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International Seed Day
As I sat down to write this, I learned that the Farm Bill has been approved by the Senate Committee and will be brought to a vote in the Senate Floor. I have yet to see what was a part of the finalized bill, but I am hoping that the Gillibrand Amendment was a part of the bill. That amendment, proposed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, would have required that five percent of annual funding for the AFRI program (Agriculture Food & Research Initiative) be used for making sure that farmers have access to locally adapted seedsand breeds, by focusing on public cultivar and bred development, and removing the hurdles that have hindered USDA's progress toward this goal.
This initiative was in the 2008 Farm Bill, but the United Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA) has succeeded in putting up roadblocks to avoid dealing with anything like open pollinated, farmer bred seeds, even though all of America's successful agriculture is based on just such seeds.
Remember that the seeds most gardeners cherish are not seeds bred by trained scientists and research facilities. Most of the seeds gardeners love and trust were bred by folks without degrees and often times even without education. They grew food in their own gardens for their families and prided their crops on much the same criteria we still do today: does it taste good? Is it suited to my climate? Does it succumb to disease or insects? And does it produce under adverse conditions?
Sadly, our modern seed production has little effort put to taste and nothing about adverse conditions. Food is bred to be shipped, ripen on the way to the market, last until the grocer has sold all of it and ease of picking for a picking machine. Not exactly qualities we admire in our gardens. But that's what we got when we began to allow professionals to do the breeding. Thank God we stepped out of our slumber in time, while there are still lots of varieties still left (although if you've seen the National Geographic July 2011 chart on our lost diversity, you have been staggered by what has been lost).
All was not lost. After all, Native Seed/SEARCH in Tucson, AZ has been saving the genetic diversity of the Southwestern Native tribes for a number of years and Bill McDorman and his wife, Belle Starr, have been offering classes in seed stewardship (and seed library stewardship); Seed Savers Exchange is probably the largest and most vibrant of our American seed saving organizations and now seed libraries are suddenly the rage across an awakening nation. And the work of the Organic Seed Alliance helps position our current culture to seed a more local and diverse agriculture. More people are aware of the value and importance of seeds – especially seeds that are not controlled and cannot be controlled by corporations.
It would be fitting for the Farm Bill to leave committee today with Gillibrand Amendment in place because, today, I learned, is International Seed Day. April 26thwas chosen as the day because it was April 26th, 2004 that Paul Bremer, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in IRAQ, issued and signed Order 81, which prohibits Iraqi farmers from reusing seeds harvested from new varieties registered under the law. Thank the powers that be, Order 81 couldnot be successfully implemented due to the instability inside IRAQ. It may go down in history as one of the quirks of fate that denied Monsanto and other industrial ag firms their biggest victory of the new century.
Next year, I would love to see International Seed Day take on a lot more meaning and become a holiday that is recognized by gardeners and farmers everywhere. Time to celebrate the Percy Schmeiser's, the pioneer seed savers and people like Bill and Belle. Time to chose to eat a meal and consciously chew each bite thinking about the history of the seeds that nourish us still to this day – the same way our ancestors before us survived without the plenty we have today and it was those seeds that persisted through the drought or the flood or the war or the dust. They were sustained by these seeds; gifts from a grandmother to a son, from an old hand to a young one – over centuries, each generation in turn perfecting them a little more, whether consciously or not. WE were given this largess. WE must pass it on no matter what our government or society says.
In a large sense, we are like prophets of old that know where the richness of society really lies and know what must be done to save it – to pass it on to our children. So today, April 26, chew each bite one extra time with memory of the history you eat and resolve that we will not be the generation that fails our children.
david
International Seed Day
As I sat down to write this, I learned that the Farm Bill has been approved by the Senate Committee and will be brought to a vote in the Senate Floor. I have yet to see what was a part of the finalized bill, but I am hoping that the Gillibrand Amendment was a part of the bill. That amendment, proposed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, would have required that five percent of annual funding for the AFRI program (Agriculture Food & Research Initiative) be used for making sure that farmers have access to locally adapted seedsand breeds, by focusing on public cultivar and bred development, and removing the hurdles that have hindered USDA's progress toward this goal.
This initiative was in the 2008 Farm Bill, but the United Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA) has succeeded in putting up roadblocks to avoid dealing with anything like open pollinated, farmer bred seeds, even though all of America's successful agriculture is based on just such seeds.
Remember that the seeds most gardeners cherish are not seeds bred by trained scientists and research facilities. Most of the seeds gardeners love and trust were bred by folks without degrees and often times even without education. They grew food in their own gardens for their families and prided their crops on much the same criteria we still do today: does it taste good? Is it suited to my climate? Does it succumb to disease or insects? And does it produce under adverse conditions?
Sadly, our modern seed production has little effort put to taste and nothing about adverse conditions. Food is bred to be shipped, ripen on the way to the market, last until the grocer has sold all of it and ease of picking for a picking machine. Not exactly qualities we admire in our gardens. But that's what we got when we began to allow professionals to do the breeding. Thank God we stepped out of our slumber in time, while there are still lots of varieties still left (although if you've seen the National Geographic July 2011 chart on our lost diversity, you have been staggered by what has been lost).
All was not lost. After all, Native Seed/SEARCH in Tucson, AZ has been saving the genetic diversity of the Southwestern Native tribes for a number of years and Bill McDorman and his wife, Belle Starr, have been offering classes in seed stewardship (and seed library stewardship); Seed Savers Exchange is probably the largest and most vibrant of our American seed saving organizations and now seed libraries are suddenly the rage across an awakening nation. And the work of the Organic Seed Alliance helps position our current culture to seed a more local and diverse agriculture. More people are aware of the value and importance of seeds – especially seeds that are not controlled and cannot be controlled by corporations.
It would be fitting for the Farm Bill to leave committee today with Gillibrand Amendment in place because, today, I learned, is International Seed Day. April 26thwas chosen as the day because it was April 26th, 2004 that Paul Bremer, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in IRAQ, issued and signed Order 81, which prohibits Iraqi farmers from reusing seeds harvested from new varieties registered under the law. Thank the powers that be, Order 81 couldnot be successfully implemented due to the instability inside IRAQ. It may go down in history as one of the quirks of fate that denied Monsanto and other industrial ag firms their biggest victory of the new century.
Next year, I would love to see International Seed Day take on a lot more meaning and become a holiday that is recognized by gardeners and farmers everywhere. Time to celebrate the Percy Schmeiser's, the pioneer seed savers and people like Bill and Belle. Time to chose to eat a meal and consciously chew each bite thinking about the history of the seeds that nourish us still to this day – the same way our ancestors before us survived without the plenty we have today and it was those seeds that persisted through the drought or the flood or the war or the dust. They were sustained by these seeds; gifts from a grandmother to a son, from an old hand to a young one – over centuries, each generation in turn perfecting them a little more, whether consciously or not. WE were given this largess. WE must pass it on no matter what our government or society says.
