News Release

Seeds

One Seed at a Time

"One Seed At A Time is seeking out and collecting samples of the heirloom varieties that are currently being raised and banked by farmers and gardeners in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Tennessee, and banking these seeds both here in the Southeast and also at the Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. They'll also be regularly growing out all of the collected varieties at least every five years to ensure their viability today and for generations to come.

One Seed At A Time will also be combating the patenting of our heritage seeds by huge corporations. As you read this, the largest seed companies in the world are busy patenting all of the open-pollinated varieties of vegetables, flowers, and grains that they can. The major seed companies of the world have already patented thousands of open-pollinated varieties. As of now, the only way to keep a public variety from being patented by the largest seed dealers in the world is to document it and preserve a sample, as the One Seed At A Time project will do.

Seed saving organizations and foundations from around the country have indicated they are interested in supporting this project, but for it to succeed, we also need support from folks like you.

Heritage Seeds and Rare Breeds

You don't have to be a farmer to have a back-yard garden or become involved in a community garden where you can grow some wonderful and bonuntiful heirloom varieties of vegetables or grains. You can even become a heritage seed-saver! If you are a farmer, you can raise a breed of rare livestock or poultry. Rare Breeds Canada (Joywind Farm Rare Breeds Conservancy) has a number of projects in which you can get involved, including a Heritage Hatchery Network and a Satellite Breeding Network. If you are an urban dweller you can adopt-an-animal through the Rare Care Program to help pay for the upkeep of particularly rare farm animals. To see some rare and heritage varieties of animals and plants, visit a demonstration farm. There are a number located across Canada. Contact Heritage Seed Programme, RR #3, Uxbridge, Ontario L9P 1R3 and/or Rare Breeds Canada.

Biodiversity in Your Back Yard

Let your backyard go wild! If you have a backyard, it's easy to support biodiversity by supplying the three staples for all life: water, food, and shelter. Provide a bird bath that will attract not only birds but pollinating insects and even chipmunks. Or, if you have the space, create a pond that will atrract an even wilder variety of species incluing frogs, toads, salemanders, and a host of birds. Supply wild food by planting perennials such as fruit and nut trees, nectar producing flowers and berry bushes. The trees and bushes also provide natural shelter. But remember, insecticides and herbicides are out! They kill the "good" with the "bad". The spring 1995 issue of Canadian Nature Federation's Nature Canada is devoted to Biodiversity in Your Backyard.

Heirlooms, the Garden Treasury

Preserving heirloom seeds gives people a sense of history and cultural heritage. By growing heirloom plants and saving the seeds, we can all participate in saving many varieties from extinction and preserving plants with special genetic traits. In becoming a seed saver of heirlooms, we can pass on the rich history with which many plants are endowed. If you can learn the origins of your seeds, pass this heritage on to your family members and share these seeds with other growers of heirlooms. In this way it is possible to save special varieties not commonly grown.

Today, many of us are concerned about the widespread practice of genetic engineering and the unknown consequences of genetically modified foods. Taking up heirloom gardening reassures us that we can enjoy vegetables and fruits that are pure, natural, unchanged, and in complete harmony with nature.

Heirloom seeds have special features that distinguish them from hybrid seeds:

* The variety of seed should be able to reproduce itself. For example, one variety of tomato that has been saved for generation after generation of plantings will produce that same variety of tomato.

* Antique seeds are always self-pollinated or open-pollinated and will produce plants with the same traits planting after planting, generation after generation. Hybrid seeds will not be able to reproduce plants with exactly the same traits.

* The variety of seed must have been introduced at least 50 years ago, though some heirloom gardeners say they must be at least 100 years old. In recent years, however, varieties with shorter histories are considered heirloom because of their uniqueness.

* The particular cultivar, or variety, must have a special history. Perhaps one can trace the plant's origins to a particular region of the country. Or, perhaps seeds have been saved by farming families who can recall that their great grandparents brought them from Europe.

Today there is a growing interest in preserving heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables along with their histories. Among the groups that have made special efforts to collect and save heirloom seeds are the Amish, the Mennonites, and Native Americans. There are seed companies devoted exclusively to saving and selling heirloom seeds and plants. Many universities are developing ecology departments that take a special interest in the preservation of heirloom seeds.

Many of us don't have the time or opportunity to grow our own heirloom vegetables, but we can make an effort to support those who do. In recent years, there are many small farmers who grow heirloom tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and eggplants and bring them to the shoppers who frequent farmers' markets.

Great Lakes health danger

Health risks are increasing for the 35 million people living in the Great Lakes basin as toxic chemicals continue to accumulate, according to a report from the Conservation Foundation and from the Institute for Research on Public Policy. The report says that much of the toxic pollution entering the Lakes comes through the air. It also identified the runoff of agricultural chemicals as a particularly serious problem.

