Non-Hybrid: Terms to Know

Open-Pollinated, Pure, Natural, Non-GMO

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. sells only Open-Pollinated, Pure, Natural, and Non- GMO seeds. This has been and will continue to be our guiding principle.

Why is this so? It’s because we are guided by the Golden Rule: we would not sell anything that we would consider potentially harmful to the health of others or the environment.

What do these terms mean? Here’s a brief overview.

Pure and Natural seeds means that you start with a product that is untreated and free of pesticides. Although our seeds are not certified organic, they can certainly be used in an organic garden and many are grown by organic farmers. Also, they are not genetically modified.

Heirloom

Open Pollinated
“Open pollinated” is a botanical term that tells us that the variety is stable and the seeds will “breed true.” These seeds have an established set of genetic traits, like taste, color and shape, that will remain the same when its seeds are saved and planted the following season. For example, the seeds of an Amish Paste tomato, which is an open-pollinated variety, will express the same characteristics each year, provided that no accidental cross pollination occurs. This term lets us know that the seeds were bred naturally by wind, insects, animals or human hands in a minimally invasive way (like passing pollen between two varieties with a feather or a paintbrush).

“Heirloom” is more of a cultural reference. All heirlooms are open pollinated, but not all OP varieties are heirloom. The term is a reference to the age, historic and cultural value of an open-pollinated variety. Most heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties that have been saved, stewarded and curated over generations; a few were more recently adapted but still hold cultural significance. Some seed savers insist that an heirloom must be 50 years or older, while others do not require this age restriction in order to consider a variety an heirloom. An heirloom might be your great grandmother’s favorite hot pepper seeds that she passed on to you, a uniquely colored tomato bred for the farm-to table restaurants in San Francisco, or a dry bean that has been grown by a traditional indigenous group for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. All hold a place in our hearts and their seeds will breed true.

In sharp contrast to hybrids, Heirlooms trace their ancestry back many years to a time when pesticides and herbicides were not in use. As Jere Gettle, the owner of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. puts it, “Basically, an Heirloom seed is one that has been passed down through families and is usually considered to be over 50 years old. Some varieties even date back to Thomas Jefferson’s garden and beyond.” Unlike hybrids or GMO’s which often have problems reproducing to the parent strain, Heirloom seeds can be saved and replanted, ensuring a trustworthy supply of family food year after year.

A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) results from a discipline called Genetic Engineering which involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another. For example, genes from an arctic flounder which has "antifreeze" properties may be spliced into a tomato to prevent frost damage. It is impossible to guide the insertion of the new gene. This can lead to unpredictable effects. Also, genes do not work in isolation but in highly complex relationships which are still not fully understood. Any change to the DNA at any point will affect it throughout its length in ways scientists cannot predict. The claim by some that they can is both arrogant and untrue.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.’s business continues to grow every year as the public interest in Heirloom fruits and vegetables has grown. Why? Two reasons, says Jere. First of all, good flavor. "People are really tired of the way produce in the supermarket tastes anymore," he says. "They remember it when they were kids, and they remember their grandma's garden. The tomatoes tasted good and the melons were sweet. Everything that they're bringing in from Mexico and California is picked green and shipped, and it just doesn't taste like it used to." Secondly, people are starting to get more concerned that the nutritional value is gone as well. "More and more allergies keep developing," says Jere. "And a lot of people think that might have something to do with genetic engineering, all the different chemicals they're spraying on the foods."

The bottom line: Because agri-business companies cannot positively assure the public through replicatable tests that eating GMO food is safe, then food that has been genetically modified should be labeled as such, as a bare minimum precaution. This would cost practically nothing and would give consumers a choice, instead of being unwittingly lulled into buying food that might be bad for them.

All outdoor GMO plantings should be banned outright due to cross-pollination and patent infringement issues that are causing a loss of genetic diversity and an increase in new weeds, and have threatened the livelihood of farmers.