Raise our forks for diversity!

Sign the petition to EU decision makers!

The new EU seed law proposed by the European Commission in July 2023 threatens the conservation and circulation of crop diversity. It disregards farmers’ right to harvest, use, exchange and sell their own seeds, as enshrined in international law. It is unacceptable.

We call on the European Parliament and Agriculture Ministers to rehaul the EU seed law proposal, and adopt legislation that enables the circulation of diverse seeds, enhances biodiversity, respects farmers’ rights and lays the foundation for a sustainable, resilient and diverse food system:

• The conservation and sustainable use of locally adapted crop diversity is the over-riding priority.
  According to the UN we have already lost 75% of crop diversity in agriculture. What remains is our lifeline. We will need to protect and utilise the remaining diversity to adapt our food production to more extreme weather conditions and new pests and diseases.
• The human right of farmers and gardeners to harvest, use, exchange and sell their own seeds must be implemented fully.
  This right is enshrined in Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, as well as in Article 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and is binding for the European Union and its Member States.
• The marketing of diverse and locally adapted varieties by regional seed producers must be facilitated.
  Rules designed to regulate industrial seed production must not be (ab)used to restrict the sale of diverse local varieties and species by artisanal producers. In light of the climate and biodiversity crises, we need to diversify the production of seeds, not further increase our dependency on industrial seed sources. Efforts by the agro-chemical lobby to destroy all alternatives via over-regulation must be resisted!
• Newly approved varieties must not be dependent on pesticides or synthetic fertilisers.
  To enable farming methods that protect our environment and climate, we need seeds that flourish under organic and/or low-input growing conditions.