Fedco drops all varieties by Syngenta

December 2, 2023 4:59 PM

Maine-based gardening cooperative Fedco, founded in 1978, announces severance of ties to Syngenta: "In the years since we began labeling Syngenta varieties, our alarm at its practices has only grown. While our engagement with Syngenta is nominal within the massive global seed trade, in the words of activist Angela Davis, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”"

"In our 2015 catalog, Fedco’s founder CR Lawn asked, “Can we, with a straight face, call our agriculture sustainable if we are addicted to varieties produced by multinational corporations that thrive by feeding a system dependent on the toxic chemicals they manufacture?” Trying to strike the delicate balance of economy, reliability and ethical seed sourcing, we’ve determined that we could not claim with integrity that we promote sustainable agriculture while continuing to purchase and sell seeds from Syngenta Group."

Previously

posted by missmobtown (5 comments total)

I appreciate a business that makes the effort to live up to their stated values. I also like that they provide alternatives for all the varieties they're dropping. Thanks for sharing the info!
posted by blueskies at 6:23 PM on December 2, 2023 [8 favorites]

I learned a lot about agrochemical oligopoly from that link! Thanks for posting it!
posted by CompanionCube at 11:13 PM on December 2, 2023 [3 favorites]

I needed ANOTHER seed catalog for next year, did I?
posted by away for regrooving at 11:36 PM on December 2, 2023 [5 favorites]

Everyone needs the Fedco Seed catalog. It is delightful reading even if you don't garden.
posted by JanetLand at 3:56 AM on December 3, 2023 [8 favorites]

This is great news.
posted by misterpatrick at 5:14 PM on December 3, 2023 [1 favorite]