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Pennsylvania's Seed Library inspires a National Conversation
I just spoke to Naomi Creason, City Editor of The Sentinel, a newspaper that covers events in Mechanicsburg, PA. I am changing the title of this Plant Your Dream Blog. Originally called, "Pennsylvania Seed Library in Mechanicsburg Halted" to "Pennsylvania's Seed Library inspires a National Conversation about Seed Saving and GMOs."
Toward this end, I am inspired by events at the Thomas P. Simpson Public Library where their Seed Library, that intended to give out and receive back the harvest of seeds from gardeners has been halted from receiving back this seeds. The Seed Library will remain open, with new protocols that do give it permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Ag
to have a Seed Library, just not receive back seeds.
The new article Naomi Cleason wrote on August 5 is called, "Pa. department backs seed library protocol as reaction grows."
Date: 8/5/2014 4:18:21 PM ( 10 y ) ... viewed 1772 times
I want to do some fine tuning of this….This was written Aug. 9.
Leslie
AUGUST 9, 2014
1:17 pm
It appears I am not the only one who just recently found out about Seed Libraries in recent weeks.
Nan Ondra writes on her Blog, A Garden in a Library.
I’m sure that some of you, at least, must already be familiar with the concept of a seed library, but I have to admit that until last week, I’d never known such a thing existed. And now, I wonder how it is that we don’t all know about this brilliant idea: essentially, making seeds available through public libraries, so patrons can choose the ones they find of interest, take them home to grow, and then return seeds to the library at the end of the growing season.
Posted August 1, 2014 by Nan Ondra in Seeds!. Tagged: cleaning seeds, saving seeds, seed exchanges, seed libraries, seed library, seed swaps, Seeds!, sharing seeds.
http://hayefield.com/2014/08/01/a-garden-in-a-library/
PLANTING A SEED FOR CLARITY FOR THE SIMPSON SEED LIBRARY-PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AG EVENT
This is the photo that appears in The Sentinel News Article by Naomi Cleason of July 31, 2014 submitted of the Joseph T. Simpson Seed Library.
How fast can a dream grow? ~As Fast as a Blade of Grass!
PLANTING CLARITY! SIMPSON SEED LIBRARY AND AG DEPT WRAP UP
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2196333
AUGUST 6, 2014
12:31 pm
I just spoke to Naomi Creason, City Editor of The Sentinel, a newspaper that covers events in Mechanicsburg, PA. I am changing the title of this Plant Your Dream Blog. Originally called, "Pennsylvania Seed Library in Mechanicsburg Halted" to "Pennsylvania's Seed Library inspires a National Conversation about Seed Saving and GMOs."
Toward this end, I have written numbers of Plant Your Dream Blogs.
The Seed Library will remain open, with new protocols that do give it permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Ag
to have a Seed Library, just not receive back seeds from members.
Please see my main story Planting Clarity for my latest accurate information.
The new article of August 6 is called, "Pa. department backs seed library protocol as reaction grows."
http://cumberlink.com/news/agriculture/pa-department-backs-seed-library-protocol-as-reaction-grows/article_d3acf6fc-1cf2-11e4-adf9-0019bb2963f4.html
STORY OF JULY 31 SAID THEY COULD NOT HAVE THE SEED LIBRARY UNLESS ITS STAFF TESTED EACH SEED. THEY COULD NOT DO THIS.
The department told the library it could not have the seed library unless its staff tested each seed packet for germination and other information. Darr said that was clearly not something staff could handle.
“This is not our core mission,” she said. “We thought we were doing a good thing in helping the Cumberland County Commission for Women (who requested the idea and the library’s participation).”
Seed Library No More, photo from the Joseph T Simpson Seed Library halted within the last few weeks by the Pennsylvania Department of Ag
The weather report for August 5, 2014 in Mechanicsburg, PA is 84 degrees now.
I have suddenly become interested in events at the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library where the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture shut down the pilot seed library within recent weeks.
Mechanicsburg, PA was once a mustering spot for unlon Troops that participated in the Battle of Williamsport.
Events there, with the shutting down of this seed library may be small in the minds of locals, but in my mind they remind me of Rosa Parks, called the mother of the Freedom Movement. I see events at the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library as a Battle in the War for Seed Freedom.
I am watching how Anti GMO and Seed Freedom Advocates respond.
HERE IS MY STORY SO FAR THAT I WORKED ON ALL DAY
REFLECTIONS ON AN ASSAULT ON SEED SAVING
Reflections on the assault on seed saving
I have a vision that one day all banks will be seed banks. This will come after Uncle Sam marries Anti (Auntie) GMO. This marriage will come through your help. Many more gardeners are needed to fulfill the original vision of the founding gardener presidents of the U.S.
The model for this dream of banks as seed banks was inspired by visiting the Petaluma Seed Bank that is located in a historic bank building. The Petaluma Seed Bank is the Ca headquarters for the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. It is from here that Paul Wallace and staff organize the upcoming National Heirloom Expo, Sept 9-10-11, 2014.
