consumers by having any ingredient unmentioned - only to the manufacturer. Monsanto and food industries know that consumers learned to distrust Aspartame, and would at least pause before purchasing foods containing Neotame. Their solution: not even mention it.

Read more about it here

Equal-Access Rights

There is a lot to say about food rights, but my focus today is access.

Here in Minnesota, it is legal to buy, sell and consume farm-fresh,
unpasteurized milk. The issue we currently face is access inequality.
Families living near farms where safe, clean milk is produced have relatively easy access, permitting them to easily visit neighboring farms and purchase fresh milk.

Not everyone lives close to a Fresh-Milk Dairy (a dairy which produces
milk intended for direct-sale to and consumption-by consumers). Some
families drive more than three hours in all seasons to reach the nearest
fresh-milk dairy.

Schools bus students miles to try to assure access equality for all students, regardless of their race, creed, color, income level, or sexual orientation. It is a no-brainer for farms to deliver directly to consumers, saving tremendous amounts of fuel and letting moms with little children pick up their food closer to home. Winters here offer treacherous driving. Is there a legislator who wants the to see the image of a car-crash, with a mother with little children, and her week's supply of milk?

Encourage your state legislators to support fair access to farm-direct foods, starting with Fresh Milk!

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