In a large sense, we are like prophets of old that know where the richness of society really lies and know what must be done to save it – to pass it on to our children. So today, April 26, chew each bite one extra time with memory of the history you eat and resolve that we will not be the generation that fails our children.
david
Seed Saving 101; Spring 2012
The Learning Garden in conjunction with the Seed Library of Los Angeles offer
Seed Saving 101
Learning Gardenmaster and SLOLA Chair, David King will teach this introduction to saving seeds from your garden this coming May. Held on Wednesday evenings, participants will learn how to grow heirloom plants and save their own seeds for next year. A truly important step for self-sufficiency and independent living, saving seed is also a powerful tool to gain a more even hand with the likes of Monsanto. By saving seeds, gardeners insure that they can have a reliable safe supply of non-genetically altered food; food not doused with chemicals and food that is lovingly brought from seed to the table.
Participants will learn the reasons for saving seeds, the botanyneeded to save seeds and mechanisms of seed saving. Students will learn which plant seeds are easily saved and which are more difficult and how to deal withthem. We will feature a dedicated lab section which will give participants the opportunity to identify the seed producing parts of flowers and how to use that knowledge to even breed your own new vegetable varieties! You will learn the process of hand pollination and how to ensure the seeds you are saving are the seeds you want to be saving. You will also learn why we need to breed our own organic vegetable varieties to further the cause of organic food production in our own neighborhoods and communities.
Classes will meet May 09, May 16 and May 23, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM at The Learning Garden, on the campus of Venice High School at the corner of Walgrove Avenue and Venice Blvd.
Before May 2nd:
Members of SLOLA: $30.00
Non-members of SLOLA: $40.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the Seed Library
After May 2nd:
Members of SLOLA: $35.00
Non-members of SLOLA: $45.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the Seed Library
At the door:
Members of SLOLA: $40.00
Non-members of SLOLA: $50.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the Seed Library
Please bring your own cup for tea or coffee. Please have a jewelers' loupe for class, we can show you good places to look for your own at the first class meeting.
Class will meet May 9, 16 and 23, 6:30 to 9:00 PM at The Learning Garden. The Garden is often cooler than you would think, come prepared to need a jacket or sweater.
Reserve your spot today using PayPal.
(Non-members will pay the additional $10 at the door.)
(Non-members will pay the additional $10 at the door.)
Seed Saving 101; Spring 2012
The Learning Garden in conjunction with the Seed Library of Los Angeles offer
Seed Saving 101
Learning Gardenmaster and SLOLA Chair, David King will teach this introduction to saving seeds from your garden this coming May. Held on Wednesday evenings, participants will learn how to grow heirloom plants and save their own seeds for next year. A truly important step for self-sufficiency and independent living, saving seed is also a powerful tool to gain a more even hand with the likes of Monsanto. By saving seeds, gardeners insure that they can have a reliable safe supply of non-genetically altered food; food not doused with chemicals and food that is lovingly brought from seed to the table.
Participants will learn the reasons for saving seeds, the botanyneeded to save seeds and mechanisms of seed saving. Students will learn which plant seeds are easily saved and which are more difficult and how to deal withthem. We will feature a dedicated lab section which will give participants the opportunity to identify the seed producing parts of flowers and how to use that knowledge to even breed your own new vegetable varieties! You will learn the process of hand pollination and how to ensure the seeds you are saving are the seeds you want to be saving. You will also learn why we need to breed our own organic vegetable varieties to further the cause of organic food production in our own neighborhoods and communities.
Classes will meet May 09, May 16 and May 23, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM at The Learning Garden, on the campus of Venice High School at the corner of Walgrove Avenue and Venice Blvd.
Before May 2nd:
Members of SLOLA: $30.00
Non-members of SLOLA: $40.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the Seed Library
After May 2nd:
Members of SLOLA: $35.00
Non-members of SLOLA: $45.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the Seed Library
At the door:
Members of SLOLA: $40.00
Non-members of SLOLA: $50.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the Seed Library
Please bring your own cup for tea or coffee. Please have a jewelers' loupe for class, we can show you good places to look for your own at the first class meeting.
Class will meet May 9, 16 and 23, 6:30 to 9:00 PM at The Learning Garden. The Garden is often cooler than you would think, come prepared to need a jacket or sweater.
Reserve your spot today using PayPal.
(Non-members will pay the additional $10 at the door.)
(Non-members will pay the additional $10 at the door.)
Seed Saving 101; Spring 2012
TheLearning Garden in conjunction with the Seed Library of Los Angeles offer
SeedSaving 101
LearningGardenmaster and SLOLA Chair, David King will teach this introduction tosaving seeds from your garden this coming May. Held on Wednesdayevenings, participants will learn how to grow heirloom plants andsave their own seeds for next year. A truly important step forself-sufficiency and independent living, saving seed is also apowerful tool to gain a more even hand with the likes of Monsanto. By saving seeds, gardeners insure that they can have a reliable safesupply of non-genetically altered food; food not doused withchemicals and food that is lovingly brought from seed to the table.
Participantswill learn the reasons for saving seeds, the botanyneeded to save seeds and mechanisms of seed saving. Studentswill learn which plant seeds are easily saved and which aremore difficult and how to deal withthem. We will feature a dedicated lab section which willgive participants the opportunity to identify the seed producingparts of flowers and how to use that knowledge to even breed your ownnew vegetable varieties! You will learn the process of handpollination and how to ensure the seeds you are saving are the seedsyou want to be saving. You will also learn why we need to breed ourown organic vegetable varieties to further the cause of organic foodproduction in our own neighborhoods and communities.
Classes will meet May 09, May 16 and May 23, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM at The Learning Garden, on the campus of Venice High School at the corner of Walgrove Avenue and Venice Blvd.
BeforeMay 2nd:
Membersof SLOLA: $30.00
Non-membersof SLOLA: $40.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the SeedLibrary
AfterMay 2nd:
Membersof SLOLA: $35.00
Non-membersof SLOLA: $45.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the SeedLibrary
Atthe door:
Membersof SLOLA: $40.00
Non-membersof SLOLA: $50.00 – the extra $10 makes you a member of the SeedLibrary
Pleasebring your own cup for tea or coffee. Please have a jewelers' loupefor class, we can show you good places to look for your own at thefirst class meeting.
Classwill meet May 9, 16 and 23, 6:30 to 9:00 PM at The Learning Garden. The Garden is often cooler than you would think, come prepared toneed a jacket or sweater.
Reserveyour spot today using PayPal.
(Non-members will pay the additional $10 at the door.)
(Non-members will pay the additional $10 at the door.)
