forum: Gardening / Growing
#1 Thu 04 Nov 10 6:12pm
Binaatthelake
- Member Occupation medical secretary
- From Alberta Canada
- Member since Fri 02 Apr 10
seed saving illegal
I just found out that saving seeds from year to year from the plants in your garden is going to be against the law in Canada. It is already illegal in some countries, this seems so wrong. I have seeds that have been in my family for over two centuries.....a spotted lettuce, why can't I continue to grow it?
Gardenners, small farmers and organic farmers have been saving seeds and the genetics of these heirloom varieties for years and now free trade between the EU and Canada will make this act illegal. I will be contacting everyone I can think of to prevent this from going through, writing letters to editors and contacting the group in India to find out how they prevented this from happening in their country. We need to preserve these seed stocks and genetic lines to safeguard them for future generations.
Up the revolution....save seeds.
Cheers
Bina
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#2 Thu 04 Nov 10 7:25pm
mr spice
Occupation Working dad...
- From Germany
- Member since Sat 05 Sep 09
Re: seed saving illegal
It sounds like tosh to me....
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#3 Thu 04 Nov 10 7:45pm
TSR
- Member
- From Serbia
- Member since Sun 04 Apr 10
Re: seed saving illegal
What's the reasoning behind this law? Except clearing the way for genetically enginered BS, that is?
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#4 Thu 04 Nov 10 8:07pm
wine~o
Occupation Handyman
- From Dorset u.k
- Member since Tue 21 Oct 08
Re: seed saving illegal
Where did you find thisout exactly??? and who would enforce if this was the case....are the mounties gonna turn up on your doorstep at 3 in the morning to arrest you for having seeds in the house...
Stop being a pillock and grow up...
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#5 Thu 04 Nov 10 10:22pm
The White Rabbit

- From Sydney, Australia
- Member since Tue 22 Jun 04
Re: seed saving illegal
I think seed saving is only illegal if it's from plants with breeders rights. And even then I doubt anyone will bother about it unless you plan to sell them. It's kind of like copyright on DVDs and books.
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#6 Thu 04 Nov 10 10:23pm
mummza
Occupation avoiding housework
- From The land of song.
- Member since Tue 04 Oct 05
Re: seed saving illegal
There are a few things on the internet about this...
From what I can gather its mainly about farmers who have bought their cannola seed from a particular supplier who ' holds the rights to the plants DNA !
It is a particular brand of seed .
Binaatthelake , I think that you would be ok to keep the pretty lettuce going for many years by saving the seeds, from what I have read , its about the particular cannola seed and not things like the lettuce seeds that came into your family generations ago.
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#7 Thu 04 Nov 10 10:48pm
SonomaEddie
Occupation Chief cook and bottle washer
- From Northern California
- Member since Sat 10 Feb 07
Re: seed saving illegal
I think someone has a few loose seeds rattling around in their head.
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#8 Fri 05 Nov 10 1:48am
nanstertoo
Occupation Retired nurse-midwife
- From High Point, North Carolina
- Member since Tue 17 Jun 08
Re: seed saving illegal
SonomaEddie wrote:
I think someone has a few loose seeds rattling around in their head.
It would be a very hard law to enforce...
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#9 Fri 05 Nov 10 3:37am
roxyrockford
- Member Occupation university student
- From Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Member since Fri 05 Nov 10
Re: seed saving illegal
in response to this person's message:
"Where did you find thisout exactly??? and who would enforce if this was the case....are the mounties gonna turn up on your doorstep at 3 in the morning to arrest you for having seeds in the house...
Stop being a pillock and grow up... "
Believe it or not, YES they will show up to your house at 3 in the morning and arrest you. Just watch the movie, "The World According to Monsanto", it was created by the same filmmakers as "Food Inc." and it talks all about this topic and interviews American farmers first hand. The same thing is going to happen here in Canada. It is absolutely shocking how the government is controlling everything, even SEEDS! Another thing I heard, is that sooner or later, herbs we use for cooking and medicinal purposes will be outlawed because pharmaceutical companies don't want people healing themselves the natural way (i.e they rather you purchase expensive drugs created in a lab that harm your body even more than allow you to heal yourself with natural herbs and spices).
Someone tell me where to move soon! ![]()
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#10 Fri 05 Nov 10 4:00am
SonomaEddie
Occupation Chief cook and bottle washer
- From Northern California
- Member since Sat 10 Feb 07
Re: seed saving illegal
I know, you read this on the internet. Do you want me to list things that have been written on the internet? How about things that people BELIEVE that have been written on the internet?
You are a university student, I hope you've taken some classes in logical thinking and figured out that just because you read it on the internet doesn't make it so.
It it did, we would all be laying in bathtubs with our kidneys missing and Osama bin Laden would be living in a guest room at the White House. Stop being moved by fear. It's an age-old tool that seems to work all the time. Sad sad.
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