Legal and Other Resources

• The Seed Law Tool Shed - the Sustainable Economies Law Center, along with various members of the public, have compiled excerpts of seed laws fromseveral states into a collaborative online document library to grow our collective understanding of state seed laws in theUnited States. This document library is an educational resource only, does not constitute legal advice, and is definitely a work in progress! While we make all efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information in this library, we cannot guarantee that since anyone has access to edit the documents at any time.
• Protecting seed libraries in Nebraska - An Overview
• Duluth City Council Resolution Supporting Seed Sharing (MN)
• Oakland City Council Resolution Supporting Seed Sharing (CA)
• Seed laws that criminalize farmers: Resistance and Fightback (GRAIN and La Via Campesina) (PDF)
• Proceedings of the 2014 Summit on Seeds & Breeds for 21st Century Agriculture (RAFI-USA)
• Joint Resolution in Support of Seed Libraries (2015 International Seed Library Forum)
• A Legal Guide to Opening a Seed Library (to be released in 2015!)

Media

• PBS, Food Forward, "Seeds of Change" (Overview of the importance of seed diversity, seed saving and seed libraries)
• Open Solutions for Seeds, "The Right to Save Seed" (Great cartoon explaining legal barriers to saving and sharing seed in Europe)
• NBC, Nightly News, "Stories of Progress" (Story about Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library)
• Rebecca Newburn, "Seed Library Primer" (An overview of what seed libraries are, why they are important to local food systems, and what the regulatory response has been to seed libraries so far)
• The Greenhorns, Our Land, "Adaptive Seeds" (Short webisode featuring a small seed farm and company in Oregon)
• Seeds of Time (Documentary film about efforts to preserve seed genetic diversity from climate change through a seed vault in the frozen mountains of Norway)
• Seeding Fear (Short film describing one Alabama farmer's experience being sued by Monsanto for intellectual property law violations for saving seeds)
• Growing Your Greens, Interview with Neil Thapar (Video blogger, John Kohler, interviews SELC Staff Attorney, Neil Thapar, about the Save Seed Sharing campaign and how seed laws affect seed sharing in the US)
• WBUR, On Point, "A Library For Your Seeds" (Radio program with guests Belle Starr (Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance), Ken Greene (Hudson Valley Seed Library), Dan Barber (Chef and Author), and Johnny Zook (PA Dept. of Agriculture))
• KVNF, Local Motion, "Seed Libraries, Seed Saving" (Radio program with guests Sarah Pope (North Fork Valley Seed Library), Mark Waltermire (Thistlewhistle Farms), and Neil Thapar (Sustainable Economies Law Center))

Articles

• Shareable (Click here to see Shareable's full campaign coverage)
  • Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) and Shareable Kickoff Campaign to Save Seed Sharing in the U.S.
  • Setting the Record Straight on the Legality of Seed Libraries
  • US Seed Libraries Mobilize to Protect their Right to Share
  • Pennsylvania Seed Library Investigated by Department of Agriculture
  • How to Start a Seed Sharing Campaign in Your Town
• Wall Street Journal
  • Gardeners on Alert and Pennsylvania Targets Risks of Seed Exchanges
• Library Journal
  • State Tweak to Seed Library Rules Ignites Debate
• Minnesota Public Radio
  • Duluth Library's Seed Sharing Program Hits a Hurdle
• Yahoo News
  • Seed Libraries Struggle With State Laws Limiting Exchanges
• American Libraries Magazine
  • Not Your Garden-Variety Library