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Encouraging an Open Discussion with Johnny Zook
Encouraging an Open Discussion with Johnny Zook, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture representative who initiated the Simpson Seed Library-Department of Ag Communications.
Date: 9/14/2014 4:44:30 PM ( 10 y ) ... viewed 965 times
Important Letter from Katrina Frey to in Support of open discussion
On Sep 14, 2014, at 5:19 PM, Katrina Frey wrote:
Hi Leslie,
Hi, my name is Katrina Frey.
I have read Johnny Zook's original letter to the Simpson Seed Library, as well as the draft of protocols that were accepted as is by the Simpson Seed Library. This suggestions made good sense to me although I have not heard the other sides of the story.
I have also read Johnny Zook's email to Leslie Goldman of August 28 where he says that "Because the Seed Library issue is getting a lot of publicity, I think it is putting pressure on a number of States to consider how Seed Libraries relate (or will relate) to their Seed Laws.
With this in mind, I think it’s important everyone involved to be open to discussion and to be responsive to those discussions so that Seed Libraries’ concerns can be part of the formative process of working out the
relationship between Seed Libraries – and the various Seed Laws."
I want to encourage an open discussion now with Johnny Zook as we help answer his questions that could lead to a national protocol for Seed Saving and Support for Seed Libraries that works for everyone.
I have been aware of the central importance of Seed Saving to the future of agriculture since 1976 when I apprenticed with Alan Chadwick, the British horticulturalist who brought French Intensive-Biodynamic principles to the US and who created the Chadwick gardens at UC San Cruz. I am currently the executive director for Frey Vineyards, the first certified organic and biodynamic winery in the US, and president of the board of Demeter USA, the certification body for biodynamic farms in the US.
I was a member of the strategy committee for Mendocino County, California's Measure H in 2003, the first successful ban on the propagation of GMO's in the US. Because of our unique GMO free status, we as a county are a place to raise certified organic heirloom seeds.
Katrina Frey
LINKS
Letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to Simpson Library
http://www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/sites/default/files/SIM/Documents/Misc/2014_PADeptAgriculture_Letter.pdf
Suggested Seed Library Protocol from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
http://www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/sites/default/files/SIM/Documents/Misc/2014_SeedLibrary_Protocol.pdf
You are invited to Help Develop a National Seed Library Protocol & Change Seed Laws as Needed.
Johnny Zook's Questions and his email of August 28, 2014
http://plantyourdream.net/?p=19058
JOHNNY ZOOK’S QUESTIONS FOR SEED LIBRARY LEADERS
On Aug 28, 2014, at 10:51 AM, “Zook, Johnny” wrote:
I’m trying to get a thoughtful response to some questions on Seed Libraries. I would very much appreciate your thoughts/concerns/suggestions.
1) One can develop local eco-type adapted seeds by simply obtaining one’s initial starter seed from a swap of locally harvested seeds – I believe this would answer the diversity concern. What do you think?
2) Every Seed Library protocol I have read online says that if you aren’t able to “return” harvested seed to the Seed Library; either give a donation so heirloom seeds can be purchased or buy heirloom seed yourself to return – no different than the protocol having the Library provided heirloom seeds – Or am I missing something here?
3) Why insist on a single collection point of seed? Wouldn’t having the members of the Seed Library store the seed make for a more robust system? Seeds stored at any single location are susceptible to a total-loss incident and years of adapting seeds to local climate and local taste could be completely lost.
4) Some people have said to me that not being able to “return” the seed to the library destroys the Seed Library – why? The Library still has an important role to play in outreach, tracking and organizing of seed’s and member’s information, Seed swap location/meeting place, seed growing/saving/storage education and resources, diversity education, promoting communal sharing, etc… Having more people capable of storing seed means more freedom and more security. In other words, why do some people consider having the harvested seeds returned to the library essential?
Thanks
Johnny
Katrina Frey
Executive Director
Frey Vineyards Ltd
http:www.freywine.com
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/freywines
Working on this now…
Iti s now 2:22 am on September 15, 2014.
I received an email from Anne Dietrich yesterday that says that at September 15, 2014, between the hours of 2:30 am-2:35 am in whatever time zone that you are living, the intentions you set will influence the rest of your life.
I am willing to play. I believe in intentions.
I woke up within the last half hour with the thought that I would want to keep writing on the theme of Planting Clarity around the Simpson Seed Library- Department of Ag Communications.
As late as September 14, I am still seeing that Library Today, a web service, is still picking up the original stories of misinformation about what happened in Mechanicsburg, PA.
I am setting intentions now.
I want my health to keep improving.
I want to continue to help adding Clarity about this situation in Mechanicsburg, PA that can help to continue to propel a national conversation about Seed Saving, Support for Seed Libraries, and GMO Education.
I want affairs at home to be solvent and satisfying for those who are living there.
