Protect and promote seed diversity!

On the 25th of April, Save our Seeds and Campact  launched a petition on the upcoming new EU regulation of seed marketing. 

The new regulation will de facto ban old and rare varieties and farmers varieties and threaten the exchange and selling of seeds of diversity.

The current draft regulation was written by DG SANCO, and needs 14 Commissioners to support it. Each EU Member State has a Commissioner in Brussels representing one of the 27 Directorates (DG). As it is anticipated that the DG Agriculture (Romania) and the DG Environment (Slovenia) should vote against, it will only take 12 more.

• Find and sign the petition here: http://www.saveourseeds.org/en/activities/get-involved/petition-seed-regulation.html

The petition is demanding that proposed EU seed legislation must allow more diversity in our fields and on our plates, rather than destroying it. Traditional and local varieties must remain exempt from licensing or certification requirements. Strict rules, controls, inspections and costly permits should only apply to seeds and seed materials which are traded commercially, in large quantities. The free exchange of seeds and seedlings between farmers, gardeners and seed initiatives must be guaranteed and supported.

Only by growing a wide selection of fruits, vegetables and grains, can we ensure that our agriculture adapts to climate change, new diseases and pests. We want colorful variety not standardized uniformity!