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Building Bridges of Understanding to Grow Seed Libraries
Building Bridges of Understanding to Grow Seed Libraries
Date: 11/23/2014 10:48:23 AM ( 10 y ) ... viewed 1087 times
Across the Golden Gate Bridge toward the National Heirloom Expo 2014, I was filled with passion and inspiration that one day Seed libraries in Public Libraries would be commonplace, and that Commercial Banks would one day have Seed Banks.
I expressed my excitement in a little video published initially on Facebook. The Video expressed the Seed Dream that "That All kids of the future will have heirloom seeds in Seed Libraries" and that "All the Seed Libraries and Departments of Agriculture will be on the same page to build bridges."
I am in gratitude for what I have received personally in a troubling year of health, from the Seed Library Movement. When the stories began crossing my prevue that Seed Libraries were under attack, specifically, the Seed Library at the Simpson Public Library was under attack from the Pennsylvania Department of Ag, I immediately I felt personally assaulted. The very act of learning about the Seed Library movement was healing to me, and the opening of communications with personnel who worked both at the Simpson Seed Library as well as the Penn Department of Ag empowered me.
Leslie (that's me) with my friend Sean Kaminsky, producer and director of the movie "Open Sesame" at the National Heirloom Expo 2014. That's a Simpson Seed Library Mug was filled with Seed Freedom loving heirloom Kamut® Ancient Seeds. It is a metaphor for me for Seed Libraries growing everywhere. Building bridges of understanding is a key to our success, I believe.
The Sacredness of the Seed is engrained in my consciousness. I , as many others, went on red alert when I read some of the original internet blogs that went viral. My state of red alert quelled when I realized that most of the headlines were an overreach, and the Simpson Seed Library was not under attack. The initial headlines were based on misinformation and overzealous journalism to apparently create a stir. That they did.
New awarenesses grew as I met the gentleman-- both on the phone and through emails-- the Pennsylvania Department of Ag employee who had instigated the original letters to the Simpson Library.
As a knowledgeable employee of the Penn Department of Ag, who spent his day to day activities testing for contaminated seeds and upholding Truth in Labeling issues for seeds, He was quite aware of the Seed Laws and what they expressed.
He became aware of the existence of the Simpson Seed Library through its growing positive press coverage. He lived nearby.
His initial communications with the Simpson Seed Library were never intended to shut down, crack down or harm the growth of the Simpson Seed Library, nor did he identify the Simpson Seed Library as a "Crime Scene." That my friend, was the result of viral headlines misinterpreted.
Johnny Zook was out to help the Simpson Seed Library become aware of existing Seed Laws that in Pennsylvania specifically cover all exchanges of seeds, be they sold, bartered or swapped.
Working with the leaders of the Library, and others in his department, a set of protocols came into being, that took into account the expressed needs of the Simpson Seed Library as they knew them.
Inadvertently, because of their relative infancy at running a full bodied Seed Library entailed, the Simpson Seed Library itself was unaware that one of the primary purposes of a Seed Library, as a Seed Library was then defined, was to build local food security through establishing a local seed bank of seeds that were adapted to each local area.
Johnny Zook, the man who sent the initial letter to the Simpson Seed Library, grew in awareness of the importance of establishing a local viable seed bank as I began to build bridges between him and David King, an elder of the Seed Library movement.
Johnny Zook grew in his awareness as did I through hearing David King. It was a no brainer that Seed Libraries needed to have a means of collecting and returning seeds. The issue became how to do this in light of Seed Laws that regulate all kinds of seed exchanges.
The Seed Swap at the National Heirloom Expo was a highlight for me. Under the existing Protocols accepted by the Simpson Seed Library Seed Swaps are "Legal."
The protocols, and further emails with Johnny Zook, made it clear that he was not the enemy of Seed Libraries. No one needed to mobilize. They merely needed to make a phone call to him and get a conversation going.
In an email of August 28, Johnny Zook wrote; "Hi Leslie,
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.
Regards
Johnny
Johnny Zook | Seed Program Supervisor
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture | Bureau of Plant Industry
He was a cooperative voice that was open to learning more from the Seed Librarians, as well as potentially adding to the then fresh Protocols so that the needs of Seed Libraries could be met. He commented, the sooner the better that this discussions start. He alerted me to the fact right from the start that other Departments of Ag were contacting him for info and using the newly established protocols to set their own state regs regarding Seed Libraries.