The sobering reality is that Uncle Sam, the personification of the U.S., is currently supporting popularizing GMO Seeds. Biotech is on the wrong side of the farm bed. This is a shortsighted vision, and has little to do with empowering the individual or the health of any nation. I consider what happened at the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library a crime against Pure food. More on that below to be written.
I note that among the many activities at the National Heirloom Expo will be a National Seed Library Summit, 4-6 pm, Wed, September 10. This event was not an official event at the Expo.
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193791
FOR MORE ON HELPING UNCLE SAM MARRY ANTI (AUNTIE) GMO
http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2181365
INTRO
http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193937
As much as Rosa Parks was called the Mother of the Freedom Movement, I see this event at the Joseph T. Simpson Library in Mechanicsburg a moment of history for the Seed Freedom Movement. This story will not go away soon. I have more work to develop on the two blogs I did today that include this one here and also Reflections on an Assault on Seed Savers, http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193791
I would appreciate a read of the piece Uncle Sam Marries Anti (Auntie) GMO to see where I want to go with this evolving story. http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2181365
I am glad to get a heads up on the national Seed Library movement. David King had called for a National summit of Seed Libraries for 4-6 pm, Wed, September 10 at The National Heirloom Exposition I am scheduled to lead a session on Uncle Sam Marries Anti GMO.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/mechanicsburg-pa/17055/weather-forecast/2243045
STORIES THAT APPEARED IN THE LOCAL SENTINEL NEWSPAPER ABOUT THE SEED LIBRARY AT THE THOMAS P. SIMPSON LIBRARY
PA. DEPARTMENT BACKS SEED LIBRARY PROTOCOL AS REACTION GROWS
http://cumberlink.com/news/agriculture/pa-department-backs-seed-library-protocol-as-reaction-grows/article_d3acf6fc-1cf2-11e4-adf9-0019bb2963f4.html
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CRACKS DOWN ON SEED LIBRARIES
July 31, 2014
The Sentinel
Carlisle, ten miles,
1o miles, same library...
http://cumberlink.com/news/local/communities/carlisle/department-of-agriculture-cracks-down-on-seed-libraries/article_8b0323f4-18f6-11e4-b4c1-0019bb2963f4.html
CONTACT INFORMATION ABOUT THE WRITER OF THIS STORY
Naomi Creason
City Editor
Twitter:
@SentinelCreason
Facebook:
The Sentinel Newspaper
Email:
ncreason@cumberlink.com
Phone:
717-218-0025
draft protocol..
July 10
Janelle Darr,
ORIGINAL STORY ABOUT THE OPENING OF THE MECHANICSBURG SEED LIBRARY ON EARTH DAY 2014
http://cumberlink.com/sports/outdoors/seed-library-to-launch-at-mechanicsburg-earth-day-festival/article_194df904-c1e5-11e3-a905-0019bb2963f4.html
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE JOSEPH P. SIMPSON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Joseph T. Simpson Public Library
16 N Walnut St.
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
(717) 766-0171
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanicsburg,_Pennsylvania
HISTORY OF MECHANICSBURG, PA
Mechanicsburg was the site of unlon Army recruitment during the early days of the American Civil War. Specifically, Company C of the 16th Infantry regiment of Volunteers which trained at Camp Curtin was mustered there. It was involved in several early battles including the Battle of Williamsport.[3]
WILLAM P SIMPSON LIBRARY SITE OF
HOW TO SAVE SEEDS, AUGUST 13
16 N Walnut St.
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
(717) 766-0171
http://www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/?q=SIM_Seeds_AUG14
Department of Agriculture cracks down on seed libraries
Naomi Creason
City Editor
Twitter:
@SentinelCreason
Facebook:
The Sentinel Newspaper
Email:
ncreason@cumberlink.com
Phone:
717-218-0025
"Through researching other efforts and how to start their own, Cumberland County Library System Executive Director Jonelle Darr said Thursday that no one ever came across information that indicated anything was wrong with the idea. Sixty residents had signed up for the seed library in Mechanicsburg, and officials thought it could grow into something more."
"The system had spent some time working in partnership with the Cumberland County Commission for Women and getting information from the local Penn State Ag Extension office to create a pilot seed library at Mechanicsburg’s Joseph T. Simpson Public Library."
"The effort was a new seed-gardening initiative that would allow for residents to “borrow” seeds and replace them with new ones harvested at the end of the season."
__
“Agri-terrorism is a very, very real scenario,” she [Barbara Cross, a commissioner] said. “Protecting and maintaining the food sources of America is an overwhelming challenge ... so you’ve got agri-tourism on one side and agri-terrorism on the other.”
