Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Territorial Seed Company and Monsanto

After I posted my 2012 seed list, I received a couple of messages about using Territorial Seed Company's seeds since they were owned by Monsanto. Yikes! What!?! I am not one to wait around with this type of thing, so I started doing a little research on Google and my jaw was dropping. News that TSC was buying seeds from Seminis, who was purchased by Monsanto, was mentioned quite a few times. News that TSC was owned outright by Monsanto. Are you kidding me?

I needed to get to the bottom of this because the more I researched, the more the information seemed to swagger.

This afternoon I sent the following message:

I am just about to complete my order with TSC and I wanted to make sure none of the seeds I am purchasing are from Seminis or any other Monsanto-affiliated company. Could you please provide me with a list of any of your seeds that are purchased via Monsanto or Seminis and any seeds that are GMO?

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

Territorial's rapid response:
Val,
We don't purchase any seed from Seminis nor Monsanto.
Regards,
Marlece

My response:
Thank you for the quick response. I had read online that one of the companies you purchased seed from (Seminis) was purchased by Monsanto and a note saying TSC was selling Monsanto seeds and yet another saying TSC was purchased by Monsanto. So, just to confirm, are all of these accusations false? I will gladly post information on my blog to that effect if they are. I loathe all of the misinformation that makes it to the web. 

Thanks again for the quick response,
Val

Territorial's response:
Val,
The information is false. We are owned by Tom and Julie Johns, and we don't purchase seed from Seminis nor Monsanto.
Marlece

Thank you to Territorial Seeds for responding so quickly on this important matter. Without healthy seeds, you cannot have a healthy garden. I appreciate their ethics surrounding this difficult topic. Now go order some seeds from them, peas are supposed to go in on Monday!

Do you want to see if your favorite seed company signed the Safe Seed Pledge? Check here.

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6 comments:

  1. I have heard that before too and I love Territorial. Since we live coastal Oregon their picks usually work for us. Thanks for clarifying that. I'll be glad to stand up for them.

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    1. Cathy, I have loved Territorial for the same reasons. We have had a lot of success with their seeds and starts. On their behalf, it would be awesome if you could share this post since the info that comes up when you Google them is so old. The more clicks we get on this page, the more likely it is to come up on top when people search. I just wish the folks with the old info would update or remove the other posts. Not likely. :)

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  2. Bitchin good news. Thanks for this update - I knew they were down to a minuscule number of varieties from Semenis. Awesome to know the seed is 100% in the clear. Thanks!

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    1. Erica, I was lovin' it too. Let's get the word out, shall we? BTW, your site rocks. LOVE it. Someday when I have the time to switch to WordPress I am going to check out your template. Very cool.

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  3. Thanks for dispelling this myth that seems to be going around the internet.

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