Plans are in full swing to make this year’s Spring Planting Festival better than ever at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company’s Bakersville Pioneer Village near Mansfield, Missouri, on May 6 and 7.

Visitors will enjoy strolling through the many graveled paths lined with huge vendor tents and booths where they will find an abundance of plant starts of everything from vegetables, to flowers, to succulents, to herbs, to fruit trees and bushes. Visitors with no space to garden will still enjoy browsing the vendor booths for all different kinds of wood crafts, food crafts, needle crafts, survival and sustainable living ideas, metal crafts, and many more.

Our speaker line up is filled with nationally and internationally known presenters: Jeffrey Smith is an international best-selling author, founder of Institute for Responsible Technology, and one of America’s leading experts on the subject of genetically modified foods.

Our speaker line up is filled with nationally and internationally known presenters:

Jeffrey Smith is an international best-selling author, founder of Institute for Responsible Technology, and one of America’s leading experts on the subject of genetically modified foods.

Doug Oster is host of the Organic Gardener radio show, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s garden writer, and author of several garden books.

Jimmy Williams is an urban farmer and co-author of the the critically acclaimed From Seed to Skillet, a guide to planting a backyard garden. He has an extraordinary wealth of knowledge when it come to growing edible gardens without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

Susan Heeger is co-author From Seed to Skillet and a long-time magazine and newspaper feature writer with a specialty in garden, design, home, lifestyle, and food stories.

William Woys Weaver is a well-known heirloom gardener, author of respectable collection of cookbooks and food industry books, and contributing editor to Mother Earth News.

Dave Murphy is founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 250,000 American Farmers and citizens.

Mac Condill is a famed cucurbit farmer, homesteader, and seed developer from Arthur, IL.

Charlie Hopper is a Marketing Specialist for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, spent seven years in Appalachia working in rural development and sustainable land use where he had an organic vegetable operation on the side, and now works directly with farmers and community groups preaching the gospel of local food.

New this year will be our ongoing children’s activities throughout the two days. We will have a large children’s area in which we will have activities such as potato sack race, obstacle course, treasure/scavenger hunt, sing-alongs, seed starting, making pine cone bird feeders, and a whole lot more. Best of all: there is no admission charge for kids 16 and under. We do ask that parents accompany their children to these activities.

People who relish in old-time music will want to experience the western, folk, country, gospel, Irish, bluegrass and Americana tunes scattered throughout the grounds. In addition to performances on our four stages, there will be single, family, and group performers entertaining in other venues. Diners in the restaurant may enjoy piano music with their meal while browsers in the mercantile listen to a folk quartet while visitors to the flour mill enjoy gospel with an hint of Irish flavor. Old-fashioned musicians, both solo acts and groups, travel from many states to compete in the Folk Music Contest. Instrumental and vocal acts alike have fun vying for prizes while entertaining the masses.

Aside from scheduled activities, people who live the pure and natural life of gardening enjoy sharing ideas and swapping stories. Many take advantage of the Gettles’ offer to pitch a tent or park a camper in designated areas for the duration of the festival. Those folks then can be found enjoying the after-festival time to meet and exchange seeds, advice, and anecdotes.

Join thousands of visitors from farms, small towns, and large cities across the United Stages at the 2012 Spring Planting Festival, America’s largest heirloom planting event.

The festival is held our our village and farm. Simply take Highway 5 north from Mansfield for 1.5 miles and follow signs. Food is available at the festival from our Bakersville restaurant and a variety of vendors. Admission for adults is $5 per person, per day. Children 16 and under are free. All pets over 20 lbs must be pre-approved. No weapons are allowed. Vendors are welcome (call 417-924-8917 for info).

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Visit us online at www.rareseeds.com or email us at seeds@rareseeds.com.

They also made nice decorative additions to the mixed vegetable pickles that locals in my region call chow-chow, well, the culinary uses are as endless as your imagination.

Wethersfield Red onion

Red Wethersfield onions are flat, about four or five inches in diameter, so they are wonderful when braided up with the White Portugal (also called Silver Skin) heirloom onion that was a great favorite in Pennsylvania where I live – they do well because we are on the same latitude as Lisbon. White Portugal is also flat so the combination of the Red Wethersfield and the White Portugal onions in a three-foot braid is really eye-catching. Too bad we don’t see this more often in farmers’ markets; it’s a great way to attract customers and both varieties have similar keeping qualities. Happily Red Wethersfield was one of the stock onions that have made Comstock, Ferre & Company famous since 1811, and the firm continues to promote this onion classic to this day. In fact, it has become something of a company mascot, and no harm in that because this is one mascot that is also good to eat!

