Scripps Howard News Service hosts a time-hallowed “I’m reading my seed catalogs” article, so prevalent during the winter months. As if to mock the European seed trade rules, the author focuses on all the weird and wonderful things she is able to try, thanks to small companies that specialize in biodiversity. While I, personally, would not buy seeds from at least one of the companies she names, I would at least like the pleasure of being able to boycott them, rather than have some faceless bureaucrats tell me what I may and may not grow.
Actually you can …
There are various seed-excange schemes, and the HDRA, and other “organic” groups, who don’t need to be bound by the commercial constraints laid down by the commercial EU bureaucrats ….
Not that you could grow US “desert” plants, even in any but the driest, hottest parts of Europe – you might manage it in parts of Spain, or, oddly enough on the coast of Essex, in England, which has only about 500mm ( = 20″ ) rain a year. Much cooler, though.
Oops!
I’ve just read the Kokapelli judgement.
It looks as if they upset someone, because normally, no-one in France takes any notice of EU rules ….
Question is, will anyone DO anything about it?
Actually, you can’t! Full disclosure: I used to be responsible for the HDRA’s Heritage Seed Library, resurrecting it from its previous somewhat moribund state and establishing a lot of the campaigning work. And it exists because the Ministry turns a blind eye. The EU law is quite explicit. You are not allowed to “market” unregistered varieties, and marketing includes giving them away, exchanging them, etc. So HDRA and other similar efforts in the EU are allowed to exist, but have no right to do so.
Looks like I might have to dust off and update some of the stuff I wrote in the past about EU seed legislation.