Organic seeds: How organic can they really be?
September 9, 2010 Categories: Organic Gardening
Question by Hayden: Organic seeds: How organic can they really be?
Hi, I was wondering how organic are so-called organic vegetable/fruit seeds such as tomatoes? Basically, I’m interested in the the intent of growing completely organic Tomatoes, chilli’s, peppers etc. I comprehend the concept of a mortal growing them organically i.e organic soil, compost, fertilisers etc, but I don’t really comprehend the concept of organic seeds.
If a company sells organic seeds how can they be Truly 100% organic? Surely, if a tomato seed has come from a mom plant and that plant from its parent and so-on and so-on, how can the company be sure if it is Truly 100% organic? How can they know that a seeds great X 50 grandparent was not sprayed with pesticide or fertilised with some chemicals? Would that distant relatives non-organic makeup transfer into the so-called organic seed of today?
Sorry I hope this makes some sort of sense as I’m definitely no gene scientist! Thanks for your relevant comments.
Best answer:
Answer by Happy guy.
Okay think about it this way.
If you have a plant which they state is 100% organic but it’s grandparents was sprayed with pesticide.
There is a chance that it will give out that gene but then if we state its great great great great grand parents was treated with pesticide then we know there is a very trim chance that the plant of this day would carry that.
Genetics is just chances the farther the lane it goes the smaller the chances but of course if your mum had cancer then the passing of the gene is evenhandedly high.
Add your own answer in the comments!
With an organic seed, the company may be referring to a “not on purposely” genetically altered seed, or maybe a seed that was not grown in a plant exposed to radioactive fertilizer, who knows. Since the beginning of farming in ancient Mesopotamia, we have been selecting certain characteristics of plants to be more evident than others. taking and planting only the biggest and juiciest fruit seeds over many generations will in fact produce higher yields of big juicy fruit. We see this every October with giant pumpkin contests. So technically you cant have an truly organic seed, those disappeared a long time ago. What you are worried about is what that seed is grown in, the best thing about growing your own vegetables is that you have assurance of knowing they are not grown in radioactive fertilizer… because that causes cancer.
I believe the `original` seed is saved in huge seed storage units (as most of today`s seeds are hybrids – that is seeds that have been genetically modified in some way).
But I see and understand your point.
But remember – the `orignal` seed/crop mostly does not give the quality crop of today`s hybrids. This is not to say the hybrids are better – just that today`s products are grown to be sold in the supermarkets, and therefore need to appear big, standard in shape and whatever.
For example – the original `carrot` (which would of course have been a wild plant) would be small, mishappen, and generally unattractive – tho possibly it would have been a healthier food .
So personally I don`t believe such a thing as an organic seed really exists on the commerical shelves. The very word `organic` is questionable anyway. Years ago the word was not used like it is today, as all grown foods were considered organic anyway (if anyone had bothered to ask in those days!) – as they were grown in natural soil.
So the word `organic` has lost its true original meaning.
Likely the claim that a product is organic merely indicates that the grower has met certain requirements to become certified as an organic grower. Some farms likely have been organic longer than others. Organic farmers avoid certain inorganic materials such as fertilizers and pesticides when there are organic substitutes available. Seeds that are 100% organic means they were all grown on a certified organic farm, period!
“Organic” is a licensed definition, products labeld as organic must meet standards laid down by an organic licensing body, in the UK that is mostly The Soil Association or Demeter .
All licensing bodies accept that, given wind borne “pollution”, nothing can be 100% free from commercial chemicals, and that sometimes inorganic methods are all that is available (in which case a derogation is granted).
As far a seeds are concerned, if the parent plant was cultivated organically then the seed is organic, there will be so little trace of of inorganic cultivation in a grand child it is considered pure.
Note that NO GM plant can produce acceptable seed, the seed is GM, a plant from that seed is also GM.
So much for commercial organic, there is also ethical organic, where it all came from before supermarkets needed to be restricted as to what they could call organic. If you grow food for yourself and friends, then it is totally up to you to decide what methods you use, what your definitions of organic are and you have control over what you eat.
Wow. most of those answers are pretty crazy. I don’t think there is any reason for the entire lineage of the plant to be organic. There’s no gene that gets passed on when a plant is sprayed with a pesticide. Deliberately crossbred plants can still be organic but plants modified though genetic recombination are not.
As long as the seeds come form a plant grown organically the seeds are organic.
Most importantly organic seeds lack any sort of fungicide seed coating. ‘Damping off’ of seedlings is a common problem usually caused by a fungus called pythium. this can be prevented with fungicide seed coating but this of course is not allowed in organic systems.
In the U.S.A., it only takes 5 years, for a farmer to become certified as organic, no matter how many chemicals were used on his land in the preceding years.
So your seeds are at least five generations away from the sprays.
~Garnet
Permacutulture homesteading/farming over 20 years
I used to do small scale commercial seed saving and it was certified organic. All cert organic can say is that the parents were grown organically on a certified organic farm and that the seed is not genetically modified.
I grew out heirloom peppers and tomatoes but there are plant breeders doing organic hybrids as well.
I think you are asking if pesticide use turns a plant into a GMO, no it does not. That has to be done in a lab as it means you are sealing with the seed on the cellular level and artificially removing parts of the DNA strand and putting in foreign DNA. Being sprayed with a synthetic pesticide will not do this.
Organic seeds are not all that important unless you are certified organic unless you are growing corn, soy, cotton or canola as these crops are so contaminated with GMO genetics that unless it is organic you have to assume that they are GMO (and even organic seeds of these kinds have some contamination). There are also a few vegetable seeds that have been GMOed but you would have to sign a contract in order to buy the seeds so you would know. But to be really sure you are not getting GMO seed buy only from companies that have signed the safe seed pledge like Seed Savers Exchange, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Baker Creek Seeds and Fedco Seeds (and all of these companies offer certified organic seed).
I grow food commercially on small scale for my sole living. I used to be certified organic and I do buy some seeds as organic but most I buy untreated and not organic.
Yo Bohemian-it takes only 3 years to transition to organic