Wethersfield Red Onion is available form Comstock Ferre Co. at http://comstockferre.com/onion/wethersfield-large-red.html

William Woys Weaver is a culinary historian living in Devon, Pennsylvania, were he maintains the Roughwood Seed Collection consisting of some 4000 varieties of food plants.

A sweeping bill to require labeling of GMO ingredients in processed foods was discussed before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Environment Committee on February 22, in the states capital, Hartford. Testimony was taken from opponents and proponents of the bill, designated HB5117, and entitled AN ACT CONCERNING GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED FOODS. (Read the full text of the bill here.)

The bill calls for labeling of foods that contain, or may contain, GMO ingredients. Agricultural products would have to be labeled with labeling containing the words “Genetically Engineered,” either on the label or upon signage prominently displayed at the point of sale, or, in the case of processed foods, the package would be required to carry the words “Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering” or “May be Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering.”  There would be exemptions for meat and alcohol.

Moreover, the bill would require the Connecticut Department of Agriculture to create regulations around “best practices,” for Connecticut farmers “who cultivate commercially any genetically-engineered crop. Such regulations shall require the implementation of practices by such farmers to:

(1) Eliminate or minimize the degree to which such genetically-engineered crop affects neighboring lands, and

(2) minimize the amount of herbicides used by such farmers to eradicate herbicide-resistant weeds.”

The bill also contains consumer protection language, would require the state to publish and update a list of agricultural commodities known to contain GMO’s, and would set up procurement guidelines whereby the state would give preference to non-GMO products.

Representatives of the food and grocery industries, as well as mainstream farmers’ trade organizations, gave testimony opposing HB5117. Their arguments generally took the position that such regulations are unnecessary, since there already exists national-level labeling laws, such as USDA Organic/NOP certification and labeling, by which consumers can already tell when products are GMO-free. Other concerns included the fear that compliance will raise costs in an already uncertain economy, and that regulating the issue on the state level would be unfair to Connecticut producers and retailers, since Connecticut is a very small state.

Many opponents went further, claiming that GMO products are exempt from current labeling requirements, such as those that mandate listing preservatives, chemical, and allergens in foods, because the USDA has already established that GMO foods are perfectly safe and in no way different from conventional food products.

Proponents of the bill disagreed, claiming that there has been little actual testing by USDA, and even that negative information about the safety of GMO products has actually been suppressed. A host of organic farmers, green-and sustainability advocates,  organic trade groups, and individuals offered testimony as well, citing their belief that the public is definitely afraid of GMO content in foods, and of GMO crops in the environment. Several of the proponents indicated their belief that, while several other states are considering similar proposals or ballot initiatives, the fact that none has yet been passed presents Connecticut an opportunity to provide leadership to the states, since labeling requirements clearly are not going to be created anytime soon at the federal level.

(Read the full testimony here)

The bill, which is a “raised bill” meaning that it originated within the Environment Committee, will now be further considered by the committee leadership, which may decide to eventually submit it to the General Assembly for possible passage.

Randel Agrella is a Baker Creek Employee, an avid anti-GMO activist, and owner of Abundant Acres Heirloom Nursery.

Baker Creek co-owner and heirloom girl Emilee Gettle is featured on the front cover of Country Woman magazine. Check out the February/March issue published by Reiman Publications.

Visit Emilee’s blog at www.heirloomgirl.com

Little Green Eggplant–One of our new favorites!

First and foremost is our new and improved 2012 Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog. It is now a whopping 196 pages and printed on recycled paper to help save our Earth. The catalog contains lots more photos of beautiful flowers and vegetables, as well as many additional interesting and informative articles and narratives. We have also included more planting and growing tips to help make your garden successful. For those wanting to view the catalog online, it is now available in flip format  No more scrolling down the pages to find what you want—just flip through the pages!

Most significantly, though, is that our 2012 catalog contains more than 120 “new” varieties of of heirloom seeds. One of Jere’s favorite new offerings is the Little Green Eggplant, an abundant producer of brilliant, neon-green fruits that are sweet and mild. He also really likes the Ivory Pear Tomato which produces cute little 1-ounce fruits that are ivory-cream in color and shaped like little pears on high-yielding plants. Jere is excited to offer the Bhut Jolokia Pepper, a legendary variety that is one of the world’s hottest peppers, if not the hottest, with readings in excess of 1,000,000 Scoville units.

