Do you know where your garden seeds come from?
Did you know that Monsanto owned 40% of the garden seed market? That’s right, the maker of that premier Agent Orange product, Roundup, crept into the home gardening scene a few years ago. Already known for it’s development of genetically-modified organisms and for developing (and owning the patents on) a large number of vegetable and grain varieties), Monsanto sought not only to gain control of the seed genetics, but of the market itself.
In 2005, the chemical and agricultural giant bought Seminis, then the largest developer, grower and marketer of fruit and vegetable seeds in the world for $1.4 billion.
Last year, the chemical giant Bayer bought Monsanto for $66 billion. Bayer, as you may know from your history, used slave labor during WW2, and conducted medical experiments on female prisoners. Of course, that was 80 years ago, and we all tend to forget.
Bayer now controls the seed for 55 percent of the lettuce, 75% of the tomatoes, and 85 percent of the peppers in U.S. groceries. The company also holds a significant portion of the markets on beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and peas. Interesting food for thought, not so interesting for our bodies and health.
In the list below. You’re sure to recognize the names of some important and popular seed sellers.
Here is a list of companies which are owned by Bayer (Monsanto), or sell seeds from them.
American Seeds
Asgrow
Audubon Workshop
Breck’s Bulbs
Campbell
Cook’s Garden
Dege Garden Center
DeKalb
De Ruiter
Diener Seeds
Earl May Seed
E & R Seed Co
Ferry-Morse
Fielder’s Choice
Flower of the Month Club
Fontanelle
Gardens Alive
Germania Seed Co
Garden Trends
Gold Country Seed
Hawkeye
Heartland
Heritage Seeds
Holdens
Hubner Seed
HPS
icorn
Jung Seed
Kruger Seeds
Lewis Hybrids
Lindenberg Seeds
McClure and Zimmerman Quality Bulb Brokers
Mountain Valley Seed
Nichol’s
Osborne
Park Bulbs
Park’s Countryside Garden
Peotec
Poloni
R.H Rea Hybrids
. Shumway
Roots and Rhizomes
Rupp
Seeds for the World
Seymour’s Selected Seeds
Snow
Specialty
Spring Hill Nurseries
Stewart
Stokes
Stone Seed
T&T Seeds
Tomato Growers Supply
Totally Tomato
Trelay
Vermont Bean Seed Co.
Wayside Gardens
Western Seeds
Willhite Seed Co.
