Not GMO

I think the whole subject of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) in our food supply is definitely worth its own post as many people (including myself) have some great concerns. I will not knowingly advocate for GMO’s and definitely caution against their consumption. I am not a scientist and don’t know all the facts regarding the genetic manipulation of organisms but I can’t say I’m a fan of the idea behind Franken-Cucumber.

I hope to explore the subject in greater depth later but I felt that I needed to provide some information I received from Hometown Seeds who are sponsoring this week’s seed giveaway. Two separate bloggers from other sites notified me that Hometown Seeds uses GMO seeds. Since I was concerned I sent an email to the company to investigate and find out what products were GMO in their catalog. The answer was good news: NONE. Mr Peterson sent me the following email regarding an unfortunate mistake in communication with the previous bloggers.  I have printed the unedited email for you to read (the first part is his response to me and the second part is what I believe he sent the other bloggers):

Dave,

I am the owner of Hometown Seeds.  Chelsea forwarded your message with your concerns for GMO seeds.  I appreciate you addressing us first as our mistake has led to some very negative blog posts.  Please see the detailed explanation below.  We are vigorously trying to remove these concerns.  We have no GMO seeds.  We have a single supplier that shares our belief that GMO seeds have too many unknowns and should be avoided.  Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Scott Peterson

Owner

Hometown Seeds

I am the owner of Hometown Seeds and I need to clarify a terrible misunderstanding.  Chelsea showed me your email and I worked back from there.  Let me explain.

First, our survival seeds are all non-hybrid and none are GMO.  Secondly, the mistake is all my fault.  Chelsea is working in our little company part time.  She is a student at a local university helping us  build traffic to our website by reaching out to sites like yours.  She is not an expert in gardening and relies on me to answer any technical questions.  When the gentlemen from Oklahoma Peppers Network asked if our seeds were Hybrid or  GMO, I told her to respond that we sell some hybrid seeds but they are not in the survival seeds, and none of our seeds are GMO.  This is obviously not how she responded and had no idea how badly the mistake would be received.   I have seen what she emailed back, hence the misunderstanding and negative blog posts.  It was there in black and white after all.

We completely agree with the evils of GMO seeds.  We do not now nor ever will carry GMO seeds.  As for the survival seeds, the whole point is to provide open pollinated seed that will generate seed for the next year as well as food for the family.  All seeds in the survival seed packet are non-hybrid.

We have already sent the survival seed package out to you and I would hope you would examine the types of seeds and the instructions that clearly describe each type of seed.

I feel terrible that we have created such a problem.  What I feel the worst about is that in your efforts to help us out, we created confusion with your loyal readers.  I don’t know what else I can do but accept full responsibility for the what we have done and apologize profoundly.

I am very sorry.  I ask forgiveness from you and your readers.

Scott

Scott Peterson, owner

HometownSeeds.com

“More garden for your dollar”

He unequivocally states that Hometown seeds does not use GMO stock. This definitely is good news. Mistakes happen and it sounds to me that the company is trying to rectify the error.