EU Seed Laws Struck Down by High Court…(not yet!)
[update: I've been told this is a prejudicial opinion, thus not yet the ruling of the court and not yet a binding decision. Hopefully we'll have a more concrete ruling later.]
Yesterday an EU Advocate-General sided with French seed organization Kokopelli on the provision in EU law prohibiting the sale of unregistered varieties.
In reference to EU seed laws and related French regulations, the Advocate-General said they
“violate the principle of proportionality, free enterprise, free movement of goods, and the principle of non discrimination.”
The Advocate-General said the official seed catalog has
“nothing to do with plant health”
and
“it is up to farmers to decide which varieties they grow”
the Advocate-General added
“the fact that farmers are confined to the listed varieties greatly reduces genetic diversity in European fields.”
Unfortunately the original opinion was written in German, and as of the time of this post had not yet been translated into English. You can read the opinion in a variety of non-English languages here.
Almost all of Kokopelli’s arguments were upheld, and most of the opposition’s arguments were not.
New Dutch Language Blog
I’ve started a new Dutch language blog. I’m mentioning it here mostly so Google will find it and start indexing it. I don’t think it’s going to be of great interest to many people here, even those of you who speak Dutch. You’re all welcome to stop by of course, and Google translate may be enough for you to read and understand most of it.
What’s the reason for this blog?
Since you asked, let me try to explain…
My community garden, called ‘Vlijtigveld’ (meaning busy or diligent field), has a racist and not very smart management. The name really says it all, almost in a comical way. What’s an organic gardener like me doing trying to have a lazy no-dig garden, with mulch to control weeds, in a place where we’re all supposed to be working hard??
Anyway, for 4 years now I’ve been trying to ignore the fact the management doesn’t recognize any gardening technique that’s not heavily reliant on sprays or chemical fertilizers, or any gardener that doesn’t control weeds by killing them with chemical warfare or pulling them out one at a time.
I’ve also been trying to ignore the garden management as they walk around telling any one who’ll listen about how they don’t let in any more Turkish gardeners, or how 60% of the gardeners have to be Dutch or the foreigners will get voting rights. It’s us against them, don’t you know! In this time I’ve been pretending not to notice our perimeter security fence, designed with a weak side, meaning whenever there is a break-in and a garden is vandalized, it will almost certainly belong to a Muslim gardener.
Literally, all our gardens are assigned based on ethnic origin, and the layout of the complex is planned on this basis. Because the management doesn’t want any of us teaming up against them, they avoid assigning friends adjacent gardens, and try to promote friction by assigning nearby gardens to people of conflicting ethnic origins.
Anyway, as we can all imagine, this isn’t working very well. It’s not working because it’s as much comical as anything else. The gardeners are all mostly getting along and becoming friends. The management has mostly lost the respect of everyone, Dutch and foreign. This has recently prompted a great deal of hostility from the management, gardeners are now frequently harassed by the management and often threatened with the loss of their gardens. Our drinking water was recently cut off! You’d think it was war.
So, I really don’t have the time or inclination to try to solve all the problems of our community gardens. I have no desire to join the management and try to ‘fix it’ from within. Other than a little passive aggressiveness, I’ve really been trying to keep my head down.
I want the other gardeners to get together and decide what kind of community gardens they want to have, work for it themselves, possibly with my help. To that end, I decided to start a blog to provide the gardeners, as well as anyone else with an interest in Vlijtigveld more information. As well as information it will have the views of myself, the sole American gardener. I think mostly the blog will have a lot of detailed information about how the rules are constructed, and how Dutch law might provide some help. I’ve exchanged some letters with the garden management, and I intend to publish these. It’s probably not going to make a lot of sense to most readers, but if you’re interested you’re welcome!
Luck was with me when I went searching for a domain name for this new blog. ‘Their’ domain name, vlijtigveld.nl was not in use and available for registration, so this blog is at http://vlijtigveld.nl The management are not really Internet people, so it may be some time before they notice the existence of the blog…
Reclaim the Seeds
Local seed and food organization Aseed is sponsoring a seed swap and local food fair. Bifurcated Carrots will be there with a stand on Saturday.
If you’re in the area, please come by! Entrance is free.
If you’re able to sponsor a stand or presentation on either day, please get in touch! You can either contact me, and I will put you in touch with the right person, or you can contact them directly via their websites. There is no cost to sponsor a stand. You can either give seeds and plants away at no cost, or you can sell them. You can also run an information only stand.
Open Tap for Anitibiotics in US Agriculture
It’s a busy Christmas for politicians this year! Lots of things seem to be being sneaked through during the holiday season. I posted a few days ago about the announcement of a GM corn trial in Belgium, and now I’ve come across this quiet announcement by the FDA in the US that they are formally giving up trying to regulate the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock in the US. It’s not like they’ve been doing much in the past, but now it’s official.
Supposedly, Europe is going in a different direction, but I’m not sure that really means anything. Now the routine feeding of antibiotics as a growth stimulant is forbidden, but all that means is farmers have to say it’s necessary for something else, and can continue to use them. Maybe all routine use will be prohibited, but this is far from a done deal.
New GM Corn Trial Planned in Belgium
Following up on the GM potato trial that took place last year in Belgium, a new GM trial — this time corn, is planned for the coming three years in the same location! I wonder if they’re going to build a stronger fence this time?! Is it just a coincidence they announced this the day before Christmas holiday weekend?
This time they assure us no one could possibly object to the trial. They say they will remove the tassels before the plants produce pollen so contamination of the nearby environment won’t be possible. They also say there will be no business interests, it will only be a project of the university. Hm, I wonder if the university has any business connections itself…
An important message from the organizers of the resistance:
[EN] Hello,
Yesterday we learned that the VIB is requesting authorisation for a field trial for GM maize in Wetteren. This crop would be launched in a three year open field trial, from 2012 on. A public consultation is organised which is open till 21 January.
It’s very important to respond individually to this consultation by using the special form for this purpose.
Below you find links to useful documents, press articles and a dossier that aims to develop some arguments on this case.
http://fieldliberation.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/rough-reader-on-the-new-vib-maize-crop.pdf
The pdf is just a personal summary of some facts and possible context around that sudden new field trial. To be used freely, as extra inspiration for replying at the inquiry, for an article, an action, or a campaign…
For more information see their website.
See here to respond to the consultation, but be aware as of the time of this post, the English language form wasn’t available. Keep trying! Let’s send some web traffic their way and let them know we’re eager, even before the form becomes available.