I see that chaos exists from my point of view regarding the steps to take to help the Seed Library movement find peace with the events that happened when the Seed Library was visited.
I want to be diplomatic about helping to add the light of understanding.
Johnny Zook has offered to enter open discussion. It is now 2:30 am.
I want to add Clarity to his four questions and to the answers.
I believe there is financial support for me to do this.
I am wanting to follow up with Baker Creek and my new family there.
I want to have my new Seed Packets out as Jere promised.
I want to see Public Libraries have Seed Libraries. I want to help Clarify the next steps needed. I can do this on my Plant Your Dream Blog.
I want to see Banks have Seed Banks.
I want to help redefine the next steps for growth.
I can find the keys for improved health right here and right now.
I can leave a legacy that will help our nation return to being a nation of gardeners.
I have all the support I need to feel ease with what I need to do now.
I am in the hands of God.
My vehicle is safe to drive up and down the coast.
I will receive the support I need for the dreams that I expressed.
I will begin to write about the National Heirloom Expo.
The events at home are secure.
It is now 2:35 am
I will write about what really happened in the communications between the Simpson Library and the Department of Communications.
I am loved. I have the support I need.
2:36 am
more soon.
EMAILS FROM JOHNNY ZOOK
Other Emails from Johnny Zook
http://curezone.us/blogs/fm.asp?i=2196941
ORIGINAL MATERIALS ON THE PLANT YOUR DREAM BLOG
COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENTS ON THE SIMPSON SEED LIBRARY SITE
http://www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/?q=SIM_SeedLibrary
2:43 pm
September 14, 2014
SIGNATURE FOR PLANTING CLARITY! SIMPSON SEED LIBRARY-DEPARTMENT OF AG COMMUNICATIONS
I ordered some memorability from the Simpson Public Library site that arrived August 18, 2014. I would like to take these to The National Heirloom Expo September 9,10,11 in Santa Rosa, Ca, where I will teach as well as participate in a National Seed Library Summit. I went into the garden to plant Ancient Grains of Kamut ® Khorasan wheat today that had been sprouting during the last week. I am planting seeds for clarity around the Simpson Seed Library-Department of Ag Communications. May good come from the communication. May all our work pave the way for Seed Libraries to continue to flourish with the well wishes of all. May a National Conversation emerge in support of Seed Saving, Support for Seed Libraries, and GMO Education. I wrote Plant Your Dream Blogs to contribute to this clarity and good outcomes. Today, I heard from Johnny Zook, Seed Program Supervisor, Penn Department of Ag, and Jonelle Darr, Cumberland County Executive Director, home of the Simpson Seed Library. Darr thanked me for attempting to correct the facts and said, "From what I could see, the information that you have regarding my statements, and the library's actions are correct." Johnny Zook said he liked the story and that I included what needed to be told regarding their communications. Here is the story, "Planting Clarity! Simpson Seed Library and Ag Dept Wrap Up," "Planting Clarity! Simpson Seed Library and Ag Dept Wrap Up," --Leslie Goldman, Your Enchanted Gardener, August 18, 2014.
YOU ARE INVITED TO HELP DEVELOP A NATIONAL SEED LIBRARY PROTOCOL & CHANGE SEED LAWS AS NEEDED
View the future! This is the Petaluma Seed Bank, where the dreams and visions of a teenager years ago, Jere Gettle, gave birth to the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed collection, and with the help of an outstanding staff, the upcoming National Heirloom Expo September 9,10,11, 2014. The national Seed Library movement was not on my radar until Johnny Zook, Seed Program Supervisor for the Penn Department of Ag wrote a well intended letter to the newly formed Simpson Seed Library in Mechanicsburg, PA, June 12. He let them know that there were state Seed Laws. A few months later, we have an opportunity, as Departments of Ag everywhere are looking into Seed Library Protocols and how individual Seed Laws relate to Seed Libraries. Will you, as a Seed Saving Enthusiast, as a Supporter of Seed Libraries, as a GMO Educator. answers some informed answers to Johnny Zook so that National Seed Library Protocols can reflect deep wisdom?
http://plantyourdream.net/?p=19058
WORKING TOWARD A NATIONAL SEED LIBRARY PROTOCOL & CHANGING THE SEED LAWS AS NEEDED
This was started Thursday, August 28, 2014.
