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Preserving seeds for future generations: It's a job Oregon's Wild Harvest takes very seriously.

Organic AstragalusIf anyone has ever questioned the necessity of our company's commitment to preserving our organic seeds, responsible wild-crafting, and overall dedication to maintaining the genetic integrity of the plants that have been around for centuries...take a look at this.....

It's bad enough when the pharmaceutical companies want to claim ownership of medicinal herbs and their properties, but it now appears that the seed companies are laying claim to Mother Nature's goods as well. That's the bad news. The worse news? They are genetically engineering the seeds they now "own" -- and jeopardizing the genetic integrity of the original seed as well as the future of these plants.

If it were not for responsible farmers committed to organic principles and the preservation of the plants and food our ancestors have enjoyed for thousands of years, these very things could very conceivably become a thing of the past.

Goldenseal Seed HarvestMonopoly may be a fun board game, but when it comes to industry, it's a very disturbing trend, especially when you're talking about seeds for food crops. But this is just the direction that we're heading where you have big companies buy up smaller seed companies, decreasing the choices available for farmers. For years, soybean farmers in the U.S. have been complaining that Monsanto so dominates the market that they can only get their genetically engineered Roundup Ready variety. An equally serious problem is that it allows companies dominating the market to raise their prices on farmers unencumbered.

Here's a list of the top five companies:

  1. Monsanto (US) - $4,964m - 23%
  2. DuPont (US) - $3,300m - 15%
  3. Syngenta (Switzerland) - $2,018m - 9%
  4. Groupe Limagrain (France) - $1,226m - 6%
  5. Land O' Lakes (US) - $917m - 4%

For the full story, see the ETC group's article.