Dropstone Farms » politics

Solidarity

garth — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 03:49:04 +0000

Some more pictures from Tractorcade 2010.

Pushing a boulder uphill

Lauren — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:04:19 +0000

These California farmers are giving up their land and quitting farming. Most of the reasons they cite for getting out of farming could be things we are saying next year or the year after, or the year after that.

Think hard about your food and your sources, and what it takes to support them. Farming is hard on mind and body, and land is expensive, and organic is expensive, and farmers too need health care and homes and a bit of time to relax. If you eat, you should consider these costs.

The Relationship Between Monsanto and Territorial Seed (Not As Bad As You Think).

garth — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:54:52 +0000

Since it’s apparently politics week on our blog, it’s time to talk about the troubling rumors floating around the internets about the relationship between the awesome and lovable Territorial Seed Company and the generally deplorable Monsanto. Long story short, one of Territorial’s suppliers, Seminis, was ~~assimilated~~ purchased by Monsanto. This does not (repeat NOT) mean that Territorial itself was bought by Monsanto, or that Territorial has become evil, or anything of the sort.

In fact, they’ve been all manner of helpful in answering the questions of garden blogger and Internet-buddy of ours, Sinfonian, and helping Sinfonian and the garden blogger community avoid the Bad Seeds (WARNING: Australian Goth-Punk Content).

Seriously, I swear that this is their actual logo. No lie.

The basic deal is that the following seed varieties may come from a Monsanto-owned source.The full list of seeds possibly sourced from Monstano by Territorial Seed has been thoughtfully posted by Sinfonian.

There are only 51 varieties listed which is small relative to the total number available in Territorials catalog so it’s not the end of the world. It’s not great either, though.

Sinfonian went on to explain that he’d received further email from the Product Development Director at Territorial which he paraphrased as “For instance, Yellow Pear, since it is open pollinated, they produce their seed on their own farms. It was listed on their Monsanto list because they MAY buy from Seminis, if demand exceeds their supply.” Fair enough. I’d rather get Territorial-bred seeds because they share a climate and a symphylan problem with me and, as a result, I can count on their seeds to perform better than other providers.

But, and here’s a big but, this nasty incident has rather forcefully reminded me of the fact that local food production is precarious and that it’s dangerous to really on suppliers that can be taken away by interests that would clearly like to see us go away. As a result, I’m going to ramp up our efforts to start saving our own seed and working with groups like the Metafilter Seed Exchange and Seed Savers Exchange.

And on further note, Seed Savers Exchange is not the same organization as Seeds of Change who are a brand/subsidiary of of Mars Incorporated. Oddly, finding this information out required a mess of digging around in various business databases and the fine print of corporate websites. Huh.

An oldie but goody!

Why I don’t/can’t farm full-time

Lauren — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Garth and I have a few different possible opportunities for expanded farming right now, of which we have been discussing the pros and cons at length. But they all have one thing in common: if we expand beyond the tiny (for a farm) plot we have now, it will be way too much work for just one person, but not enough to support us both if I were to stop working off-farm. And even if it were enough income, there is no way that we could make enough on farming to cover our health insurance costs. It’s frustrating, because my community and my country and my personal ethics and ultimate goals are telling me that this thing I want is possible, except this one fundamental piece.

So this is timely: The Ethicurean: For healthy food and soil, we need affordable health care for farmers.