SLOLA Meeting March 17th at 2:30 pm
It’s looking like a wet forecast for tomorrow’s SLOLA meeting, but we’re gardeners… why let a little water from the skies deter us? The meeting tomorrow at 2:30 pm will go on, please dress warmly and come prepared to learn about native seeds of the Americas! The library will open after the meeting for checkouts and so you can check out the newly rennovated space. See you there!
Posted in Meetings, SLOLA, SLOLA Library
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SLOLA’s Current Inventory and Printable Check Out Sheet
In order to make it more convenient for members to check out seeds from the lending library, we are posting a current inventory of seeds available as of the March meeting this Saturday. You can access the current inventory list here.
To make things even easier, you can choose those plants you wish to order in advance, fill out a printable Seed Check Out Form, and bring it to the meeting to be filled while the meeting is taking place! Download the form below:
Just a reminder, this Saturday, March 17th at 2:30 is the general monthly meeting for the Seed Library of Los Angeles. Location: The Learning Garden at Venice High School, 13000 Venice Blvd, enter through the gate on Walgrove Avenue. If it rains, there will be signs with directions to an indoor meeting space on campus. The seed library will be open for member checkouts and returns. Anyone in the public who is interested in seed saving is welcome to attend the general meeting and learn more about SLOLA and the importance of seed libraries. See you there!
Posted in Forms, Meetings, seed library, SLOLA, SLOLA Library, Uncategorized
Tagged 2012, checkout, download, forms, inventory, library, march, slola meeting
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Scary Health Effects of GM Foods
This post is from Care2 Make A Difference where it is broken into eight little bitty bits for easy digestion or low attention spans or more advertising space. Authored by Dr. Mercola (Dr. Mercola has been passionate about health and technology for most of his life. As a doctor of osteopathic medicine, he treated many thousands of patients for over 20 years. In the mid 90’s he integrated his passion for natural health with modern technology via the internet and developed a website, Mercola.com to spread the word about natural ways to achieve optimal health.) this is the entire article in one commercial free spot. It is perhaps one of the most biting and cohesive analysis of the threat GMO foods pose to your health. It deserves your attention for the short time it will take to read the whole article.
Scary Health Effects of GM Foods
- Dr. Mercola
- March 13, 2012
- 10:33 am
- 5 comments
Dr. Don Huber is an expert in an area of science that relates to the toxicity of genetically engineered (GE) foods.
(Alternative terms for GE foods include genetically modified (GM), or “GMO” for genetically modified organism.)
His specific areas of training include soil-borne diseases, microbial ecology, and host-parasite relationships.
Dr. Huber also taught plant pathology, soil microbiology, and micro-ecological interactions as they relate to plant disease as a staff Professor at Purdue University for 35 years.
GE Crops are Breaking the Agricultural System
Agriculture is a complete ‘system’ based on inter-related factors, and in order to maintain ecological balance and health, you must understand how that system works as a whole.
Any time you change one part of that system, you change the interaction of all the other components, because they work together.
It is simply impossible to change just one minor aspect without altering the entire system.
Dr. Huber’s research, which spans over 55 years, has been devoted to looking at how the agricultural system can be managed for more effective crop production, better disease control, improved nutrition, and safety. The introduction of genetically engineered crops has dramatically affected and changed all agricultural components:
I urge you to listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript to fully appreciate the importance of this development.
Herbicides and Pesticides Immobilize Specific Nutrients
One of the major modifications done to genetically engineered food crops is the introduction of herbicide resistance. Monsanto is the leader in this field, with their patented Roundup Ready corn, cotton, soybean and sugar beets, which can survive otherwise lethal doses of glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup.
The working premise is that by making the plants resistant to the herbicide, farmers can increase yield by cutting down on weed growth. This premise has been found to be severely flawed however, as farmers around the world are now losing acreage to glyphosate-resistant super-weeds at an alarming rate. According to the British Institute of Science in Society, the US has fared the worst, now combating 13 different glyphosate-resistant weed species in 73 different locations.
(Alternative terms for GE foods include genetically modified (GM), or “GMO” for genetically modified organism.)
His specific areas of training include soil-borne diseases, microbial ecology, and host-parasite relationships.
Dr. Huber also taught plant pathology, soil microbiology, and micro-ecological interactions as they relate to plant disease as a staff Professor at Purdue University for 35 years.
GE Crops are Breaking the Agricultural System
Agriculture is a complete ‘system’ based on inter-related factors, and in order to maintain ecological balance and health, you must understand how that system works as a whole.
Any time you change one part of that system, you change the interaction of all the other components, because they work together.
It is simply impossible to change just one minor aspect without altering the entire system.
Dr. Huber’s research, which spans over 55 years, has been devoted to looking at how the agricultural system can be managed for more effective crop production, better disease control, improved nutrition, and safety. The introduction of genetically engineered crops has dramatically affected and changed all agricultural components:
- The plants
- The physical environment
- The dynamics of the biological environment, and
- Pests and diseases (plant, animal, and human diseases)
I urge you to listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript to fully appreciate the importance of this development.
Herbicides and Pesticides Immobilize Specific Nutrients
One of the major modifications done to genetically engineered food crops is the introduction of herbicide resistance. Monsanto is the leader in this field, with their patented Roundup Ready corn, cotton, soybean and sugar beets, which can survive otherwise lethal doses of glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup.
The working premise is that by making the plants resistant to the herbicide, farmers can increase yield by cutting down on weed growth. This premise has been found to be severely flawed however, as farmers around the world are now losing acreage to glyphosate-resistant super-weeds at an alarming rate. According to the British Institute of Science in Society, the US has fared the worst, now combating 13 different glyphosate-resistant weed species in 73 different locations.
But the introduction of glyphosate-resistance has also had a direct impact on soil microbes.
While the link between an herbicide (which is directed toward plants) and soil microbes may not be immediately apparent, this ripple effect occurs because, again, it’s an inter-related system. In a nutshell, herbicides are chelators that form a barrier around specific nutrients, preventing whatever life form is seeking to utilize that element from utilizing it properly. That applies both to plants and soil microbes—as well as animals and humans.
This may actually be one of the primary reasons why genetically engineered foods appear to be able to cause such profound health problems in those who consume them. Any organism that has the same physiological pathways for these nutrients will be impacted in the same manner.
Dr. Huber explains :
“You have to realize what an herbicide, or a pesticide, is. They are metal chelators. In other words, they immobilize specific nutrients… [I]t’s a compound that can grab onto another element and change either its solubility or its availability for the critical function it has physiologically. We have herbicides and pesticides that are quite specific just for a particular essential micronutrient like copper, zinc, iron, or manganese.