All-terrain vehicles kill

All-terrain vehicles, which have long been condemned by environmentalists for their noisy and profoundly harmful effects on nature, including the destruction of shorebird habitat and rare vegetation, are also dangerous to their users. An estimated 1,550 people were killed in the United States between 1982 and 1989 while riding ATVs, while over 50,000 a year are injured, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Native pollution nightmare

Native communities face extremely serious environmental and health problems caused by pollution, according to Henry Lickers, director of the environmental division of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. According to Lickers, what is happening in native communities foreshadows what will happen elsewhere as pollution problems continue. "We are a bellwether because we live off the land. But the nightmare we are living today, you will live tomorrow." The island reserve of Akwesasne is surrounded by heavy industry, including two chemical plants, a pulp and paper mill, two aluminum smelters, and an autoparts plant. These industries produce mercury, PCBs, organochlorines and fluoride that have polluted the land and water, according to Lickers. He also linked the pollution to other problems in the impoverished community, saying that "when resources disappear, people become more desperate. Pollution causes great stress on the community, and ultimately violence results. Mohawks at Akwesasne depended historically on farming, fishing, small-game hunting and raising livestock, activities made impossible in recent years because of heavy pollution.

Excess Packaging Campaign

Environmental Action Ontario has launched an Excess Packaging Campaign to reduce excess packaging in supermarkets and fast-food outlets. The campaign seeks to bring environmental groups and concerned individuals together to tell the large food corporations that we don't want a throw-away society. They are urging the following changes: 1) fast-food restaurants provide reusable dishes and cutlery for sit-down customers, (2) a special tax on disposable take-out containers, with revenues dedicated to waste reduction efforts, 3) supermarkets reduce their excess packaging.
Hoping to tap public support for substantial environmental improvements, participating groups will be approaching unions, church and community groups and municipal councils in their local areas to endorse the demands of the campaign.
Report cards are to be issued at the beginning and end of the one-year campaign which will rank the various fast-food and grocery chains according to the re-usability of their packaging.
The campaign is looking for groups or individuals to co-ordinate the campaign in local communities. Local co-ordinators will receive a campaign kit including background information on the issue and a manual outlining the tasks involved. Local campaigns will include three major components: information gathering, publicity, and lobbying. To participate, for information, or to make a financial contribution, contact Environmental Action Ontario.

How You Can Help Make A Difference

The same dismal words greet us day after day, in headlines and on television. Acid rain. Ozone depletion. The Greenhouse Effect. Environmental degradation. Species extinction. They come together, like bad news often does.

Belatedly, we've realized that nature is not endlessly self-renewing and self-cleansing. Environmental problems escalate while we point accusing fingers.

We've caused these serious environmental problems. As comfort-loving, consumer-oriented members of an industrial society, none of us can deny responsibility for the state of the environment. We have but to examine the environmental consequences of our daily routine to realize our individual roles in nature's disarray. By the same token, however, the saving of the environment rests on our individual daily actions, consciences and commitment. Your actions can make a difference.

There are a host of things you can do in and around your home to reduce pressures on the environment.

Hazardous Wastes

The average Canadian household produces 20-40 litres of toxic waste each year. Environmental groups, municipalities and provincial governments have realized that households make up the largest single class of hazardous waste generators in Canada.

Hazardous waste is created through the use and disposal of household hazardous products, which number in the thousands. Household cleaners, shoe polishes, paints, solvents, batteries, anti-freeze and insecticides are but a few of the culprits. These end up thrown down the drain, dumped in landfills or burned in incinerators, and contaminate our ground and surface waters. This waste stream includes chemicals that are known to cause cancer.

* Substitute non-hazardous or less hazardous products for the ones you now use. For example, substitute a mix of vinegar, salt and water for window cleaner. For other alternatives, write to Pollution Probe, 12 Madison Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2S1.
* Don't buy more of a toxic product than you need.
* Use up toxic items; don't throw out partially used containers.
* Encourage the development of proper systems for disposing of household hazardous waste.

Recycle Your Garbage

The average Canadian household produces one tonne of garbage a year. Garbage doesn't disappear, and it's expensive to get rid of $1.5 billion is spent each year in Canada on garbage disposal.
Landfill sites can contaminate rivers, lakes and groundwater with toxic chemicals that are leached from the site. Burning garbage wastes valuable materials, causes air pollution and associated health hazards. It has been estimated that 50% of our garbage can be recycled; here's how you can do your share:

* recycle newspapers, magazines, paper, glass, bottles, cans, and lubrication oil;
* re-use boxes, paper and plastic bags, as well as containers, glass jars and cans;
* don't buy disposables - choose refillable bottles;
* look for recycled packaging;
* buy unpackaged or least-packaged items such as bulk foods * 50% of all garbage in our cities comes from packaging;
* re-use packaging, such as egg cartons, tin foil and plastic bags.

What about the Ozone Layer?

