When the EU was established, it became illegal to trade in anything that was not on the EU trading list. All the big seed companies were the only ones that could afford to put their lines of seed on the list because it was so expensive. All the people growing and selling heritage seed could not afford to do that so it became illegal to trade in that seed!

In a hundred years over 90% of the original vegetable varieties have been lost, and the rules tightened further.

In New Zealand, though there are no rules around buying and selling heritage varieties, our loss rate is similar.

The range of seeds available commercially is a sadly depleted selection. Most of them are hybridised, with no specific suitability to regions.

In contrast, heirloom seeds carried down amongst families and friends through the generations all have stories, and flourish in the bio-regions to which they have been adapted.

Three corporations now control quarter of the world seed markets. The motivation behind genetic engineering, while advertised as the desire to increase crop yields and decrease pesticide use (because the pesticide would be grown inside the plant) was only secondary. Once a seed has been successfully modified it can then be patented, and thus controlled. That company can ensure that the seed is not saved by the farmer from one year to the next, but new seed must be purchased for each crop.

The claim that genetic engineering would end world starvation has proved to be a blatant untruth. In countries like India subsistence farmers have relied on seed saving from year to year. They now fail to make a living, having had GE seed forced upon them, and many have had to leave their land and seek work in the cities.

In the United States one company has gone a step further. They employ detectives (this is true) to travel the food producing states and take samples from the crops, mostly soy, canola and corn, that are most commonly from GE seed. They have records of which farmers have purchased their seed, so if they find samples of GE crops grown by farmers not on their records, the farmers are then sued. Most pay up, reluctant to make a fuss.

One Canadian canola farmer (conventional) who wouldn’t stay silent was Percy Schmeiser. Percy had never wanted to grow genetically engineered canola, but when rogue GE canola flew from a truck onto his land, he got it anyway. His canola was tested, found to be contaminated with GE canola and Percy was taken to court. Even though he argued that he hadn’t wanted to grow GE canola he lost the case. He appealed and lost again.

The latest development is seed that can only be grown once. The seed that the one crop produces is sterile. This ultimate seed control invention has been named ‘terminator’, and while it has been kept on the back burner for some time this won’t be the last you hear of it.

If we’re thinking ahead to a time when importation costs will sky-rocket due to fuel shortages and price increases, we would do well to bring vegetable and fruit production back home. The obvious advantage is the amazing opportunity that we have, being geographically isolated, to say no thanks to science gone mad. Whether we take that opportunity is contentious and still remains to be seen.

As more of us establish our own back-yard gardens, consider that it is a lot easier to grow your vegetables organically on a small scale, because of the diverse range that you will want to plant. It is reasonably easy to plan your planting to include some flowers amongst the vegetables to ensure that the beneficial insects are attracted. If you are starting from scratch be sure to find out what your soil is like first. And of course I would also encourage you to grow your produce from heirloom seeds!

Proudly sponsored by Koanga Gardens – Centre for Sustainable Living.