(Arjun Walia) The
European Commission is changing the European Union’s plant legislation,
apparently to enhance food safety across the continent. This move has sparked a
heavy opposition from many, saying that the measure will threaten seed
diversity and favour large agrochemical businesses. This new law creates new
powers to classify and regulate all plant life anywhere in Europe. You can view
the entire proposal in the list of sources at the bottom of this article.
The “Plant Reproductive Material
Law” regulates all plants. It contains restrictions on vegetables and woodland
trees, as well as all other plants of any species. It will be illegal to grow,
reproduce, or trade any vegetable seed or tree that has not been tested and
approved by the government, more specifically the “EU Plant Variety Agency.”
This agency will be responsible for making a list of approved plants and an
annual fee must also be forwarded to the agency if growers would like to keep
what they grow on the list. The new law basically puts the government in charge
of all plants and seeds in Europe, and prevents home gardeners from growing
their own plants from non-regulated seeds. If they did, they would now be
considered criminals. The draft text of the law has
already been changed several times due to a large backlash from gardeners.
This law will immediately stop the
professional development of vegetable varieties for home gardeners, organic
growers and small scale market farmers. Home gardeners have really different
needs – for example they grow by hand, not machine, and can’t or don’t want to
use such powerful chemical sprays. There’s no way to register the varieties
suitable for home use as they don’t meet the strict criteria of the Plant
Variety Agency, which is only concerned about approving the sort of seed used
by industrial farmers – Ben Gabel, Director of The Real Seed Catalogue
It seems the government is taking
over everything, virtually all plants, vegetables seeds and gardeners are to be
registered by the government. What’s even more disturbing is that all heirloom
seeds will be criminalized. This means that saving seeds from one generation to
the next will become a criminal act!
This law was written for the needs
of the globalized farm seed industry, who supply seed by the ton to industrial
farmers. It should not apply at all to seed used by home gardeners and small
market growers. Freely reproducible seeds should be a human right, they are
part of our heritage.
I understand this is to protect the
business of big agri-companies, but registration and testing should be
voluntary for all non GMO, non-patented and non hybrid seed.
Source: http://healthydebates.com/european-commission-ban-heirloom-seeds-criminalize-plants-seeds-registered-government/ -
See more at: http://healthydebates.com/european-commission-ban-heirloom-seeds-criminalize-plants-seeds-registered-government/#sthash.LDozEopu.dpuf
Comments:
European Farmers should storm the Bastille with
pitchforks and torches. Each time the noose of UN Agenda 21 tightens, citizens
have every excuse to refuse this tyranny.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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