Glyphosate is very unique and was first patented as a chelator by Stauffer Chemical Co. in 1964, because it could bind with any positively charged ion. If you look at the essential minerals for plants, you see calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and all of those other critical transition elements, as well as structural components for some of them… They all have an ion associated with them. It’s the micronutrient that is an ion—that is a transition element, or that element that is really critical for a particular enzyme function.
If you can chelate and, in that chelation process, essentially immobilize that essential nutrient, you have provided an opportunity to either kill a weed or damage and kill an organism—any organism… that have that particular requirement for that physiologic pathway with glyphosate or the shikimate pathway…
You have to realize that this mode of action immobilizes a critical essential nutrient. Those nutrients aren’t just required by the weed, but they’re required by microorganisms. They’re required by us for our own physiologic functions. So if it’s immobilized, it may be present if we do a regular test. But it’s not necessarily physiologically available in the same efficiency that it would have been if it wasn’t chelated with glyphosate…”
The Dangers of Glyphosate That Most People Have NO Idea Of
Glyphosate, even in plants genetically engineered to withstand it, affects about 25 different enzymes in the process of chelating, or immobilizing, critical micronutrients, because those ions (the micronutrients) are required in order to “drive” the physiological engines that make the plant or organism function properly.
“It is well documented that… having that foreign gene inserted reduces the capability of that plant to take up nutrients and to translocate nutrients,” Dr. Huber says. “Then, when you apply the chemical [glyphosate], you have a further compounding effect in reducing the efficiency of the plants at rates as low as 12 grams per acre.”
While the link between an herbicide (which is directed toward plants) and soil microbes may not be immediately apparent, this ripple effect occurs because, again, it’s an inter-related system. In a nutshell, herbicides are chelators that form a barrier around specific nutrients, preventing whatever life form is seeking to utilize that element from utilizing it properly. That applies both to plants and soil microbes—as well as animals and humans.
This may actually be one of the primary reasons why genetically engineered foods appear to be able to cause such profound health problems in those who consume them. Any organism that has the same physiological pathways for these nutrients will be impacted in the same manner.
Dr. Huber explains :
“You have to realize what an herbicide, or a pesticide, is. They are metal chelators. In other words, they immobilize specific nutrients… [I]t’s a compound that can grab onto another element and change either its solubility or its availability for the critical function it has physiologically. We have herbicides and pesticides that are quite specific just for a particular essential micronutrient like copper, zinc, iron, or manganese.
Glyphosate is very unique and was first patented as a chelator by Stauffer Chemical Co. in 1964, because it could bind with any positively charged ion. If you look at the essential minerals for plants, you see calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and all of those other critical transition elements, as well as structural components for some of them… They all have an ion associated with them. It’s the micronutrient that is an ion—that is a transition element, or that element that is really critical for a particular enzyme function.
If you can chelate and, in that chelation process, essentially immobilize that essential nutrient, you have provided an opportunity to either kill a weed or damage and kill an organism—any organism… that have that particular requirement for that physiologic pathway with glyphosate or the shikimate pathway…
You have to realize that this mode of action immobilizes a critical essential nutrient. Those nutrients aren’t just required by the weed, but they’re required by microorganisms. They’re required by us for our own physiologic functions. So if it’s immobilized, it may be present if we do a regular test. But it’s not necessarily physiologically available in the same efficiency that it would have been if it wasn’t chelated with glyphosate…”
The Dangers of Glyphosate That Most People Have NO Idea Of
Glyphosate, even in plants genetically engineered to withstand it, affects about 25 different enzymes in the process of chelating, or immobilizing, critical micronutrients, because those ions (the micronutrients) are required in order to “drive” the physiological engines that make the plant or organism function properly.
“It is well documented that… having that foreign gene inserted reduces the capability of that plant to take up nutrients and to translocate nutrients,” Dr. Huber says. “Then, when you apply the chemical [glyphosate], you have a further compounding effect in reducing the efficiency of the plants at rates as low as 12 grams per acre.”
According to Dr. Huber, the nutritional efficiency of genetically engineered (GE) plants is profoundly compromised. Micronutrients such as iron, manganese and zinc can be reduced by as much as 80-90 percent in GE plants!
Many staunch defenders of genetically engineered foods are under the misconception that GE foods are “better” or have improved nutrition when the exact opposite is true. They also don’t understand that the glyphosate residue cannot be removed or washed off—it actually becomes part of the plant. It cannot be washed off because it’s systemic within the plant itself.
“It’s going to be in your root tips, your shoot tips, your legume nodules, and in the food that you eat,” Dr. Huber warns.
Furthermore, about 20 percent of the glyphosate migrates out of the plant’s roots and into the surrounding soil. Once in the soil, the glyphosate affects beneficial soil microorganisms in the same way that it affects weeds, because they have the same critical metabolic pathway. With each new Roundup Ready crop approved, the glyphosate residues in the soil increases, and the tolerance levels in the crop increases as well.
This is explosive information that should make warning bells go off in most people’s heads! Personally, I firmly believe we must all become activists to eliminate this threat to our food supply as soon as possible.
Food Quality is Related to Soil Quality
The quality of the food is almost always related to the quality of the soil. The most foundational and critical components of the soil are the microorganisms that thrive there—more so than the necessary nutrients, because it’s the microorganisms that allow the plants to utilize those nutrients.
According to Dr. Huber:
“The plant can only utilize certain [reduced] forms of all the nutrients… The way that it becomes reduced in the soil is through those beneficial microorganisms. We also have microorganisms for legumes like soybeans, alfalfa, peas, or any of the other legumes that can fix up to 75 percent of their actual nitrogen for protein in amino acid synthesis that actually comes from the air through the microorganisms in the soil.
Glyphosate is extremely toxic to all of those organisms.
What we see with our continued use and abuse of this powerful weed killer is that it is also totally eliminating many of those organisms from the soil. We no longer have the same balance that we used to have. Consequently, we see an increase of over 40 new plant diseases, and diseases we used to have under fairly effective control, which now all of a sudden is another serious problem.”
Many staunch defenders of genetically engineered foods are under the misconception that GE foods are “better” or have improved nutrition when the exact opposite is true. They also don’t understand that the glyphosate residue cannot be removed or washed off—it actually becomes part of the plant. It cannot be washed off because it’s systemic within the plant itself.
“It’s going to be in your root tips, your shoot tips, your legume nodules, and in the food that you eat,” Dr. Huber warns.
Furthermore, about 20 percent of the glyphosate migrates out of the plant’s roots and into the surrounding soil. Once in the soil, the glyphosate affects beneficial soil microorganisms in the same way that it affects weeds, because they have the same critical metabolic pathway. With each new Roundup Ready crop approved, the glyphosate residues in the soil increases, and the tolerance levels in the crop increases as well.
This is explosive information that should make warning bells go off in most people’s heads! Personally, I firmly believe we must all become activists to eliminate this threat to our food supply as soon as possible.