Ivory Pear Tomato

We have also added new flower varieties to our offerings this year. Two favorites are the Chocolate Streamer Sweet Peas that produce gorgeous rare and unusual blossoms that are chocolate speckled and will steal the show in your home or market garden, and the outstanding Spun Gold Marigold that boasts fully-double pale gold flowers blooming all summer long.  With additional varieties listed online, we offer more than 1,400 varieties of heirloom seeds that are pure and free of GMO’s.  View our online catalog to read helpful customer reviews of specific varieties.  Also check out our online forums at iDigmyGarden.comthat recently have been redesigned with new features added and a colorful interface.  We currently have 850,000 posts!

We are thrilled to introduce even more of our new and improved colored seed packets.  So far, we have about 1,000 of our varieties in these new packets that feature color photos or drawings of the mature fruits.  We will continue to develop more of these custom-colored packets throughout the year.

In keeping up with the electronic age, we are excited that you can now read our magazine, catalog and other publications on your iPad.  We further plan to have our publications available on other devices in the near future.

Our Heirloom Gardener magazine continues to grow.  It is now 84 colorful pages and is on the newsstands at Barnes and Noble, Tractor Supply Company, Whole Foods Markets, and other regional outlets across the US.  Each issue is filled with mouth-watering images, educational articles and delicious recipes.  We cover everything from seed starting to vegan cooking.  Read further down to learn how to get a free subscription!

We now have THREE retail outlets.  In addition to our Baker Creek Headquarters at Mansfield, Missouri, we invite our friends on the West Coast to visit the Seed Bank in Petaluma, California.  Occupying the beautiful and ornate Sonoma County National Bank Building that was constructed in the 1920′s, the Seed Bank attracts gardeners, foodies, shoppers, and tourists alike.    Our friends on the East Coast will enjoy visiting Comstock Ferre, and Company in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where we carry a full line of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  We acquired this 201-year old seed company in 2010 and are currently restoring its store, barn, and grounds.

We were thrilled to help host The National Heirloom Exposition in Sonoma County, California, last September.  This event was sometimes called the world’s fair of pure food and attracted more than 11,000 people.  Visitors begged for more, so we are now planning the 2012 expo for September 11,12, and 13.  With more internationally acclaimed speakers, vendors, chefs, etc., we expect this National Heirloom Exposition to greatly surpass last year’s in attendance and participation.

Squash Tower at The National Heirloom Exposition

We are very excited that our first book is receiving such enthusiastic response! Written by Jere and Emilee Gettle and published by Hyperion, a division of ABC/Disney, The Heirloom Life Gardener is a book for a new generation of gardeners and not just another how-to-garden book.  This full-color, 228-page book tells the story of Jere Gettle’s very early interest in gardening and how that interest evolved into Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.  Read about the Gettles’ travels, philosophy on food, seed saving, and much more.  Best of all, when you order the book from us for $29.95, you will also receive a FREE one-year subscription to the Heirloom Gardener magazine.

Comstock, Ferre, & Co (comstockferre.com) employees are busily preparing their big birthday party. On June 5, 2011, they will celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the company’s founding. Located in historic Wethersfield, Connecticut, the business is beginning its third century of supplying quality vegetable and flower seeds to New England, the U.S., and the world.

Jere and Emilee Gettle, owners of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri, purchased Comstock, Ferre & Co in 2010. The Gettles are quite dedicated to preserving the history of seeds and seed saving and are looking forward to being a part of the festival, which is free for the public to attend.

Pumpkins at Comstock Ferre Co.

Attendees will enjoy the celebration as employees dressed in colonial period clothing help to re-create an atmosphere of the company’s early days when the Connecticut River played a major roll in supplying garden seeds to local Wethersfield and other areas far away.. A section of the property will be transformed to a settler’s camp from the 18^th Century, including a tent dedicated to selling period-appropriate goods.

Any current or “would-be” gardeners will find a wide choice of plants for purchase at the festival. Not only is the greenhouse on the grounds full of seedlings growing from some of the most unusual and delicious seeds of the Baker Creek and Comstock lines, but there will also be other vendors showcasing and selling their bedding plants and seedlings.

Heirloom Produce at Comstock Ferre Co.

Anyone not interested in the actual physical aspect of gardening but still looking for quality food will find a farmer’s market on site where they can support local farmers by purchasing locally grown produce. Chaplin Farms and Urban Oaks are just two of the farming venues to be present.

In addition, the fun-filled day will include old-fashioned music and re-enactors educating people about life in Colonial New England. Visitors will enjoy cooking demonstrations and eye-catching displays of seeds, books, tools, and more.

