The article states, "... We do purchase a small number of seeds from the garden seed department of Seminis, a Monsanto subsidiary, and so do our biggest competitors.". The cost argument doesn't hold water because if Monsanto wants to spread GMO and contaminate all the other available seed in individual gardens - which may well end up being the ONLY seed that is not GMO - I doubt they'd really care what they cost. I have grown Early Girl tomatoes along with many Heirloom varities since I first started gardening. -------- My first concern is that a Monsanto owned company (like Semini) may supply Burpee with source GM plants or seed. Imagine not being able to ever save seed to plant again. I checked and he's not in the 2011 catalog, but he was in the 2010 catalog. I will add that the seed quality was amazing & I will order seeds again. In his teenage years Burpee's namesake bred poultry and Mr. Ball informs me that he got into the seed business after discussions with farmers who were having trouble with seeds brought from Europe because they had been acclimated to growing in vastly different conditions. This week a Drudgereport article announces they've inserted human genes into cows to produce human breast milk. I am surprised if mixing the genes of plants is what really concerns people, or if that is even the bulk of what really happens in creating GMO plants. This could be done within the same species in the field, using traditional hybrid creation methods. Easy to grow, they reach their flavor peak at 5-7" long & a mere 3/8" wide. The seeds Burpee produces are almost exclusively grown in California. Note: Buzzy Seeds could not be reached for comment. It dates back to the beginning of agriculture, when people first started selecting the better fruits and flowers to plant for next year's crop. We vote with our dollars in America. My second concern is that Mr. Ball's statement seems dismissive, not really concerned about customer concerns over GM in the garden. That's pretty much my issue with them too. Product information Size:2 oz of seeds. Below is a copy of my 4/6/11 email to Burpee.com customer service. When he addresses things like the "safe seed pledge" on the web, it sounds like he wouldn't even consider signing it. But now that I've learned they are a Semenis/Monsanto product, I don't feel comfortable growing them. I encourage anyone who is not aware of the many evils Monsanto perpetrates to do some research. from Semini or others) that may be genetically modified through high tech, trans-species, gene splicing lab methods. The number of questions wasn't what was surprising, what struck me was the number of people asking me if I "trust" Burpee seeds. I don't know. That is what is different about laboratory GMO versus good old fashioned hybrids. Speaking to his colleagues and competitors whatever fear I may have had about Burpee selling GMO seeds has be erased. This was the consensus among his colleagues and competitors that I spoke to. I like an even mix of older varieties and new plants in my garden, Mr. Ball seems to favor hybrids for their productivity. The conversation ranged from his family's history in horticulture, his work history, heirloom seeds, seed companies, sausage and tomato sauce making. I'm always thinking, even if these damn Brandywine only produce two tomatoes, I KNOW I'll have plenty from the Early Girl. So THANK YOU most of all for pointing out hybrid is not a synonym for GMOs! Seed Pack will sow a row of about 20'. I'd like to know Burpee takes active steps to prohibit the upstream introduction of GM material into their seed products, perhaps unbeknownst to their own seed producers. I think I'll post that as a single post. They are garunteed to have no GM. I've been a Burpee customer since I was a teenager and I will probably continue to do so. I don't know if I'm being fair in my avoidance of Burpee or not. Maybe I hold their big company status against them, assuming that all big companies are bad. I purchased some and DO NOT wish to support any subsidiary of Monsanto. What bothers me is the addition of Animal genes into Plant DNA. I would like to say that I was put off by Mr. Ball's dismissive tone as well. Even Google can't prove much negative to write about. This is disturbing. Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to say Monsanto had "gobbled up" Burpee, in case it sounded like that. One of the questions that a reader wanted to know about Burpee was why it hadn't signed the Safe Seed Pledge. Although it is a stand-up guy whose word can be trusted about today political! Buzzy seeds could not be reached for comment chemically treated, making them suitable for sustainable.! 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