Food Quality is Related to Soil Quality
The quality of the food is almost always related to the quality of the soil. The most foundational and critical components of the soil are the microorganisms that thrive there—more so than the necessary nutrients, because it’s the microorganisms that allow the plants to utilize those nutrients.
According to Dr. Huber:
“The plant can only utilize certain [reduced] forms of all the nutrients… The way that it becomes reduced in the soil is through those beneficial microorganisms. We also have microorganisms for legumes like soybeans, alfalfa, peas, or any of the other legumes that can fix up to 75 percent of their actual nitrogen for protein in amino acid synthesis that actually comes from the air through the microorganisms in the soil.
Glyphosate is extremely toxic to all of those organisms.
What we see with our continued use and abuse of this powerful weed killer is that it is also totally eliminating many of those organisms from the soil. We no longer have the same balance that we used to have. Consequently, we see an increase of over 40 new plant diseases, and diseases we used to have under fairly effective control, which now all of a sudden is another serious problem.”
GE Foods Fueling Deadly Botulism in Cattle
The normal biological control organisms—the beneficial gut bacteria—in animals and humans are also very sensitive to residual glyphosate levels.
For example, toxic botulism is now becoming a more common cause of death in dairy cows whereas such deaths used to be extremely rare. The reason it didn’t occur before was because beneficial organisms served as natural controls to keep the Clostridium botulinum in check. Without them, the Clostridium botulinum is allowed to proliferate in the animal’s intestines and produce lethal amounts of toxins.
“Again, the agricultural system, as well as our own ecology, is really a balance,” Dr. Huber says. “It’s a system, not just a bunch of silver bullets that are stacked in a chamber of a revolver. It’s how that ecological system is modified and changed that brings us a new level of diseases and problems with sustainability of our agriculture, our own health, and well-being.”
MOST Major US Food Crops are Now Genetically Engineered!
Many still don’t realize just how much of our food supply has been genetically engineered (GE). As of this year, 93 percent of soybeans grown in the US are genetically engineered, as are:
- 86 percent of all corn
- 93 percent of canola
- 93 percent of cottonseed oil
Between 2008 and 2009, a full 95 percent of all sugarbeets planted were also Roundup Ready.
This means that virtually every processed food you encounter at your local supermarket that does not bear the “100% USDA Organic” label is likely to contain at least one GE component! Earlier this year, the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) also deregulated genetically engineered alfalfa, which is a perennial crop commonly used in cattle feed.
According to Dr. Huber:
“Alfalfa is our fourth most important economic crop, by far the most nutritional feed for our herbivores. They, all of a sudden, can definitely be threatened—not only because of the direct effect of glyphosate on microorganisms, but also because it predisposes and can make that plant very susceptible to some common diseases…
We see this on corn… where we have the sister organism with the Goss’s wilt, a bacterial disease. In that situation, we find that when we put glyphosate on, it nullifies all the genetic resistance that, in the past, made that disease of almost no consequence…Now we find it from coast to coast, East to West, from Mexico to Canada. For four years now, we have a major epidemic in a major food production area in the Midwest, just from that disease.
That is a direct result of our genetic engineering process, which reduces the genetic resistance, and the application of the herbicide that it was designed to tolerate.”
Scary Health Effects of GM Foods
This post is from Care2 Make A Difference where it is broken into eight little bitty bits for easy digestion or low attention spans or more advertising space. Authored by Dr. Mercola (Dr. Mercola has been passionate about health and technology for most of his life. As a doctor of osteopathic medicine, he treated many thousands of patients for over 20 years. In the mid 90’s he integrated his passion for natural health with modern technology via the internet and developed a website, Mercola.com to spread the word about natural ways to achieve optimal health.) this is the entire article in one commercial free spot. It is perhaps one of the most biting and cohesive analysis of the threat GMO foods pose to your health. It deserves your attention for the short time it will take to read the whole article.
Scary Health Effects of GM Foods
- Dr. Mercola
- March 13, 2012
- 10:33 am
- 5 comments
Dr. Don Huber is an expert in an area of science that relates to the toxicity of genetically engineered (GE) foods.
(Alternative terms for GE foods include genetically modified (GM), or “GMO” for genetically modified organism.)
His specific areas of training include soil-borne diseases, microbial ecology, and host-parasite relationships.
Dr. Huber also taught plant pathology, soil microbiology, and micro-ecological interactions as they relate to plant disease as a staff Professor at Purdue University for 35 years.
GE Crops are Breaking the Agricultural System
Agriculture is a complete ‘system’ based on inter-related factors, and in order to maintain ecological balance and health, you must understand how that system works as a whole.
Any time you change one part of that system, you change the interaction of all the other components, because they work together.
It is simply impossible to change just one minor aspect without altering the entire system.
Dr. Huber’s research, which spans over 55 years, has been devoted to looking at how the agricultural system can be managed for more effective crop production, better disease control, improved nutrition, and safety. The introduction of genetically engineered crops has dramatically affected and changed all agricultural components:
I urge you to listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript to fully appreciate the importance of this development.
Herbicides and Pesticides Immobilize Specific Nutrients
One of the major modifications done to genetically engineered food crops is the introduction of herbicide resistance. Monsanto is the leader in this field, with their patented Roundup Ready corn, cotton, soybean and sugar beets, which can survive otherwise lethal doses of glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup.
The working premise is that by making the plants resistant to the herbicide, farmers can increase yield by cutting down on weed growth. This premise has been found to be severely flawed however, as farmers around the world are now losing acreage to glyphosate-resistant super-weeds at an alarming rate. According to the British Institute of Science in Society, the US has fared the worst, now combating 13 different glyphosate-resistant weed species in 73 different locations.
(Alternative terms for GE foods include genetically modified (GM), or “GMO” for genetically modified organism.)
His specific areas of training include soil-borne diseases, microbial ecology, and host-parasite relationships.
Dr. Huber also taught plant pathology, soil microbiology, and micro-ecological interactions as they relate to plant disease as a staff Professor at Purdue University for 35 years.
GE Crops are Breaking the Agricultural System
Agriculture is a complete ‘system’ based on inter-related factors, and in order to maintain ecological balance and health, you must understand how that system works as a whole.
Any time you change one part of that system, you change the interaction of all the other components, because they work together.
It is simply impossible to change just one minor aspect without altering the entire system.
Dr. Huber’s research, which spans over 55 years, has been devoted to looking at how the agricultural system can be managed for more effective crop production, better disease control, improved nutrition, and safety. The introduction of genetically engineered crops has dramatically affected and changed all agricultural components:
- The plants
- The physical environment
- The dynamics of the biological environment, and
- Pests and diseases (plant, animal, and human diseases)
I urge you to listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript to fully appreciate the importance of this development.