This position--that Johhny Zook was not the enemy--and that an opportunity existed to get discussions going-- was the position I stated at the National Seed Library Summit September 10 at the National Heirloom Expo. . My point of view was that we had more to gain through building bridges with Johnny Zook as a gateway to reaching other Departments of Ag in other states.
My point of view may have been heard, however, it was not accepted as a strategy and means for creating Seed Library Resilience.
The dominant theme since has been to mobilize rather than build bridges.
Fast forward three months. Now we have an petition crafted by a number organizations that would as well like to foster Seed Library resilience and who are wanting to help.
Their approach would be to gain support for a petition that basically calls on Departments of Ag in 50 states to
(1) issue a public statement declaring that your state’s Department of Agriculture’s seed enforcement policy does not include seed libraries, and (2) begin implementing regulations formalizing this policy.
One of the issues that needs to be addressed is that current Seed regulation policy likely does include Seed Libraries as they currently are defined. My understanding was that Johnny Zook was suggesting that Seed Libraries take the next step to grow in a way that then redefined themselves.
Johnny Zooks solution was to suggest ways that Seed Libraries could function both within and outside of existing Seed Laws.
He suggested that Seed Libraries reorganize. The Public Library Seed would continue to distribute new Heirloom and Organic Seeds, while they separated from the Seed receiving function. They would organize independent Seed Banks that would hold the local varieties and protect them. The Public Seed Libraries would continue to teach Seed Saving as well as hold periodic Seed Swaps. The Seed Bank independent as well as interdependent with the Public Library Seed Library would take over the function of receiving. This, he said, would allow the Public Library Seed Library to exist legally without additional needed changes.
This was how the Public Seed Libraries would function in Pennsylvania. Other States possibly had different Seed Laws.
All these suggestions are well documented in emails as well as letters that are accessible on the Plant Your Dream Blogs as well on the Simpson Seed Library site.
My point of view is that it is best to build bridges.
I wish the more than 300 existing seed libraries well. I look forward to there being 600, 900, 10,000 Seed Libraries.
My question is: As the petition grows, lets say to 10,000 who sign, we are still going to have to speak to the Departments of Ag.
As for Johnny Zook, who initiated the effort to help the Seed Libraries find a way to grow within as well as run successfully without butting heads against existing Seed Laws, he was ready to sit down at the table all along.
I am still more than willing to help build the bridges.
--Leslie Goldman
Your Enchanted Gardener
Plant Your Dream Blog
DRAFT ONE
9 am
November 23, 2014
RELATED LINKS
State Responds to Seed Library Controversy
Published August 15, 2014
What did the Department of Agriculture suggest to the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library as a solution?
Rather than them taking physical possession of the seeds, they create under their auspices essentially a seed exchange, whereby they might supply the initial group of seeds and then more just on a member to member level of seed exchange, seed swap type of thing, facilitated by the library, without them being brought into one central location, comingled, sorted, redistributed, which woudl have gotten into the whole Act, legal requirements.
They can go as far as they want with the structure, whether they have a membership list, or rules, or just facilitate the exchange. We aren’t going to get into dictating that to them. We never shut down a seed library, and we never anticipated a crackdown statewide as some of the headlines said.
What's your reaction to the Department of Agriculture being portrayed in the media as aggressive in this situation?
We thought we were taking a very positive approach, positive and cooperative. Our first goal was compliance, not enforcement. We were very happy they were able to work out a process where they were able to achieve their goals, and we were able to fulfill our obligations under the law.
http://www.alleghenyfront.org/story/state-responds-seed-library-controversy
National Seed Library Petition
http://legalizeseeds.org
46 signatures
7:36 pm
November 22, 2014
VIDEO:
"SEED LIBRARIES & DEPARTMENTS OF AG WILL BE ON THE SAME PAGE BUILDING BRIDGES."
http://youtu.be/MPQCk9s-GZg
This video was made September 5, 2014 crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in route to the National Heirloom Expo.
Videos of my class, "Uncle Sam Marries Anti-GMO" are also on Youtube.
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