Avoiding Seeds from Monsanto
I’ve recently published some posts pointing out a very high percentage of garden seeds come from the ‘big six’ seed companies, and how it’s very important to buy your seeds from a trustworthy source or you won’t know where they come from. Retailers that sell any seeds from large seed companies are almost always required to enter into very extensive marketing agreements. These usually make it impossible to label the origin or F1/OP status of any seeds they sell.
You can be sure any company that sells seeds from Monsanto will be bound by such an agreement, as it’s a well publicized tactic of Monsanto to hire private investigators to track down and sue, or even just threaten to sue, farmers and others who Monsanto suspects are using their seeds in violation of these agreements.
Remember too this is the company that prevented the retail labelling of dairy products containing their rGBH hormone, and their GMO products.
Do you think Monsanto wants their garden seeds labelled for what they are?!
So how do you know what seed companies can be trusted to sell you seeds that don’t come from the agricultural giants? In the case of Monsanto, most of their garden seeds in North America are sold through a subsidiary called Seminis. The Seminis web page has a useful list of seed companies that retail their seeds:
http://us.seminis.com/products/hg_dealer.asp (sorry no link, cut and paste into your browser)
As of the time of making this post the list included the following (with some very familiar names!):
Burpee, W Atlee
Warminster, PA 18974Dege Garden Center
St Paul, MN 55119E & R Seed Co.
Monroe, IN 46772Earl May Seed
Shenandoah, IA 51603Garden Trends
Rochester, NY 14624Gardens Alive
Lawrenceberg, IN 47025Germania Seed Co.
Chicago, IL 60631Johnnys Selected Seeds
Winslow, ME 04901J.W. Jung Seed Co.
Randolph, WI 53956Lindenberg Seeds
Brandon, ManitobaMountain Valley Seed
Salt Lake City, UT 84115Nichols Garden Nursery
Albany, OR 97321Park Seed
Greenwood, SC 29647Rocky Mountain Seed Co.
Denver, CO 80229T & T Seeds, Ltd.
Winnipeg, ManitobaTomato Growers Supply
Fort Myers, FL 33902Willhite Seed Co.
Poolville, TX 76487
When you buy garden seeds, and you want to save and regrow them, it’s very important to buy them from somewhere that doesn’t sell any F1s at all, because otherwise they won’t be honestly labelled for what they are!
Likewise, if you want to buy garden seeds that don’t come from the large seed companies like Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, etc., it’s very important to buy your seeds from some place that doesn’t sell any seeds from these companies, because they won’t honestly label them for what they are!
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11 Responses to “Avoiding Seeds from Monsanto”
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Park Seed does not buy GM seed from Seminis. We do not carry any GM products at all. Park Seed also does not carry treated or fungicide coated seed. We, like most of our competitors, do buy a few select types of hybrid vegetable seed from Seminis just as we have for years before they were purchased my Monsanto. For years, they have been known for producing superior quality hybrid vegetable seeds. We, like you, feel that there is a purity and tradition in gardening from seed and we do not support anything that threatens that rich pastime.
I am deliberately searching out bug-free potatoes, squash, cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, turnips, cumbers, parsnips, peas, beans, sweet-potatoes, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, corn, cauliflower, – for my Shanty-Town survival garden. I can no longer afford chemical fertilizers and have resorted to composting and humanure, I have poor, drought prone, stony, soil and little running water for irrigation, so drought resistance is also important. A bit of frost resistance might help too, as spring nights shorten season here. If, by some magic, things could be made to grow a little faster than usual, and a little bigger than normal, I will have more to eat and preserve for the colder months. I see no harm in paying a little more for these improvements in seeds. In this great republican depression we must take all the help we can just to get by! Once I am able to find work again, I will buy at the supermarket like other folks, for now, this is my plight. Please advertise, let me and my fellow survivors (I am not alone!) where to get the new miracle seeds in packets we can afford – we need them just to eat each day!
Hi Uncle B,
I realize there are a lot of people in the same situation as you around these days. I wish you all the best with your garden.
Good information, but I want to reinforce the above comment about Park Seeds. Your post lead me to believe that the retailers you listed sell mostly Monsanto seeds. I think it’s important not to unfairly paint vendors with that brush if they don’t deserve it. People might come here and boycott these companies even though they have little to do with Monsanto.
Rick (and Holly),
Park Seeds and the others can certainly label the origin of their seeds if they care to, so customers can make an informed choice.
If anyone wants to avoid buying seeds from Monsanto, they know Park Seeds carries seeds from Seminis but don’t know which varieties they are, what other choice so they have but buy their seeds from someplace else?
There are lots of good places to buy seeds, and of course someone trying to avoid seeds from Monsanto should look elsewhere!
[...] This blog has received quite a number of requests for Monsanto seed companies to be added to my list of recommended sources of seeds in recent weeks, and comments challenging old posts I’ve made critical of Monsanto are also starting to come in. Note the one here dated Jan 26th from ‘Rick’. [...]
Thanks for the information.
Have you run across any similar information for Europe, including the UK? I live in Britain, and I’m struggling to figure out who owns our seed companies.
Hi Carol,
Pinetree-De Ruiter and Semenis are the two main Monsanto companies operating in the UK supplying garden seeds. Unfortunately, I don’t see the same information about places to buy their seeds on their website, as I do for the US.
The general answer to your question is unfortunately Monsanto owns or controls most of the UK seed companies. The only true independent seed company in the UK that I’m aware of, is Real Seeds. Beyond that, the Heritage Seed Library (but not Garden Organic) is a good place to look for seeds. As far as I’m aware, Garden Organic has been completely outsourced, and has little to do with the HSL anymore. Kokopelli seeds also has an English language website where you can purchase seeds, and they are worth considering.
I know this isn’t a full answer to your question, but I hope it helps.
I haven’t updated it in a while, but if you click on Links on the front page of this blog, then scroll down to the bottom, there is a list of seed companies I in some way have had personal contact with, and I think they are all independently owned.
Are you saying that you want hybrid (F1) seed to be labeled as such so people will know that they can’t save seed and expect equivalent offspring? I’ve never held the expectation that seeds I buy from a commercial grower (e.g. Burpee) will be appropriate to save seed from and I’d be surprised if the average person felt differently. Is this what you mean?
Hi Matt,
Somehow I missed this comment before. It is US federal law that F1 hybrid seeds must be labelled as such. I’m with you this is nothing you can count on. You would be surprised at the range of opinions on this. Any seeds I purchase for panting and resaving I always buy from from someplace that doesn’t sell any F1 hybrids.
While I don’t buy a lot of F1s, those I do would be purchased separately from another retailer.
I came across your list of seed companies to avoid here and couldnt help but make a comment that the best place to get seeds is FEDCO, they are the only company that can really be trusted anymore to not have GM seed or anything esle you wont feed your kids. They also sell fruit trees and bushes, bulbs and flowers. Thank you for great info.