Seeds of Change

Seeds of Change is an organic seed and food company owned by Mars, Inc.[1] Until summer 2010, the company was based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and producers of a line of processed organic foods including pasta sauces and salad dressings. Seeds of Change was founded in 1989, as a seed company specializing in organics by Gabriel S.M. Howearth. The company devotes 1% of its net sales toward sustainable organic farming initiatives. Its products do not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and are not irradiated.[2]

Research farm

The Seeds of Change Research Farm and Gardens were founded in 1989 in Gila, New Mexico[3] by Kenny Ausubel and Gabriel Howearth. By 1996, the Research Farm moved north to a site closer to the company's Santa Fe offices. The farm includes over a thousand varieties of plants on six acres of land originally cultivated by the Tewa people on a flood plain along the Rio Grande in El Guique, New Mexico. The farm is certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

In August 2010, Mars announced that it would close the El Guique farm and move some management to Los Angeles. A final tour of the farm was provided on Saturday, August 14. A spokesperson for Mars indicated the closure was due to a "strategic shift" and that not all the employees would retain their jobs.[4]

1% Fund

In a partnership with Conservation International, Seeds of Change seeks to strengthen and protect traditional shade cropping cabruca cacao cultivation in Brazil.[5] The 1% Fund also supports the Environmental Working Group, the Organic Trade Association, the Organic Center, and the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

References

  1. ↑ Glover, Paul. What We Need to Know About the Corporate Takeover of the "Organic" Food Market. Organic Consumers Association. June 2003.
  2. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions. Seeds of Change official website.
  3. ↑ Faith in a seed. The Albuquerque Tribune. 12 October 2001.
  4. ↑ Dyer, Jessica (August 14, 2010). "Organic Seed Firm To Relocate". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ Conservation Groups Join Forces To Promote Environmentally Sustainable Cacao Industry. Science Daily. 20 March 2007.
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