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| I am really bummed. I just got an order from Scheepers Kitchen Garden, which included 'Cheddar' cauliflower. I should have done my research before, because I just found it is a Monsanto seed. I just assumed that nothing at Scheepers would be Monsanto. I knew it was a hybrid, of course, I just did not know it was "owned" by Seminis/Monsanto. I am tempted to send it back, I just really don't want to grow any Monsanto seeds in my garden. Any one else have thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Unless you're totally opposed to having it grown at all you could offer it up for trade in an exchange on one of the board's exchange posts/forums. As much as Monsanto-owned hybrid seed companies get...no one seems to care about the Syngenta/DuPont/etc owned seeds...kinda like everyone jumps on Walmart while ignoring Target. Good luck with your purchasing power vote...it's only gonna get harder. |
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| If it really bothers you then grow open-pollinated varieties aka heirlooms rather than hybrids and then you don't have to worry about it. Any hybrid is going to be owned by 'somebody' and 90% of the time you won't know who. Dave |
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| Yes, it does really bother me. I am new to this, only my third year growing vegetables, and I just figured out what F1 means. So I guess I will be growing only OP from now on! |
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| aggiebee- And what does F1 mean? (this will be interesting) |
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| If I ate cauliflower, I'd ask you to send the seeds to me. I'd be happy to grow seeds from a Monsanto-owned company or any other. Monsanto's Roundup-Ready seed has allowed LESS, and LESS TOXIC pesticides to be used, and that's good news for the environment. I'd love to give them my business so they can do more good work. |
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| Monsanto owns a lot of seed companies that have nothing to do with GMO. They're totally separate operations that rarely (if ever) mingle with each other. The hybridization work they do is the same quality traditional hybridization work done by "non scarey" companies. They just happen to own the companies (mostly by buying them out) that produce them. Fwiw, anyone getting into buying GMO seeds or some fruit trees (such as papaya in HI) are required to either take a class on GMO safety (mostly for fruit trees) or sign a contract with the seed supplier (seeds). You're not going to find GMO seeds in seed packets at your local retailer or out of a retail market catalog. |
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| F1 represents the first generation seed of a genetic cross between two distinct varieties. The result is hybrid vigor. Saving seeds from the F1 generation is not recommended since the seed does not represent a single variety. |
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- Posted by landscraper82 4a -ND (My Page) on Fri, Dec 7, 12 at 9:10
| Yeah...I have a fairly close cousin who works for Monsanto. The way some people talk about this company you'd think it was based in a dark castle on a hill with constant thunder and lightning outside. |
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| While I don't think Monsanto is "based in a dark castle on a hill with constant thunder and lightning outside," I am unhappy with a lot of their practices. And I am not nervous about ending up with GMOs in my garden, but it is a long-standing consumer practice, at least in democracies, to vote with your wallet. Hence, I can avoid Monsanto products that are not GMOs to protest their use of GMOs. |
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| So I guess I will be growing only OP from now on! While there are some advantages to growing only OPs and many do, needless to say there are lots of hybrids that are NOT owned by Seminis so if your boycott is only with them you still have lots of hybrid choices. The Seminis website lists all of their home garden vegetable seed patents (organized by vegetable) so it is easy to determine which varieties to avoid. But since you are relatively new to home gardening and its issues, I'd strongly encourage you to research both sides of the Monsanto (and Syngenta) issues before making such a choice-restrictive decision. So much of the negative publicity about both companies is very personal-agenda oriented rather than fact-based so it is to our advantage to keep an open mind. Dave |
Here is a link that might be useful: Seminis Vegetable seeds
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| I do find it hard to find unbiased information, and I certainly would hate to rule out growing hybrids. I will keep researching. Just as the negative publicity seems overblown and slightly paranoid, the defense of Monsanto seems also knee-jerk and not convincing.
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| Here's Syngenta's hybrid (non-GMO) lines, fwiw. http://www.syngenta-us.com/seeds/vegetables/ Also, BEWARE of fake/misinformed/ignorant lists of companies owned by Monsanto. Some are some so woefully incorrect that if it wasn't just some list on the internet they would get sued into the ground. Seed companies that sell of their hybrids are not necessarily owned by Monsanto/etc. |
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| Whatever the ins and outs of the seed merchant, I do find Cheddar to be delicious. I prefer it to any whites I have had.(I don't grow it myself but buy them from a local market gardener.) |
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