In keeping with the Gettles’ philosophy of educating people about gardening, there will be lots of opportunity for learning throughout the day. Receive information about bees and beekeeping, composting, community gardening, identifying and encouraging beneficial insects, raised bed gardening, trellising, and much more. Learn from nationally-known writers and speakers who will be presenting. The renowned William Woys Weaver will present a lecture at noon, titled The Mainstreaming of Heirloom Foods.

William-Woys-Weaver

At 4 pm, the renowned Margaret Roach will be presenting a lecture titled Nonstop Plants – the 365 Day Garden. Because space is limited, reserve your free tickets here: http://comstockferre.eventbrite.com/

While a wide variety of food vendors will have food selections to fit nearly every palate, other vendors will be selling and/or demonstrating herbs, soaps, gardening supplies, candles, and much more.

June 5, 2011 is definitely a day to mark on your calendars. If you live near the Northeast or will be visiting the area during that time, be sure to take in Comstock ,Ferre & Co.’s big celebration.

Check out the the Comstock, Ferre, & Co Website

Kathy McFarland is a Baker Creek employee and life-long gardener.

Taste hundreds of varieties of traditional vegetables and fruits from all over the nation this fall—heirloom produce you’ve never seen before and bring your own homegrown or farm-raised heirloom favorites to display and share. Whether you’re an attendee or a participant in the first National Heirloom Exposition, you’ll be a part of culinary and agricultural history.

Taste Heirloom Produce

The inaugural National Heirloom Exposition coming up September 13, 14, and 15, 2011, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Northern California is destined to be the biggest and best-attended heirloom industry event ever, and it’s for everyone: the home gardener, small farmer, professional farmer, even school-age gardening enthusiast. The spring growing season has begun throughout most of the country and we invite heirloom enthusiasts of all ages and levels of expertise to start growing their heirloom favorites to exhibit at the Exposition. We hope to have heirloom produce from all 50 states, as many as 5,000 heirloom fruit and vegetable varieties represented as well as heritage livestock and more. (Contact us at info@theheirloomexpo.com for details.)

This “World’s Fair” of the heirloom industry, sponsored in part by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, will also feature dozens of seed companies, garden tool companies, and garden accessory craftsmen and their wares from throughout the U.S. as well as plants and plant starts, garden-inspired art and organic, natural and original food items. Top chefs will provide cooking demonstrations using the produce grown for the Exposition and participate in celebrity chef competitions. We expect to feature over 250 booths and are still taking applications from those interested in participating. Just contact us at the above e-mail address.

See thousands of different varieties of heirloom vegetables

Special demonstrations and informational booths will also be provided by our fellow event sponsors, including Seed Savers Exchange, Marin Organic, Amy’s Kitchen, Farm Trails, Green 960 Radio, Daily Acts, Comstock, Ferre & Co. LLC, Sunset Magazine, and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Over 40 local and international speakers will be featured, including world-renown philosopher and environmental activist Dr. Vandana Shiva; non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) activist and noted author Jeffrey Smith of the Institute of Responsible Technology; author and Seed Savers Exchange chair Amy Goldman; and Green 960 Radio host Helge Hellberg—to name a few.

There will also be educational seminars throughout each day, including talks on seed saving and GMO’s as well as many other gardening, farming, and food preparing subjects. Special movie screenings on the history and future of our food will also be presented.

The Exposition will run on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the idea of providing a daytime educational opportunity for school-aged children and youth. Special seminars and educational opportunities will be available for school groups, and school gardens are encouraged to grow produce for the event. (See contact e-mail above for more information.) The Heirloom Exposition is a “not-for-profit” event and any funds generated will be donated back to school gardens and food programs. A silent auction and live auctions of garden-related items and art will also benefit school garden programs and other food charities.

Hundreds Of Colorful Displays

There will also be representatives from national media, including the editors of several gardening and farming publications, including Organic Gardening, Ediblemagazine, Grit magazine, The Heirloom Gardener, and event sponsor Sunset Magazine.

And, it’s quite fitting that the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, where the National Heirloom Exposition will be held, is bound by GE-free counties: Mendocino County to its north and Marin County to its south.

Whether you join us as an attendee or participant, or both, mark your calendar now for this gargantuan heirloom event (September 13, 14, and 15, 2011) in Santa Rosa, California.

Visit www.theheirloomexpo.com for more details.

Susan Audrey is a Northern California writer, editor, photographer and artist and can be reached at tosusanaudrey@gmail.com.

