Proposed new EU law might prohibit seed exchanges between farmers and growers.
NOTE: The proposed new EU law on seeds will affect home gardeners as well as farmers. Take this quick and easy action now to protect our right to save, exchange, and grow the seeds we want:
http://www.saveourseeds.org/en/activities/get-involved/petition-seed-regulation.html
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Farmers' seeds in danger
Press Release
European Coordination Via Campesina, 3 May 2013
On Monday, the European Commission might prohibit seed exchanges between farmers.
On Monday, May 6th, the European Commission will vote on a proposed reform of the regulation on seeds. The current European legislation allows only seeds selected for growing with large amounts of chemicals. This affects the preservation of agricultural biodiversity, consumers’ health, the environment and farmers’ independence. Patented seeds are a threat that could destroy Europeans' right to food, in the name of financial gain of a few multinationals. On the contrary, the reform that is urgently needed, is one that would *protect organic and farmers seeds*.
But the unofficial documents that have been made available to the public have seriously alarmed the European Coordination Via Campesina. Without substantial changes, it will only aggravate the confiscation of all seeds by an industry that only dreams of GMOs.
This is why the European Coordination Via Campesina calls on EU Commissioners to:
- Recognize and protect the right of farmers and gardeners to freely exchange their seeds. These exchanges are essential to farmers' breeding that guarantees the constant renewal of crop biodiversity. This is the only kind of breeding that will allow plants to adapt to the extreme diversity of soils and increasing climate variability, without having to seek exponential recourse to fertilizers and chemical pesticides.
- Allow marketing without geographic or quantitative restrictions the farmers', organic, local or traditional seeds from this breeding. This marketing is currently banned by the homogeneity and stability standards of the catalogue varieties, whereas those seeds need to be protected against biopiracy and fraud.
- Stand up to the demands of the multinational seed companies. They want to take advantage of the fresh discussions on transatlantic free trade agreements to invade the European market with patented seeds and GMOs.
- Ensure that trade or sanitary regulations are not used for the benefit of patents holders and plant breeders' rights who want to ban farmers from using seeds saved from their own harvest, or extort the payment of royalties from them.
Commissioners should not endorse this legislative proposal unless it recognizes the right of farmers to exchange seeds, and to allow people to buy organic, local or traditional seeds at farmers’ markets and protect these seeds against patents. If this is not done, Food Sovereignty will not be possible, and the citizens of Europe will be unable to cope with food and agricultural challenges in the years to come.
*Contact *: Andrea Ferrante, ECVC Coordinating Comitee (It, Fr, En, Es) : +393480189221
ECVC Office (En, Fr, Es, It, De) : +3222173112
Appendix: Position of the European Coordination Via Campesina on the legislation on the marketing of seeds.
http://www.eurovia.org/spip.php?article711&lang=fr
The European Coordination Via Campesina regroups 28 small and medium-size farmers organisations from 18 countries in Europe. More info: www.eurovia.org*