About 90 per cent of the earth's ozone is found naturally in a layer 15 to 35 kilometers above the earth's surface in the stratosphere. This ozone layer protects life from the sun's deadly ultraviolet rays by absorbing the rays which cause skin cancer, cataracts and damage to the immune system. These rays can do extensive damage to plant life as well.

Normally, ozone molecules are broken down by the ultraviolet light they absorb. This light can also break apart oxygen molecules into highly reactive oxygen atoms. These atoms can then attach themselves to oxygen molecules to produce ozone. As a result, stratospheric ozone levels are kept constant.
Ozone can also be destroyed by halogens such as chlorine (which is found in many chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs) and bromine. A single chlorine molecule can destroy thousands of ozone molecules.

CFCs can stay in the atmosphere for 75 to 130 years. After 7 to 10 years, these chemicals rise up to the stratosphere, where their chlorine atoms are liberated by ultraviolet light, leading to ozone destruction.
You can be an ozone protector by avoiding ozone-damaging products.

* Avoid foam egg cartons, coffee cups and food packaging.
* Use spring or fibre mattresses, cushions and car seats.
* Avoid CFC-containing aerosol cans.

At Home

Conserving energy around your home will save money and the life of our nonrenewable resources.

* Save water - the average Canadian uses an average of 285 liters of water per day. Repairing leaking faucets - a dripping tap wastes 30-100 litres a day.
* Turn off lights you don't need. Use low-wattage bulbs when possible.
* Weather-strip around doors and windows.
* Reduce night-time thermostat settings to 17C, and daytime settings to 20C.
* Make sure your furnace is energy efficient.

For more information and free publications on making your house energy efficient, call the HEATLINE, a toll-free energy advisory service at 1-800-267-9563 (995-1810 in Ottawa-Hull).

In the Garden

Over 600 chemicals are applied to Canadian food, forests, homes, lawns, parks and lakes in a war against unwanted plants and animals. These chemicals disrupt the ecological chain. In addition, pesticides have shown up in human tissues, in mother's milk, in fish and in open water.

* Try to avoid using pesticides, or use biological or non-toxic methods of pest control. For free information on safe ways to control pests write to: The Environmental Protection Service, Environment Canada, Twin Atria #2, 2nd Floor, 4999 - 98 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 2X3.
* Save water; reduce lawn watering.
* Make a compost heap rather than adding chemical fertilizers.
* Provide bird feeders for hungry visitors; birds eat many unwanted insects.

There Are Other Ways Too

Finally, you can reduce air pollution and fuel consumption by walking, bicycling, and using public transit or car pools. Car exhaust accounts for 30% of air pollution in our cities. If you do use a car, get it tuned up, it will burn up to 15% less fuel.

Your concern for the environment can be expressed in several ways. Start changing your lifestyle today - the savings will truly be yours.

Selected Links

Nature art by Elaine Farragher -

Walkerton Water Contamination - The story of Ontario’s right-way Harris government, which gutted health and environmental protection polices, leading to the Walkerton water disaster.

Medical Reform Group of Ontario history - History of the Medical Reform Group.

10 Health Care Myths - Medicare’s opponents have launched a sustained ideological attack on medicare. Their propaganda relies on myths and misrepresentations.

Men and Violence - When we throw around indiscriminate terms like ‘male violence’ and give credence to theories that men are inherently violent, we are slandering men who are not violent and, unthinkingly, we are actually perpetuating the stereotype that to be a man is to be violent.

Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) - A socialist perspective - The record of social democracy world-wide is clear. No social democratic party in office anywhere in the world has ever attempted to pursue an anti-capitalist agenda.

Sources Listings Subject Index - Find thousands of experts, authorities and spokespersons.

Miscellaneous PR Resources - Selected resources for public relations.

Associations - Selected associations.

Media List - Media list.

Sourcebook - Sourcebook2.

House of Commons - Members of Parliament.

Senators - Senate.

BC Legislature - British Columbia.

Alberta Legislature - Alberta.

Saskatchewan Legislature - Saskatchewan.

Manitoba Legislature - Manitoba.

Ontario Legislature - Ontario.

Quebec National Assembly - Quebec.

New Brunswick Legislature - New Brunswick.

Nova Scotia Legislature - Nova Scotia.

Prince Edward Island Legislature - Prince Edward Island.

Newfoundland & Labrador Legislature - Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nunavut Legislature - Nunavut.

Northwest Territories Legislature - Northwest Territories.

Yukon Legislature - Yukon.

Corporate Lobbyists - Corporate Lobbyists.

Red Menace - A libertarian socialist newsletter.

The Middle East Conflict: Resources for peace, justice, and human rights - A selection of resources for those looking for a solution to the Middle East crisis based on justice, human rights, and mutual recognition.

Luxurious Newfoundland Home for Sale: Villa Fairwind

Unclassifed topic headings - Headings in the unclassifed category.