The suit was filed by the Public Patent foundation, or PUBPAT, a New York-based legal firm specializing in aspects of patent law pertaining to the public’s interest in such regulation. The suit was filed on behalf of about 60 plaintiffs, representing a broad spectrum of folks involved in the organic/pure foods movement. Trade organizations, like the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, Organic Crop Improvement Association International, Inc., and The Cornucopia Institute were named; such organizations in turn boast tens of thousands of members. Several seed companies are participating, including Adaptive Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., Comstock-Ferre Seed Co., Fedco Seeds, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and numerous other companies. A number of individual farmers are also participating, including Wild Plum Farm, Montana, Jardin del Alma, New Mexico, Philadelphia Community Farm, Inc, and others.

The suit alleges that Monsanto’s aggressive tactics have, in the past, resulted in undue hardships on small operations who inadvertently experienced contamination from GMO crops, especially those containing the glyphosate tolerance gene (commonly known as the “Roundup-ready” gene) as exemplified in the well-known Percy Schmeiser case. In that case, Schmeiser, a canola farmer, was accused of patent infringement because Monsanto-owned genes turned up in his fields, in the absence of any license from Monsanto.

In a press release, PUBPAT said, “The organic plaintiffs were forced to sue preemptively to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement should their crops ever become contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed.” If the plaintiffs prevail, future situations like the Schmeiser case would not happen, at least in the United States, as Monsanto wouldn’t be able to sue when the intention of the farmer was to raise GMO-free crops. (The Schmeiser cases happened in Canada; this ruling would affect only American farms.)

PUBPAT cited four grounds for the suit, any one of which, if proved, should be sufficient to cause the court to issue the declaratory judgment.

1.) Monsanto’s patents are invalid

By law, patents must be new, non-obvious and useful. The suit asserts that not only are GMO’s not useful, but they may actually be harmful to public health, the environment and society as a whole. Moreover, they are obvious since they derive from gene sequencing. The complaint cites a number of studies and cases to support this claim.

2.) Monsanto’s patents are not infringed

Since there is no intention on the part of contaminated farmers to infringe patents, there can be no patent infringement. Instead, contamination is in fact a trespass, causing damage to the affected farmers. The complaint contends that it is “perverse” that farmers whose crops have been contaminated should also be subject to litigation for patent infringement.

3.) Monsanto’s patents are not enforceable

If both previous arguments fail and patents are still admitted by the judge as being valid and infringed, PUBPAT intends to demonstrate that they are not enforceable because they are being misused to gain undue control over the market.

4.) Monsanto is not entitled to any remedy

Since the farmers in the class are seeking to produce only GMO-free crops, and GMO contamination destroys the value of such crops, Monsanto has not lost revenue due solely to the production of the contaminated crops. Consequently, it is not entitled to damages.

To be successful, the plaintiffs need only successfully prove any one of the four bases for the suit. Monsanto, on the other hand, must successfully refute all four of the claims to prove its case.

The suit has received widespread attention in the media and on the Internet, and has caused a sensation among pure food advocates and consumers, many of whom view the suit as yet another David-and-Goliath situation.

Jeffery Smith

We recently caught up with non-GMO (non-genetically modified organism) proponent and renown author Jeffery M. Smith to get an updated look at genetically modified food production and what is being done–and not being done–to curb these food production practices proven to produce foods that cause health risks in animals and humans.
Jeffery, whose controversial and widely read books include Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, will be a featured speaker at this fall’s National Heirloom Exhibition coordinated by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company and slated for September 13-15, 2011, in Sonoma County, California. (Visit www.theheirloomexpo.com for more details.)
Jeffery answers the following questions, providing answers that will hopefully provide a better understanding of genetically modified food and what we, the consumer, can do to stop these unsafe food raising practices:

1.) Our readers are proponents of growing pure, non-GMO, non-patented heirloom seed. For those who don’t know the “whole story” about why they are doing a good thing, please provide a brief Jeffrey M. Smith explanation for why they are making a good choice.

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with genetically modified (GM) food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. The AAEM has asked physicians to advise all patients to avoid GM foods. These types of problems were actually predicted by the scientists at the Food and Drug Administration back in 1991 and 1992, when they looked at GMOs. Tens of thousands of documents later made public from a lawsuit revealed that they had repeatedly warned about toxins, allergens, new diseases, etc. and urged long term studies.
Today, the same biotech companies who have been found guilty of hiding toxic effects of their chemical products are in charge of determining whether their GM foods are safe. Industry-funded GMO safety studies are too superficial to find most of the potential dangers, and their voluntary consultations with the FDA are widely criticized as a meaningless façade.

