By Peter Passi- Duluth News Tribune, 15 December 2014
The Duluth City Council has decided to lead the charge for a change to Minnesota’s seed law. By a unanimous vote Monday night, councilors passed a resolution calling for reforms that would allow for the free exchange of seeds.
Officials from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture have informed the Duluth Public Library that a seed exchange program it launched earlier this year is operating in violation of state law.
In order to come into compliance, the library would need to purchase a $50 seed-dealing license, document where all its seeds come from, list what percentage of seed is contaminated with weed and determine what the germination rate is for each seed lot.
About 400 seeds are needed for a typical germination test, and Duluth library manager Carla Powers said such testing is not practical, given the small scale of the local seed library, where an individual might bring in 30 saved seeds to share with fellow gardeners.
Several gardeners spoke in support of the resolution Monday night, including Michael Gabler, who said the long-lived exchange of local seeds has led to the emergence of unique varieties of vegetables that are hardy to the region.
“This is what people have been doing for thousands and thousands of years,” he said.
Francois Medion warned of the dangers of becoming too reliant on far-off producers for food.
“Seeds are an intrinsic right, the same as having the right to fresh air and fresh water,” he said. “I think this is of extreme importance. It’s beyond sustainability. It has to do with resiliency.”
Allen Richardson decried the restrictive law, saying: “I think it’s an affront to Minnesotan common sense that non-commercial seed-saving should run afoul of laws that are designed for commercial agricultural interests.”
Jamie Harvie said Minnesota’s seed law appears to be “based on fear and control.”
“When did Minnesotans suddenly fear their neighbor or friend and demand protection for the free and voluntary exchange of seeds?” he asked.
“We don’t fear poor germination. We fear restrictions on sharing,” Harvie said.
Harvie said he prefers “to live in a state and a world where we default to trust over fear, diversity over uniformity and freedom over control.”
City Councilor Joel Sipress said it makes good sense to have a law on the books that protects farmers buying large quantities of seed, but rules governing those kinds of transactions shouldn’t apply to all seed that changes hands.
“I don’t think anybody ever could have imagined that this law was written in such a way to treat the voluntary exchange of seeds with your neighbor just like you’re a big agribusiness concern selling seeds commercially to farms,” he said, calling such a broad reading “ridiculous.”
Councilor Sharla Gardner, who gardens herself, said: “I had no idea that exchanging seeds with my neighbor was illegal. So I guess if we’re going to go to jail, we’re all going to go together.”
Sen. Roger Reinert, DFL-Duluth, has already agreed to propose an amendment to the state seed law when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
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More information:
Local view: It’s time to act to save Duluth’s seed library
By Jamie Harvie
Duluth Councilors Filing Resolution in Support of Seed Library
Dec 9, 2014 – WDIO.com
Duluth library’s seed sharing program hits a hurdle
By Dan Kraker on Nov 30, 2014 – MPR News
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