Hi All,
I talked with my postman today here in Alabama about mailing seeds and ask about the danger of killing the seeds and he called his boss and asked him and they said for now they are doing nothing to harm the seeds but once they get the new machines they will kill the seeds... You should ask your postman when they get the new machines to be sure... I hope this helps all of us traders in the future!
Cheers, :(
Rebecca
Destruction of mailing seeds....
Sounds like words of wisdom to me. Maybe Georgetown is so small they won't do it, but with the luck I've had with the USPS, they'll just send it to Austin, and Austin could surely damage a steel wrecking ball. I keep hoping there will be some provision for things like this. Many novelty catalogs send out little miniature greenhouses with pre-planted pots, and I would hate to see children deprived of those. Not to mention the people whose income is derived from seeds and plants. Just a few people making trouble for the masses!
I'm afraid that once they start this whole process, all our mail will be instantly forwarded to a few centrally located sites that irradiate it and then send it on from there. Maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am.
No, Joan, I think you're right. It's just one more way we lose part of the American way of life, and it saddens me to see it chipped away. Sure, we have the best in the world, but it's gradually going away. The next thing you know, we won't have any privacy, because they have to open our mail, listen to our phone calls, spy on our neighborhoods from satellites. There are just so many little things we can lose before we're like the rest of the world. In spite of all the new precautions, someone can slip past security at an airport carrying enough weaponry to take down an army barracks. There is too much room for abuse and not enough real attention where it needs to be. This is very depressing to me.
Well, let's look on the bright side. The world has always had its share of entrepreneurs and inventors. I bet there will be some enterprising indivdiual that comes up with an inexpensive, reusable liner of some sort that can be used to protect items from the effects of radiation, assuming that protocol eventually means all packages get irradiated.
And that naturally leads to the question of whether such an item would be legal, and if so, would it be used by those who would send dangerous substances.
I don't think it would be a successful way to circumvent the PO for would-be terrorists. Would you open such a packet if it came in an envelope from someone you didn't know, and weren't expecting to receive a package of seeds from? In the future, I think we'll become more cautious about opening our mail.
I also think where there's a will, there's a way, and seed and plant trading will find a way to continue. Who knows, it might be someone we've traded with who comes up with such an item. And we'll be able to say "we knew them when."
I spoke with my assistant postmaster today and told her of the delimma we are in. I explained about the heirlooms that I trade ,which is my passion.She told me that for now ,when a package comes to the post office it gets some kind of mark that it has been through the system and is deemed ok.She didn't say if it was electronic or physical and I didn't ask.
She said that for now,if you will bring your padded envelopes in to the PO and have the postage put on them from the window,then they should be safe from exposure to anything they are using to kill bio-hazards.Tell the clerk that your package contains seeds or plants and if you aren't well known at your post office,leave the package open so they can check. She does not know how long this will last,but says that this will work at this time.She said that every piece of mail cannot be sent through the decontamination at every post office that it hits or we would have the mail backed up for weeks.They know that there are things that the post office carries that will be destroyed by the irradiation and that they are addressing the problem.She suggests that for now,bring all packages and envelopes in and mail them inside at the window. It's no firm guarantee,but she says that she feels that they'll be ok at this point.
I heard on CNN today that they are looking into using some type of gas to kill and germs in the mail.
I would think that gas shouldn't hurt seeds. We will have to wait and see.
Did you think about this.... what if whatever they do doesn't kill the seeds just changes them... maybe a 25 pound blue tomato??? :)
Paul
What an imagination! It could be worse, but I'm not sure I would eat that thing. Maybe there is a new business here, some relay thing with cheap little cars that carry special cargo. People could even form volunteer caravans. I'll drive between San Antonio and Georgetown if I can stop over at granddarling's and play.
I think it will be harder to us, international traders. I was reading a notice in a gardeners newsletter and the facts are not very encouraging.
This is what I received:
=========
A move by the U.S. Postal Service to ensure that any bacteria sent via
mail will be killed may have an unfortunate side effect: green goods like
seeds, bulbs and bare-root plants would likely be damaged as well. Several
concerned retailers and growers are developing a strategy to have their
goods bypassed by the irradiation. "We recognize certain things will be
affected by irradiation, including plants, and we're working on a process to
separate mail that would be affected from other mail. We'll start installing
some of the irradiation machinery this month, but this is not an immediate
process," said USPS Spokesman Jerry Kreienkamp.
As of Nov. 1, Ball Seed, Ball Superior and ColorLink are shipping seed
orders in N. America by Federal Express. The switch to FedEx was
based on the recent U.S. Postal Service decision to use electron-beam
devices to sanitize letters and packages. The seed will not be exposed to
any irradiation or sterilization system. Growers will now be able to
track their seed orders online through the FedEx tracking system
(http://www.FedEx.com). Growers can also request that their orders be
shipped by UPS from Ball's West Chicago distribution center. A
spokesperson for USPS said the agency is aware that certain things are
affected by irradiation (including plants) and is working on a process to
separate mail that would be affected. It will start installing some
irradiation machinery this month
========
So,will we be able to put seeds in the mail?
cristina
OK, .02 from Up-State NY. My Postmaster told me today,...That HE's been told,...ONLY ENVELOPES will be treated with the radiation,...NOT BOXES! For that matter, Even those brown padded envelopes won't be treated. They are considered, "Small Parcel", and are not to be included. SOo,..It seems as though, seeds will still be safe to mail, as long as you don't put then in a regular envelope, (With the bubble wrap inside),...Another option,..To send seeds in small boxes, 1st class. At this point,....It is perfectly safe to mail plants/seeds, in a box. Well,...It certainly made ME feel better! ;- ) Dawn
I think FedEx would make it too costly to trade, so surely hope they will separate and handle such things differently.
the thing is that there is no standard answer to the question yet. It depends on where you ask. Asked my sister, she hadn't heard anything, and she's in very busy office, would know if something official was being said. I think for now, they are trying to keep us from getting upset, and are giving us 'something' to go on. I do think there is going to have to be a way around this, I hope so anyway.
See related conversation on the Current Events forum: http://davesgarden.com/showthread/133699.html
USPS News: Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2001
Release No. 01-093
USPS Awards Contract To Ion Beam Applications Inc. To Sanitize Mail
WASHINGTON, DC - The Postal Service today announced a contract award to Ion Beam Applications (IBA) Inc. of Chicago, IL, to provide electron-beam and x-ray technology to sanitize mail.
IBA will dedicate its irradiation facility in Bridgeport, NJ, to the sole purpose of sanitizing mail and expects to begin that process later this week.
The contract award, for approximately $2.4 million, is to provide mail-sterilization services for three months, and includes an option to extend the contract for an additional three months.
Find out more here:
http://www.usps.com/news/2001/press/