Herbicides and Pesticides Immobilize Specific Nutrients
One of the major modifications done to genetically engineered food crops is the introduction of herbicide resistance. Monsanto is the leader in this field, with their patented Roundup Ready corn, cotton, soybean and sugar beets, which can survive otherwise lethal doses of glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup.
The working premise is that by making the plants resistant to the herbicide, farmers can increase yield by cutting down on weed growth. This premise has been found to be severely flawed however, as farmers around the world are now losing acreage to glyphosate-resistant super-weeds at an alarming rate. According to the British Institute of Science in Society, the US has fared the worst, now combating 13 different glyphosate-resistant weed species in 73 different locations.
But the introduction of glyphosate-resistance has also had a direct impact on soil microbes.
While the link between an herbicide (which is directed toward plants) and soil microbes may not be immediately apparent, this ripple effect occurs because, again, it’s an inter-related system. In a nutshell, herbicides are chelators that form a barrier around specific nutrients, preventing whatever life form is seeking to utilize that element from utilizing it properly. That applies both to plants and soil microbes—as well as animals and humans.
This may actually be one of the primary reasons why genetically engineered foods appear to be able to cause such profound health problems in those who consume them. Any organism that has the same physiological pathways for these nutrients will be impacted in the same manner.
Dr. Huber explains :
“You have to realize what an herbicide, or a pesticide, is. They are metal chelators. In other words, they immobilize specific nutrients… [I]t’s a compound that can grab onto another element and change either its solubility or its availability for the critical function it has physiologically. We have herbicides and pesticides that are quite specific just for a particular essential micronutrient like copper, zinc, iron, or manganese.
Glyphosate is very unique and was first patented as a chelator by Stauffer Chemical Co. in 1964, because it could bind with any positively charged ion. If you look at the essential minerals for plants, you see calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and all of those other critical transition elements, as well as structural components for some of them… They all have an ion associated with them. It’s the micronutrient that is an ion—that is a transition element, or that element that is really critical for a particular enzyme function.
If you can chelate and, in that chelation process, essentially immobilize that essential nutrient, you have provided an opportunity to either kill a weed or damage and kill an organism—any organism… that have that particular requirement for that physiologic pathway with glyphosate or the shikimate pathway…
You have to realize that this mode of action immobilizes a critical essential nutrient. Those nutrients aren’t just required by the weed, but they’re required by microorganisms. They’re required by us for our own physiologic functions. So if it’s immobilized, it may be present if we do a regular test. But it’s not necessarily physiologically available in the same efficiency that it would have been if it wasn’t chelated with glyphosate…”
The Dangers of Glyphosate That Most People Have NO Idea Of
Glyphosate, even in plants genetically engineered to withstand it, affects about 25 different enzymes in the process of chelating, or immobilizing, critical micronutrients, because those ions (the micronutrients) are required in order to “drive” the physiological engines that make the plant or organism function properly.
“It is well documented that… having that foreign gene inserted reduces the capability of that plant to take up nutrients and to translocate nutrients,” Dr. Huber says. “Then, when you apply the chemical [glyphosate], you have a further compounding effect in reducing the efficiency of the plants at rates as low as 12 grams per acre.”
While the link between an herbicide (which is directed toward plants) and soil microbes may not be immediately apparent, this ripple effect occurs because, again, it’s an inter-related system. In a nutshell, herbicides are chelators that form a barrier around specific nutrients, preventing whatever life form is seeking to utilize that element from utilizing it properly. That applies both to plants and soil microbes—as well as animals and humans.
This may actually be one of the primary reasons why genetically engineered foods appear to be able to cause such profound health problems in those who consume them. Any organism that has the same physiological pathways for these nutrients will be impacted in the same manner.
Dr. Huber explains :
“You have to realize what an herbicide, or a pesticide, is. They are metal chelators. In other words, they immobilize specific nutrients… [I]t’s a compound that can grab onto another element and change either its solubility or its availability for the critical function it has physiologically. We have herbicides and pesticides that are quite specific just for a particular essential micronutrient like copper, zinc, iron, or manganese.
Glyphosate is very unique and was first patented as a chelator by Stauffer Chemical Co. in 1964, because it could bind with any positively charged ion. If you look at the essential minerals for plants, you see calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and all of those other critical transition elements, as well as structural components for some of them… They all have an ion associated with them. It’s the micronutrient that is an ion—that is a transition element, or that element that is really critical for a particular enzyme function.
If you can chelate and, in that chelation process, essentially immobilize that essential nutrient, you have provided an opportunity to either kill a weed or damage and kill an organism—any organism… that have that particular requirement for that physiologic pathway with glyphosate or the shikimate pathway…
You have to realize that this mode of action immobilizes a critical essential nutrient. Those nutrients aren’t just required by the weed, but they’re required by microorganisms. They’re required by us for our own physiologic functions. So if it’s immobilized, it may be present if we do a regular test. But it’s not necessarily physiologically available in the same efficiency that it would have been if it wasn’t chelated with glyphosate…”
The Dangers of Glyphosate That Most People Have NO Idea Of
Glyphosate, even in plants genetically engineered to withstand it, affects about 25 different enzymes in the process of chelating, or immobilizing, critical micronutrients, because those ions (the micronutrients) are required in order to “drive” the physiological engines that make the plant or organism function properly.
“It is well documented that… having that foreign gene inserted reduces the capability of that plant to take up nutrients and to translocate nutrients,” Dr. Huber says. “Then, when you apply the chemical [glyphosate], you have a further compounding effect in reducing the efficiency of the plants at rates as low as 12 grams per acre.”
According to Dr. Huber, the nutritional efficiency of genetically engineered (GE) plants is profoundly compromised. Micronutrients such as iron, manganese and zinc can be reduced by as much as 80-90 percent in GE plants!
Many staunch defenders of genetically engineered foods are under the misconception that GE foods are “better” or have improved nutrition when the exact opposite is true. They also don’t understand that the glyphosate residue cannot be removed or washed off—it actually becomes part of the plant. It cannot be washed off because it’s systemic within the plant itself.
“It’s going to be in your root tips, your shoot tips, your legume nodules, and in the food that you eat,” Dr. Huber warns.
Furthermore, about 20 percent of the glyphosate migrates out of the plant’s roots and into the surrounding soil. Once in the soil, the glyphosate affects beneficial soil microorganisms in the same way that it affects weeds, because they have the same critical metabolic pathway. With each new Roundup Ready crop approved, the glyphosate residues in the soil increases, and the tolerance levels in the crop increases as well.
This is explosive information that should make warning bells go off in most people’s heads! Personally, I firmly believe we must all become activists to eliminate this threat to our food supply as soon as possible.
Food Quality is Related to Soil Quality
The quality of the food is almost always related to the quality of the soil. The most foundational and critical components of the soil are the microorganisms that thrive there—more so than the necessary nutrients, because it’s the microorganisms that allow the plants to utilize those nutrients.
