A friend sent me the following video earlier, and I had to check into it!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/nzXCHT3mZQv5oddN/?mibextid=w8EBqM
In the video, The Scaredy Cat Gardener shares that it is a good idea to check local and state laws beforehand because it may be ILLEGAL to sell or give away seeds from the plants in your garden…
Immediately, I was like, “Whaaaaaaat?!”
Yep, you heard that right!
Back in 2017, twenty-nine states passed what is known as ‘seed preemption’ laws that block counties and cities from passing laws that restrict the sale of seeds. As they should, right?
The official “good guy” explanation our government offers for this intrusion on our civil liberties is, of course, “public safety.” As it may well be, in some regards.
But, if you read a little further into this, you will see figures like the following from The Fern:
“Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences, and Syngenta also spent more than $6.9 million opposing anti-GMO rules in three Hawaiian counties, and thousands more in campaign donations.”
So, really, these bills weren’t about protecting the farmers, or the land… they were corporate-backed measures taken in response to legislation that passed in several US states, banning the use of GMOs, or genetically-modified “organic” seeds.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the use of GMOs.
I did the research awhile back. In case you didn’t know… They spray fields with toxic chemicals to kill weeds and pests. This practice paved the way for easier mass production, corporate farming. But, the toxic chemicals killed the crops too… and obviously that’s no good…
So now, GMO seeds are genetically altered to be resistant to the pesticides. And if you read the packaging for *most* of the packages foods at the grocery store, you will find it’s hard to find foods that AREN’T genetically modified.
Anyways, back to seed laws…
I took the liberty of pulling the Iowa Code specific to seeds and seed preemption laws… You can download it here.
Really I can see both sides of this topic, but I am getting tired of adding to the list of civil rights and liberties that our government has taken from us! Both the ones we are made aware of OUT LOUD…P AND the ones they strip away when everyone is distracted by things like Taylor Swift watching her man play football.
Iridescent Alchemyst 