Why Australia imports so many veggie seeds (and do we really need to treat them with fungicides?)
Organic farmers have reacted with alarm to a draft review released last week that recommends mandatory fungicide treatment for certain plant seeds imported into Australia, including broccoli, cauliflower, radish and spinach. Over 19,000 people have signed a change.org petition objecting to the proposal, which is designed to strengthen biosecurity for plants of the brassicaceae family. Opponents say mandatory fungicide treatment could spell the loss of organic accreditation for organic vegetable growers who rely on imported seed. Why do we need to import seeds? Australia’s vegetable growers do rely heavily on imported seed. But why? The answer lies partly in where plant breeding expertise and effort is …