Widespread damage, unprecedented risk
The genetic engineering process transfers genes across natural species’ barriers and creates massive collateral damage, causing mutations in hundreds or thousands of locations throughout the plant’s DNA. These changes have been shown to increase or introduce allergens, toxins, and anti-nutrients. In addition, the protein produced by the inserted gene may be harmful, the inserted gene may transfer to our own DNA or that of our intestinal bacterial (and continue to function), and most GM food has more herbicide residues.

Lab animals tested with GM foods had stunted growth, impaired immune systems, bleeding stomachs, abnormal and potentially precancerous cell growth in the intestines, impaired blood cell development, misshapen cell structures in the liver, pancreas, ovaries, uterus, and testicles, altered gene expression and cell metabolism, liver and kidney lesions, partially atrophied livers, inflamed kidneys, less developed brains and testicles, enlarged livers, pancreases, and intestines, reduced digestive enzymes, higher blood sugar, inflamed lung tissue, increased death rates, higher offspring mortality, smaller offspring, sterility, and hair growing in their mouths.

About two dozen farmers report that GM corn varieties caused their pigs or cows to become sterile, 71 shepherds say that 25% of their sheep died from grazing on Bt cotton plants, and others say that cows, water buffaloes, chickens, and horses also died from eating GM crops.
Filipinos in at least five villages fell sick when nearby Bt corn was pollinating and thousands of laborers in India report allergic reactions from handling Bt cotton. Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the United Kingdom, soon after genetically engineered soy was introduced; and one human subject out of the few tested showed a skin prick allergic-type reaction to GM soy, but not to natural wild soy. In the 1980s, a GM food supplement killed about one hundred Americans and caused sickness and disability in another five to ten thousand people.
The biotech industry claims that no adverse reactions have ever been found.

GM foods on the market
There are eight GM food crops. The five major varieties—soy, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets—have bacterial genes inserted, which allow the plants to survive an otherwise deadly dose of weed killer. Farmers use considerably more herbicides on these GM crops and so the food has higher herbicide residues.
The second GM trait is a built-in pesticide, found in GM corn and cotton. A gene from the soil bacterium called Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis) is inserted into the plant’s DNA, where it secretes the insect-killing Bt-toxin in every cell.
There is also Hawaiian papaya and a small amount of zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, which are engineered to resist a plant virus.

GM Corn

2.) How can home gardeners and small-scale farmers (who make up the majority of our heirloom seed fans) take their loyalty to non-GMO a step further? Using non-GMO seed, they are growing some of their food (or food for others), but how can they ensure good, healthy food choices beyond this, for themselves, their families, their communities and customers?

Buy local and Organic

We publish a Non-GMO Shopping Guide. It’s available online, as a download, or a pocket guide, at www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com. It’s also an iPhone App called ShopNoGMO. Since most Americans say they would avoid GMOs if labeled, this is turning out to be a very popular portable labeling system.

3.) What can our readers do at a more worldly political level to stop GMO’s?

Unfortunately, the US government has been marching lockstep with Monsanto for decades. However, consumers control the future of food.
We know that even a small percentage of shoppers avoiding GM brands was enough to trigger a dairy industry cleanout of bovine growth hormone. A consumer driven tipping point a decade ago has kept GMOs out of the European Union food supply in spite of government approvals. We estimate that the critical number for US tipping point is as little as 5% of US consumers, 15 million health conscious shoppers choosing non-GMO brands.
I would like to extend a warm invitation to your readers to join us in a new network dedicated to create a tidal wave of non-GMO outreach and activism. Since we announced it in December, we have had nearly 1000 people jump on board, with over 200 volunteering to be on the leader teams.

The Non-GMO Tipping Point Network (TPN) is a collection of local and national Non-GMO Action Groups, along with support groups of experts and helpers.

• Local groups focus on community outreach in their areas, which can include targeting parents, schools, healthcare practitioners, religious groups, chefs, health-conscious shoppers, etc.
• Each of more than a dozen national groups focus on a single target, e.g. parents, schools, practitioners, etc.
• Members of the local groups who are involved in outreach to parents, for example, can also be a member of the national parent outreach group. That way every local campaign can benefit from everyone in the network who is focusing on that same channel.
• Support groups, which are not yet formed, will include experts and helpers that can be a resource for each of the groups, and to our network as whole. They will include experts in marketing and messaging, scientific and medical, legal, fundraising, etc.

We are also training speakers to present information on the risks of GMOs, particularly in the area of health. They will be extremely valuable for each group’s outreach program. Furthermore, their talks, and the organized “Activist Circles” that they will conduct at the end, will bring many more people into the network.

This month, more than 150 people will complete our 4-part webinar, bringing the total number of trained speakers to nearly 350. This will increase substantially, as we will give several more webinar and in-person trainings in 2011. See our site for the details, as they get scheduled.