According to Dr. Huber:
“The plant can only utilize certain [reduced] forms of all the nutrients… The way that it becomes reduced in the soil is through those beneficial microorganisms. We also have microorganisms for legumes like soybeans, alfalfa, peas, or any of the other legumes that can fix up to 75 percent of their actual nitrogen for protein in amino acid synthesis that actually comes from the air through the microorganisms in the soil.
Glyphosate is extremely toxic to all of those organisms.
What we see with our continued use and abuse of this powerful weed killer is that it is also totally eliminating many of those organisms from the soil. We no longer have the same balance that we used to have. Consequently, we see an increase of over 40 new plant diseases, and diseases we used to have under fairly effective control, which now all of a sudden is another serious problem.”
Many staunch defenders of genetically engineered foods are under the misconception that GE foods are “better” or have improved nutrition when the exact opposite is true. They also don’t understand that the glyphosate residue cannot be removed or washed off—it actually becomes part of the plant. It cannot be washed off because it’s systemic within the plant itself.
“It’s going to be in your root tips, your shoot tips, your legume nodules, and in the food that you eat,” Dr. Huber warns.
Furthermore, about 20 percent of the glyphosate migrates out of the plant’s roots and into the surrounding soil. Once in the soil, the glyphosate affects beneficial soil microorganisms in the same way that it affects weeds, because they have the same critical metabolic pathway. With each new Roundup Ready crop approved, the glyphosate residues in the soil increases, and the tolerance levels in the crop increases as well.
This is explosive information that should make warning bells go off in most people’s heads! Personally, I firmly believe we must all become activists to eliminate this threat to our food supply as soon as possible.
Food Quality is Related to Soil Quality
The quality of the food is almost always related to the quality of the soil. The most foundational and critical components of the soil are the microorganisms that thrive there—more so than the necessary nutrients, because it’s the microorganisms that allow the plants to utilize those nutrients.
According to Dr. Huber:
“The plant can only utilize certain [reduced] forms of all the nutrients… The way that it becomes reduced in the soil is through those beneficial microorganisms. We also have microorganisms for legumes like soybeans, alfalfa, peas, or any of the other legumes that can fix up to 75 percent of their actual nitrogen for protein in amino acid synthesis that actually comes from the air through the microorganisms in the soil.
Glyphosate is extremely toxic to all of those organisms.
What we see with our continued use and abuse of this powerful weed killer is that it is also totally eliminating many of those organisms from the soil. We no longer have the same balance that we used to have. Consequently, we see an increase of over 40 new plant diseases, and diseases we used to have under fairly effective control, which now all of a sudden is another serious problem.”
GE Foods Fueling Deadly Botulism in Cattle
The normal biological control organisms—the beneficial gut bacteria—in animals and humans are also very sensitive to residual glyphosate levels.
For example, toxic botulism is now becoming a more common cause of death in dairy cows whereas such deaths used to be extremely rare. The reason it didn’t occur before was because beneficial organisms served as natural controls to keep the Clostridium botulinum in check. Without them, the Clostridium botulinum is allowed to proliferate in the animal’s intestines and produce lethal amounts of toxins.
“Again, the agricultural system, as well as our own ecology, is really a balance,” Dr. Huber says. “It’s a system, not just a bunch of silver bullets that are stacked in a chamber of a revolver. It’s how that ecological system is modified and changed that brings us a new level of diseases and problems with sustainability of our agriculture, our own health, and well-being.”
MOST Major US Food Crops are Now Genetically Engineered!
Many still don’t realize just how much of our food supply has been genetically engineered (GE). As of this year, 93 percent of soybeans grown in the US are genetically engineered, as are:
- 86 percent of all corn
- 93 percent of canola
- 93 percent of cottonseed oil
Between 2008 and 2009, a full 95 percent of all sugarbeets planted were also Roundup Ready.
This means that virtually every processed food you encounter at your local supermarket that does not bear the “100% USDA Organic” label is likely to contain at least one GE component! Earlier this year, the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) also deregulated genetically engineered alfalfa, which is a perennial crop commonly used in cattle feed.
According to Dr. Huber:
“Alfalfa is our fourth most important economic crop, by far the most nutritional feed for our herbivores. They, all of a sudden, can definitely be threatened—not only because of the direct effect of glyphosate on microorganisms, but also because it predisposes and can make that plant very susceptible to some common diseases…
We see this on corn… where we have the sister organism with the Goss’s wilt, a bacterial disease. In that situation, we find that when we put glyphosate on, it nullifies all the genetic resistance that, in the past, made that disease of almost no consequence…Now we find it from coast to coast, East to West, from Mexico to Canada. For four years now, we have a major epidemic in a major food production area in the Midwest, just from that disease.
That is a direct result of our genetic engineering process, which reduces the genetic resistance, and the application of the herbicide that it was designed to tolerate.”
Minutes of SLOLA February 2012 meeting
General Membership Monthly Meeting Minutes 02/18/2012
The Learning Garden, Venice High School
Attendance: The meeting was attended by approximately 45 people, including approximately 20 first-time attendees. Quorum was present
PROPOSED AGENDA
- breeding project – Burbank paste tomato for Seeds of Change
- keynote presentation: Albert Chang – Report from the Organic Seed Growers Conference
- announcements
PROCEEDINGS
At 2:30 pm, the Seed Library of Los Angeles (hereafter referred to as “SLOLA”) general membership monthly Meeting was Called to Order by Chair David King, presiding. He presented and explained the SLOLA Mission Statement, as is customary practice at each meeting. The meeting was filmed by Marc Ryan.
KEYNOTE
Speaker: Albert Chang – Report from the Organic Seed Growers Conference
Albert, Chair of the Best Practices Committee, presented a sequential account of what he learned at the 6th annual Organic Seed Growers Conference in Port Townsend, WA over the weekend of January 20-21, 2012.
The conference’s keynote speaker was Dr. William Tracy from the Department of Agronomy at the University of Washington. Dr. Tracy focused on the diversity of plant life created by the processes of natural selection, and how human plant breeding amounts to directed selection from among a variable population of genes available in any plant population. Sometimes, the results of plant breeding experiments can often be unexpected. One example is the increase of corn yields due to breeding plants with different leaf angles, which allowed closer planting of corn in fields. Because of this, plant breeding is intimately tied with the success of organic agriculture in seeking methods to increase yields.