Cross said it made sense that the department would want to tackle the issue now while the efforts were small.
http://cumberlink.com/news/local/communities/carlisle/department-of-agriculture-cracks-down-on-seed-libraries/article_8b0323f4-18f6-11e4-b4c1-0019bb2963f4.html
#
TROOPS FROM MECHANICSBURG WERE INVOLVED IN THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSPORT
The Battle of Williamsport, also known as the Battle of Hagerstown or Falling Waters, took place from July 6 to July 16, 1863, in Washington County, Maryland, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
Gettysburg Campaign (July 5– July 14)
Confederate
Union
During the night of July 4–July 5, Gen. Robert E. Lee's battered Confederate army began its retreat from Gettysburg, moving southwest on the Fairfield Road toward Hagerstown and Williamsport, screened by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. The unlon infantry followed cautiously the next day, converging on Middletown, Maryland.
On July 7, Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden stopped Brig. Gen. John Buford's unlon cavalry from occupying Williamsport and destroying Confederate trains. Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division drove two Confederate cavalry brigades through Hagerstown before being forced to retire by the arrival of the rest of Stuart's command. Lee's infantry reached the rain-swollen Potomac River but could not cross, the pontoon bridge having been destroyed by a cavalry raid.
On July 11, Lee entrenched a line, protecting the river crossings at Williamsport and waited for Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac to advance. On July 12, Meade reached the vicinity and probed the Confederate line. On July 13, skirmishing was heavy along the lines as Meade positioned his forces for an attack. In the meantime, the river fell enough to allow the construction of a new bridge, and Lee's army began crossing the river after dark on the 13th.
On the morning of July 14, Kilpatrick's and Buford's cavalry divisions approached from the north and east respectively. Before allowing Buford to gain a position on the flank and rear, Kilpatrick attacked the rearguard division of Maj. Gen. Henry Heth taking more than 500 prisoners. Confederate Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew was mortally wounded in the fight.
On July 16, Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where the brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade, held the Potomac River fords against the unlon infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Williamsport
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement".[1] Her birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in the U.S. states of California and Ohio.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation. Others had taken similar steps, including Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, and the members of the Browder v. Gayle lawsuit (Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith) who were arrested in Montgomery months before Parks. NAACP organizers believed that Parks was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws, although eventually her case became bogged down in the state courts while the Browder v. Gayle case succeeded.[2][3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks
CARTOON MARCH 1912
I ask how do we fill the shoes of Dr. Wiley, who created the Pure Food and Drug Law of 1906?
We help Uncle Sam through becoming one more gardener.
READ A HISTORY OF A CRIME AGAINST THE FOOD LAW OF 1906
A NATIONAL DEBATE ON GMOS IS NEEDED
http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2187692
STORIES ABOUT THE SHUTDOWN OF THE JOSEPH T. SIMPSON PUBLIC LIBRARY SEED LIBRARY
GM WATCH
Citizens told their seed library violates Seed Act
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has told a public library that its seed library violates the state's Seed Act and must cease operating.
We're not convinced. The law deals with the sale of seed, but the seed library wasn't selling seed. It was enabling people to "borrow" seed and replace it at the end of the season. The Dept of Ag bureaucrat defending the move appears to have invented a scattergun range of potential problems with the seed, such as mislabelling, spreading invasive plants, and so-called "agri-terrorism", none of which have been proven to have actually happened.
http://www.gmwatch.eu/index.php/news/archive/2014/15567-pennsylvania-dept-of-agriculture-cracks-down-on-seed-library
Pennsylvania goes Big Brother over local seed library
PATHOLOGIES OF SOVEREIGN POWER IN THE (UN)CIVIL SOCIETY
Devon G. Peña | Seattle, WA | August 4, 2014
Taking seed back from the state of exception
The response to this incident has been rather muted but I feel it constitutes a brazen act of authoritarian overreach and an example of the worst that is possible under a neoliberal regime of agricultural governmentality. The state authorities enforcing the closing of the seed library justified their actions on the basis of certification requirements set forth under Pennsylvania’s 2004 Seed Act despite the fact that there is no specific language in the statute that bans citizen’s rights to seed collecting, saving, and exchanging. Such a ban, if it were inserted in the law, would in my estimation still constitute a violation, at a minimum, of First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
MY COMMENT TO DEVON
Devon, glad you got in on this. I have been writing about this too. In the last month, I wrote Helping Uncle Sam Marry Anit (Auntie GMO). http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2181365
Today I wrote two blogs, one, Reflections on an Assault on Seed Savers, http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193791
and Pennsylvania Seed Library in Mechanicsburg Halted http://curezone.org/blogs/fm.asp?i=2193937
Both of these last two will be fine tuned. As much as Rosa Parks was called the mother of the Freedom Movement, I see this incident having great implications for the Seed Freedom Movement. In friendship, Leslie Goldman, Your Enchanted Gardener, Plant Your Dream Blog.
http://ejfood.blogspot.com/2014/08/agricultural-politics-governing-seed.html
GOOD ARTICLE BY KATE
http://my.firedoglake.com/kateca/2014/08/06/seed-lending-libraries-in-pennsylvania-facing-crack-down/#comment-103
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