In addition to the Tipping Point Network, in 2010 we put together a group of “distribution partners,”—organizations, websites, businesses, and publications, that distribute GMO educational materials to several million recipients each month. We expect to expand that number significantly this year. If anyone has a way to get the word out, we can offer dozens of free articles.

If you would like to join the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network, go to the enrollment page and fill out the form, indicating your areas of interest for outreach, and whether you wish to be a group leader.

4.) Is there a particular area in the U.S. or a country we can look to as a “role model” in saying no to GMO’s?

Northern California has long been a hot bed of anti-GMO activity, and Vermont and Hawaii have also been very active. But something has changed for the better in the past year, and now we have a national movement that’s about to erupt.

Within the first six months of last year, we witnessed more people in the US than ever before enthusiastically getting the word out about the dangers of GMOs. This was in part due to the huge internet distribution channels that have been getting articles and videos out to MILLIONS every month. And then there was the high profile media coverage of GE salmon and the sugar beet and alfalfa court cases. In spite of their bitter outcomes at the hands of the USDA, the prolonged alfalfa and sugar beet fights actually helped elevate GMOs on our personal and national radar screens.

Now MILLIONS of us are angry and outraged at the approvals by the USDA. That’s right, there are millions of us. And you can hear our frustration flying around in blogs, emails, press reports, petitions, etc. Do you remember the reaction just four years ago when GM sugar beets were approved for sale? There was nothing close to this response. It was hardly a blip. Where we have come in just a few years is a cause for celebration. And an unprecedented opportunity to throw our new weight around.
Please sign up for our newsletter at www.responsibleTechnology.org to find out details soon.

5.) What are some of your newest findings regarding the use of GMO’s in the raising of our food?

According to a Russian Academy of Sciences institute ongoing study announced in 2010, hamsters were fed GM soybeans over two years. By the third generation, most lost the ability to have babies, there was a four or five-fold increase in infant mortality, and many had hair growing in their mouths.

We also have new information about how Roundup herbicide is causing a catastrophe in agriculture and our food.

It has been linked to birth defects in humans and animals, it messes up our reproductive hormones, it can kill human placental cells, and it may cause cancer. Roundup is in MUCH higher residues in Roundup Ready plants, and its use is now skyrocketing, due to the emergence of Roundup resistant super weeds.

But that’s not all. Roundup doesn’t destroy plants directly. It rather cooks up a perfect storm of conditions that wipes out plant defenses against diseases and promotes disease-causing organisms in the soil that overrun the weakened plant. Its primary mode is as a chelator. The glyphosate molecule grabs vital nutrients and doesn’t let them go. When applied to crops, it deprives them of vital minerals necessary for healthy plant function—especially for resisting serious soil borne diseases.

Glyphosate (Roundup’s active ingredient) also annihilates beneficial soil organisms that facilitate the uptake of plant nutrients and suppress disease-causing organisms; it can interfere with photosynthesis, reduce water use efficiency, lower lignin, damage and shorten root systems, cause plants to release important sugars, and change soil pH—all of which can negatively affect crop health; and it promotes plant diseases found in the soil, which then do the killing. More than 40 plant diseases that are now believed to be on the increase in the US, due to glyphosate. Some of the plant disease agents, like fusarium, also create toxins that are poisonous to humans and animals.

Monsanto used to boast that Roundup is biodegradable, claiming that it breaks down quickly in the soil. But courts in the US and Europe disagreed and found them guilty of false advertising. In fact, Monsanto’s own test data revealed that only 2% of the product broke down after 28 days. Now it is found that its effects can last for years, hurting crops that are planted in a field long after Roundup was used.
Glyphosate ties up minerals for years, essentially removing them from the pool of nutrients available for plants, animals, and humans. The total loss could easily run into the hundreds of millions of pounds of unavailable trace minerals, which are essential for our health and that of our children.
The toll it is already taking may be incalculable.

6.) Any new books in the works?

Our focus is now on building the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network and raising the money that will allow us to quickly reach the tipping point of consumer rejection. This is taking most of my time, so we’ll have to visit more books or films later on.

Click here to join a Non-GMO Action Group

Susan Audrey is a Northern California writer, editor, photographer and artist. She can be reached at tosusanaudrey@gmail.com

If you’re reading this, you most likely know about Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company’s large selection of non-hybrid, non-GMO, pure heirloom seeds, featuring over 1,400 varieties from over 70 countries. You may not know, however, that we put on some really fun, informative, gardener-friendly festivals throughout the year at our three locations around the country. Here’s what to look forward to this year:

Spring Planting Festival

spring planting festival

Coming up May1 and 2, 2011, is our big Spring Planting Festival held at our Baker Creek Farm and authentic Bakersville Pioneer Village near the beautiful Missouri Ozarks. This is our ninth year for this national event, which draws thousands from throughout the U.S. and Canada, and we’re gearing up to make it even bigger and better.