http://seedlibraries.org/forum/topics/working-toward-a-national-protocol-changing-the-seed-laws-as-well
FOUR ANSWERS FOR JOHNNY ZOOK
Help Johnny Zook, Seed Program Supervisor, Penn State of Agriculture,
understand more about the needs of Seed Libraries http://plantyourdream.net/?p=19058
You are invited to Help Develop a National Seed Library Protocol & Change Seed Laws as Needed
http://plantyourdream.net/?p=19058
PLANTING CLARITY! SIMPSON SEED LIBRARY AND AG DEPT WRAP UP
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2196853
SEED PROTOCOL DISCUSSION GROUP NOTES
http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2197727
PLANTING SEEDS FOR A NATIONAL CONVERSATION
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193937
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ASKING FOR SUPPORT FOR SEED LIBRARIES AND GMO EDUCATION
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193991
HELPING UNCLE SAM MARRY AUNTIE (ANTI) GMO
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2181365
TEACHINGS FOR THE NATIONAL HEIRLOOM EXPO FROM LESLIE GOLDMAN 2014
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2197699
These are teachings for the National Heirloom Expo, September 9,10,11, 2014 in Santa Rosa, California. Leslie can be reached at Plantyourdream AT cox.net or at 619.384.2631. Please see a list of the National Heirloom Expo presenters here.
http://theheirloomexpo.com/speakers/
I am schedule to teach Helping Uncle Sam Marry Auntie (Auntie) GMO
at 11:30 Tuesday, September 9, in Kraft Hall.
I am scheduled to teach Growing a Healthier Pizza with Plant Your Dream Seeds, with the youth, at 12:15-12:45 pm,, Wed, September 10, 2014 in the Educational & Fun Area.
Got the National Heirloom Expo on my mind, Sep. 9,10,11 2014
Leslie Goldman, Your Enchanted Gardener/ Plant Your Dream Blogger from San Diego shares inspirations from the Campaign to Grow A Healthier Pizza. Will you help build our grassroots movement so that Uncle Sam gives up his unholy relationship with Biotech GMO in the farm bed and gets married to “Anti” (Auntie) GMO? Being a matchmaker for this wedding is a job that belongs to all gardeners who want to fulfill the vision of the Founding Gardener Presidents of America the Beautiful. Thousands of new Plant Parents are needed! The wedding date is in your hands. The invitation to the wedding goes out to all who grow food with heirloom seeds and ancient grains. His favorites are Kamut® ancient wheat and heirloom seeds from the Baker Creek collection. Read more here about his workshop, Helping Uncle Sam Marry “Anti” GMO. The Ultimate Gardener: The Best Experts’ Advice for Cultivating a Magnificent Garden with Photos and Stories (HCI, 2009) credits Leslie for photographs and inspiration. The book’s dedication reads: “To Leslie Goldman, The Enchanted Gardener, for planting dreams and seeds of inspiration. To all those who garden and for those who dream to have a garden one day.”Robert Muller, then U.N. Assistant Secretary General, gave Leslie a U.N. Peace Medal in 1983 for the work he would do in his lifetime. That work continues helping us to win back our sacred seeds.
http://theheirloomexpo.com/speakers/
http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2197699
COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE SIMPSON LIBRARY AND THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AG ON THE SIMPSON LIBRARY SITE
The Simpson Public Library has done a wonderful job of detailing the main communications about the unfoldment of these events.
http://www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/?q=SIM_SeedLibrary
This Art, How Fast Can a Dream Grow! As Fast as a Blade of Grass! is the centerpiece of our Grow A Healthier Pizza Campaign. Canvas copies are available. Contact me, 619.384.2631.
A GROWING NUMBER OF SEED LIBRARIES NOW EXIST IN MANY PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
This is the way the Seed Library has been working;
Seed libraries, often located in public libraries or other community gathering points, are institutions created for the purpose of sharing seeds. The idea is that a library patron can “check-out” seeds to grow themselves, let “go-to-seed”, and then return seeds to the library to share with other community members. The seeds circulated at lending libraries are usually regionally-adapted and heirloom (unlike most commercial “hybrid” seeds, so that the next generation of seeds will produce plants similar to the parent plant). The purpose of most seed libraries is to provide an alternative to genetically modified seeds, increase biodiversity and plant resilience, and reconnect local people with their food systems.
More about Seed Libraries are found on the seed library social network site
RETURNING SEEDS TO THE SIMPSON LIBRARY
The issue that surfaced through interactions between the Simpson Seed Library and the Pennsylvania Department of Ag was the problem of returning seeds to the Public Library Seed Library. This brought the Seed Library under regulation through the Seed Law of Pennsylvania that has specific rules for seed distributors, Many States have similar seed laws that mirror a Federal seed Law.
MANY SEED LIBRARIES BECAME CONCERNED WHEN THE STORY ABOUT THE SIMPSON SEED LIBRARY AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE PENN DEPARTMENT OF AG WENT VIRAL
David King, who founded the Seed Library of Los Angeles, asks the question in one recent Post, "Are Seed Libraries Illegal?" He is heavily quoted on other subjects in Naomi Cleason's August 5 story in the Carlisle Sentinel "Pa. department backs seed library protocol as reaction grows" . Others are exploring, "Setting the Record Straight on the Legality of Seed Libraries".
HELPING UNCLE SAM MARRY "ANTI" GMO
http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2181365
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