how and why the safe seed pledge was created
by Diane Ott Wheaely, The Heritage Farm Companion, Summer 2014
by Diane Ott Wheaely, The Heritage Farm Companion, Summer 2014
The Safe Seed Pledge was created in 1999 as collaboration between the Council for Responsible Genetics and coalition of seed catalogue companies. Martin Teitel, PhD served as the Executive Director of the Council for Responsible Genetics at the time. I recently spoke with Marty (who currently serves on the Board of SSE) and asked him the impetus for the pledge.
“It was a time when genetic engineering
was beginning to threaten our food supply by leading us away from diversity and
pushing us toward an enforced monoculture, genetic uniformity, while steadily
expanding ownership of humanity’s food supply.
I had just co-authored Genetically
Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of
Nature, and had learned of agro-chemical companies’ plan to have us focus
the debate on food safety and not the seeds.”
“Seed is essential to our food
supply. Rather than argue about who has
ownership, we should pledge to care and save seeds as a core value of our
existence. By taking this pledge,
companies publically promise to save something that can’t protect itself. The Safe Seed Pledge creates an ethical
relationship between seed and people.”
When this document was first penned
more than a decade ago, Seed Savers Exchange was one of the first organizations
to sign on, along with 60 other seed companies.
Today, over 300 companies have signed the pledge. I asked Marty if he felt the Safe Seed Pledge
had make a difference.
“There are many avenues to take in this
fight. I feel that agro-chemical and
seed biotech companies welcome the negative, sometimes emotional, reaction
given to their policies, which make the victim.
What is more effective, and what they don’t welcome, is well-documented
analysis. Facts. Information.
Open debate on a level playing field.
Our responsibility is to analyze and criticize that which harms our
world. We need to take a stance – we do
not approve of any power grab of humanity’s food supply. The Safe Seed Pledge offers an avenue for
seed companies and for those who support them to publically proclaim their
dedication to preserve the integrity of our food and seed supply.”
As Marty points out, “The great wisdom
of Seed Savers Exchange for nearly 40 years has been to keep the focus on
seed.” I agree. Seed Savers Exchange as a non-profit,
grassroots organization has created a culture where communities of ordinary people
have been making a change by saving, sharing and stewarding seed. We have become the guardians of our genetic
resources without an enormous financial budget, campaigns or lobbying, but
rather with a simple commitment to believe and act on a pledge.
"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations.For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political and cultural threats. We feel that genetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing are necessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately healthy people and communities."