Baker Creek Seed Store

Over a dozen speakers will be featured, sharing on topics of interest to gardeners and farmers, including accomplished gardening book authors as well as our own Karen Keb Will, editor of The Heirloom Gardener magazine, and her husband, Hank Will, editor of Grit Magazine.

Headlining this year’s music offerings at the Festival’s Bakersfield Opry will be country music legend Leroy Van Dyke, and 60 other musicians will take turns playing throughout the weekend featuring western, folk, country, gospel, Americana, Irish and bluegrass music.

At the Bakersville Opry

There will also be 100 vendors featuring all kinds of homespun items, from honey to fresh-baked bread; handcrafted items, from homemade soaps to handmade musical instruments; as well as hundreds of heirloom plants. You can also enjoy all kinds of home-cooked, historic foods.

Historical demonstrations will include spinning, weaving, blacksmithing and how to hand-hewn logs.

All takes place in our quaint historic village, which includes our Baker Creek Seed Store, a speaker barn, restaurant, old-time mercantile, herbal apothecary, natural bakery, garden museum, blacksmith shop, two music barns, a Western jail, native rock oven, windmill and many breeds of historic poultry and livestock.

Come in period dress, rub elbows with fellow gardeners, and get a real taste of Missouri! Admission is $5 for adults; free for youth age 16 and under. Find out more by calling 417-924-8917.

You can also sign up for our national newsletter to keep up on all the goings on at Baker Creek Farm and more at http://rareseeds.com/xnewsletter/

Heritage Day Festivals

If you can’t make the Spring Planting Festival at our Baker Creek Farm and Bakersville Pioneer Village in Missouri, or even if you can, visit the Village for one of our Heritage Days held the first Sunday of every month, March through November. Enjoy music, produce, crafts and more.

Vendors at Bakersville

These one-day events are a great way to experience all that Bakersville offers.(See description above under Spring Planting Festival.) Admission is $2 per person; free for youth age 16 and under. Find out more by calling 417-924-8917.

Comstock Ferre’s 200^th Year Celebration

At Comstock Ferre & Co.

Visit our East Coast location, Comstock, Ferre & Co. in Wethersfield, Connecticut, on June 5, 2011, for its 200^th year anniversary celebration. Jere and Emilee Gettle, owners of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, feel blessed to have had the opportunity to restore this historic store and gardens, New England’s oldest seedhouse, and hope you’ll come and help them celebrate. The event will feature nationally acclaimed guest speakers, music, and more, and, of course, the seed, gift and antique stores will be open. You can also visit Comstock, Ferre & Co., Sundays-Fridays (closed Saturdays), 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. Visit www.comstockferre.com for more details.

The Seed Bank’s Second Anniversary Celebration

Inside The seed Bank

Our West Coast location, The Seed Bank, located in the quaint Victorian city of Petaluma, California, will celebrate its second year in business on June 12, 2011. Come enjoy garden-theme demonstrations, local food, artists, and more, and shop for heirloom seeds, garden tools and books in this grand, old former bank building.

petaluma-seed-bank

Also, checkout The Seed Bank’s weekly, free gardening demonstrations, gardening author talks, and healthy eating and cooking talks. The store is open Sundays through Fridays (closed Saturdays.) To get on our e-mail list to find out all about what’s happening at The Seed Bank, sign up for our California newsletter at http://rareseeds.com/xnewsletter/

National Heirloom Exposition

Heirloom Tomatoes

This inaugural event taking place at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California, on September 13, 14, and 15, 2011, may well be the largest event for heritage agriculture ever held. Join Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, along with other seed companies from across the U.S., as well as farmers, gardeners, chefs, and various food organizations for this gardener’s dream event. Speakers will include nationally renown authors, writers and farmers; over 1,000 varieties of heirloom produce will be displayed; and over 200 exhibitors will feature organic, natural and original foods, art, and garden related items.

All profits from this event will be donated to school garden projects and other food and garden-related charities.

This event location is also just 20 miles from our Northern California seed store, The Seed Bank, in Petaluma. To find out more, contact Paul Wallace at paul@rareseeds.com.

Susan Audrey is a Northern California writer, photographer, and artist, and can be reached at tosusanaudrey@gmail.com