Seed Companies Owned by Monsanto

[Islander]

Following is a list of companies that are either a)owned in part by Monsanto or b) carry seeds sourced from Seminis, which was bought by Monsanto in 2005. This list is as complete as I can make it at this time.

Below this initial list are two more lists: companies that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge...and companies that may sell only safe seed but have not signed the safe seed pledge.

Cautionary note: Some companies, like Johnny’s and FEDCO, may carry Seminis seeds or have done so in the past, but claim to sell no genetically modified seed. I leave it up to you to do your own research. I know the owners of both personally (well, FEDCO is a co-op so has no “owners” per se, but C.R. Lawn is top honcho and I have known him for years. If C.R. says they sell no GM seeds, I trust him). Rob Johnston, on the other hand, may not be able to personally overlook his sources and based on what I know, I have some reservations about Johnny’s. Again...do the research.

OWNED BY MONSANTO OR SEMINIS

Audubon Workshop
Breck’s Bulbs
Burpee
Cook’s Garden
Dege Garden Center
Earl May Seed
E & R Seed Co
Ferry Morse
Flower of the Month Club
Gardens Alive
Germania Seed Co
Garden Trends
HPS
Johnny’s Seeds
Jungs
Lindenberg Seeds
McClure and Zimmerman Quality Bulb Brokers
Mountain Valley Seed
Osborne
Park Seed
Park Bulbs
Park’s Countryside Garden
R.H. Shumway
Roots and Rhizomes
Rupp
Seeds for the World
Seymour’s Selected Seeds
Snow
Spring Hill Nurseries
Stokes
Territorial Seeds
T&T Seeds
Tomato Growers Supply
Totally Tomato
Vermont Bean Seed Co.
Wayside Gardens
Willhite Seed Co.


The Safe Seed Resource List
Your Resource for GM-free Seeds

The companies listed below have signed the Safe Seed Pledge for 2012. We encourage you
to support them in their efforts to preserve the integrity of our seed supply.
http://www.councilforresponsiblegene...spx?pageId=261


The following may be companies that sell only safe seed but have not signed the safe seed pledge (see link above).

Abundant Life Seeds

Amishland Seeds

Annapolis Valley
Heritage Seed Company (Nova Scotia, Canada)

Diane’s Flower Seeds

Garden City Seeds

Heirlooms Evermore Seeds

Heirloom Seeds


Horizon Herbs

Irish-Eyes

Lake Valley Seeds

Livingston Seeds

Local Harvest

Mountain Rose Herbs

Organica Seed

Pinetree

Sand Hill Preservation Center

Seeds of Change

Southern Exposure

Sustainable Seed Co (added on request of the company)

Tiny Seeds

Uprising Seeds

Virtual Farm Seed Co (added on the request of the company)

Wildseed Farms


Further background info:
As of 2005, Monsanto owns Seminis. It is estimated that Seminis controls 40 percent of the U.S. vegetable seed market and 20 percent of the world market—supplying the genetics for 55 percent of the lettuce on U.S. supermarket shelves, 75 percent of the tomatoes, and 85 percent of the peppers, with strong holdings in beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and peas. The company’s biggest revenue source comes from tomato and peppers seeds, followed by cucumbers and beans.
In large part, these numbers reflect usage of Seminis varieties within large industrial production geared towards supermarkets, but Seminis seeds are also widely used by regional conventional and organic farmers as well as market and home gardeners. Johnny’s, Territorial, Fedco, Nichol’s, Rupp, Osborne, Snow, and Stokes are among the dozens of commercial and garden seed catalogs that carry the more than 3,500 varieties that comprise Seminis’ offerings. This includes dozens of All-American Selections and an increasing number of varieties licensed to third parties for certified organic seed production.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.seedalliance.org/Seed_News/SeminisMonsanto/

AND...
Before it was acquired by Monsanto, Seminis eliminated 2,000 varieties of seed from its inventory. The first things to go were the older open-pollinated varieties; vining petunias, butterfly weed, butter beans, German green tomatoes, and other heirlooms grown by gardeners for generations, replaced by genetically engineered varieties.
High-tech patented hybrid varieties are far more profitable for transnational seed companies to produce and sell. These new frankenseeds are bred to perform adequately over a wide geographical area, giving the patent holder a much larger market.
As consumers are losing the freedom to choose what they will buy and grow, thousands of varieties of garden seed are walking the plank, straight into the abyss of extinction. Consider this, in 1981 there were approximately 5,000 vegetable seed varieties available in U.S. catalogs. Today there are less than 500, a 90 percent reduction.

Read more here: http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues...erri_Cook.html

[StephenX]

I order seeds and plants from Gurney's. I contacted their customer support; and they assured me that they do not use GMO seeds or plants. I use a lot of heritage type seeds. That way I can keep my own seed bank. Also have a sealed can of non-hybrid seeds in the downstair's fridge. I cycle them every four years. We may all need to build greenhouses someday.

[Islander]

You saw my disclaimer. I spent a lot of time pulling from various sources, but there is no claim of accuracy. Things change. One company claimed they were "a family business, not owned by Monsanto" but that does not assure me that they sell no biotech seeds.

[worldover]

Seems like I read something derogatory about Seeds of Change this year. I'll try to recall the information.

[jessinthedirt]

Hi There! Great resource, I came across your page when I was looking up seed companies that sell Monsanto or Seminis. I realize this is an older page and I know that you have a disclaimer, but I just wanted to point out that High Mowing Seeds is listed incorrectly on your list of companies that haven't signed the Safe Seed pledge. High Mowing Organic Seeds is on the Safe Seed Resource List and actually were the instigators of the Safe Seed Pledge and guided the process of creating the pledge. You can find out more about High Mowing Seed's involvement with the Safe Seed pledge on their website here: http://www.highmowingseeds.com/the-s...ed-pledge.html

Thanks for creating this place for information and dialogue! It's great to find someone who is passionate about sharing informative resources and encourages folks to do their own research, and make their own conclusions!

[Islander]

Thanks, Jess, I'll make that adjustment. Meanwhile, check in at the New Members forum and start a thread to introduce yourself!