He also outlined the current state of land grant universities, which were established 150 years ago under the Morrill Act. It was such institutional program which carried out a majority of plant breeding experiments in the 20th century, however declining enrollment, lower funding, and restrictive germplasm laws have led to a drastic reduction in the past 30 years. Coupled with this are plant patent laws, which last for 17 years, and allow corporations and individuals to obtain plant utility licenses. This has led to a decrease in the biodiversity of crop varieties, and restricts people from planting certain varieties or using them as a basis for breeding new varieties without paying licensing fees, which causes increased monoculture and abandoned crop varieties. Thus, the plant breeding industry finds itself in a dire state, even when plant breeders are capable of positively affecting communities with locally adapted crops which can create niche markets and help the environment. He closed by posing a question to the audience: how to get land grant universities to focus on organic seed production – either via legislative pressure or via increased grower input?
Albert recapped the next few workshops he attended which covered basic seed saving techniques, and also outlined the difference between two types of legal breed protection: PVP (plant variety protection) patents, which last 17 years, or Plant Utility Patents, which are they type that companies like Monsanto have been busy obtaining.
Albert showed those in attendance at the meeting a photo of Matthew Dillon from Organic Seedd Alliance and Seed Matters, who has been instrumental in obtaining a $1,000,000 doantion from Clif Bar Family Foundation toward the establishment of seed banks/libraries, fellowships, and community seed toolkits. He identified Matthew as a key player who SLOLA should hope to connect with further in the future.
The next day of the conference featured a case study-based talk on Managing Isolation Distances in Organic Seed Production by John Navazio of Washington State University, and another talk on Food Regimes and Food Movements presented by Dr. Eric Holt-Gimenez of Food First, Oakland. In this talk, it was shared that over 91% of cropland is planted with just five crops: cotton, wheat, rice, corn, and potatoes. This has led to a situation in which food is too expensive. Even while the amount of food produced per capita has increased 12% since 1990, there has been a corresponding 9% rise in the global undernourished population. Dr. Holt-Gimenez criticized the roles of the Green Revolution, subsidies and tariffs, and an overreliance on trade agreements like NAFTA.
In his mind, the current food situation is caused by a Corporate Food Regime, which is based on petrochemicals, global monopolies, and GMOs. This creates a revolving cycle of policy liberalization followed by periods of devastating bust. People and farmers need to reassert their sovereign right to produce and consume food as a social right. This can create a return to sustainable farming practices.
One other important lesson that Albert learned was presented by Dr. Paul Simon of the University of Wisconsin, Jim Myers of Oregon State University, and Walter Goldstein of the Mandaaman Institute. This lesson was that the domestication of plants and animals was one of the most important human achievements. First, humans domesticated crops, and then crops domesticated humans.
Albert concluded his report with a recap and photos of the weekend’s seed swap, showing images of the various people in the seed growing industry who attended. He obtained a seed donation from Theresa Allen at Seeds of Change, which was passed to David King for inclusion in the library. She also sent him with a call for people to grow the seeds and report their experiences
MEETING ITEMS
Chair: David King
David encouraged people who have ideas for the future of SLOLA to submit them to a committee chair or officer. Soon SLOLA will start opening branches across the county to increase availability of seeds to people who want them! Potential branches include East LA, Pasadena, and the Valley.
He also announced that for future meetings a PA system would be set up so that people may better hear speakers during meetings.
To determine where members have heard about SLOLA, he asked those attending for the first time about where they had heard of the meeting. Responses included the SLOLA Facebook page, directly from David, via the LA Times, permaculture groups, and the GreenGirlLA blog.
Vice Chair: Lucinda Zimmerman
(absent)
Treasurer: Julie Mann
Julie announced the updated treasury balance of $3,226.02 and an increase of 34 new members since the last meeting. The only costs were associated with PayPal costs from new membership processing.
Secretary: Kathryn Brown
Kathryn announced that meeting minutes from 01.14.12 meeting were posted online for review.
Best Practices: Albert Chang
Albert announced that the new library space will open soon with a new inventory system designed to speed checkout.
Database: Linda Preuss
Linda announced that the database is up and running. She asked for interested volunteers to find her after the meeting or contact her at database@slola.org if they would like to help further develop the database or to update inventory. Updated inventory sheets will be distributed to members during meetings to facilitate checkout procedures and will at some future date be included in membership mailings announcing meetings.
Membership: Tim Smith
Tim reminded those attending the meeting that lifetime membership was only $10 and that inventory sheets and check-in/checkout sheets were being circulated around the meeting. He reported that membership now stands at about 310 members, and encouraged anyone wishing to join to visit him at the membership table after the meeting’s conclusion.
Web/Outreach: Kathryn Brown
Kathryn announced the creation of a new events calendar on the website and put out a call for volunteers to contribute events for the calendar. She also asked for membership input as to community groups which may be useful for outreach.
Volunteer/Library: Patty Kestin
Patty announced that current members will be receiving a survey of their volunteer skills. In addition, all new signing members are asked to note what skills and interests they have so that volunteer assessments can be made. All volunteers should contact her if they would like to participate in particular areas of the organization. In addition, there will be a workday to remodel the library and update the database. Contact her for details or to volunteer.
Also, seed checkout will be conducted in the shade house following the meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Tomato Distribution: David King
David introduced the featured seed of the month, the San Marzano tomato from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, 40 packs of which were donated by Marilyn Adams at LabelGMOs.org for distribution to members in connection with their upcoming campaign to obtain a CA ballot initiative to label GMOs in food. All the seed packets were distributed.
He also announced the beginning of a SLOLA plant breeding experiment in connection with Theresa Allen at Seeds of Change. They supplied several packets of Burbank Paste tomatoes, which are no longer offered by Seeds of Change, because over the years, the size of the tomatoes has diminished. Therefore, SLOLA members who wish to participate are asked to grow out these tomatoes and select seeds from the largest tomatoes so that over several seasons the size of this variety may be increased again to commercial viability. Members who wish to grow this variety were given packets with 6 seeds each, and there were approximately 30 takers for this project. He briefly explained the process for successfully growing tomatoes to seed. There is little need to employ isolation methods with this project.
OTHER BUSINESS / ANNOUNCEMENTS
A LabelGMOs.org petition will be available for signing after the meeting at the membership table.
Mark of occupyVenice.org announced the completion of a Learning Garden workday by people affiliated with that org and encouraged people to check out the work being done by Occupy Venice.
A question was raised regarding accepting seed donations. Yes, such donations are encouraged, and can be taken to the librarians on staff in the library after the meeting.
NEXT MEETING
The next general SLOLA membership meeting will be held:
Location: The Learning Garden, Venice High School
Date: March 17, 2012
Time: 2:30 pm
CONCLUSION
Motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded, and meeting was adjourned at 4:00pm by David King, Chair. The seed library opened following the meeting for member checkouts.
Respectfully submitted by Kathryn Brown.
Posted in Minutes, Organic Seed Alliance, saving tomato seeds, Uncategorized
Tagged 2012, Albert Chang, february, LabelGMOs.org, library, meeting minutes, Seeds of Change, tomato
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