<p>The University of Wisconsin-Madison is planning to publicly release <b>29 new varieties</b> of vegetables and grains under its Open Source Seed Pledge, according to a press release.<img src="http://www.opensourceseedinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/429x320xIMG_05301-300x224.jpg.pagespeed.ic.-SGdpWAwZy.jpg" /><b>Broccoli, celery, kale, quinoa and other vegetables and grains</b> are being released under the pledge, which was developed through a University-led effort called the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI). This project is designed to keep new seeds free for all people to grow, breed, and share for perpetuity. The goal is to <b>protect the plants from patents and future restrictions.</b><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.opensourceseedinitiative.org/seeds/" target="_new"> Click Here to View OSSI's 22 Available Open Source Varieties </a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"These vegetables are part of our common cultural heritage, and our goal is to make sure these seeds remain in the public domain for people to use in the future," says UW-Madison horticulture professor and plant breeder Irwin Goldman, who helped write the pledge.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><b>29 new varieties</b> will be added to the OSSI collection during a public ceremony this Thursday. In the spirit of the event, Goldman will be releasing <b>two carrot varieties</b> he developed-named Sovereign and Oranje.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Increasingly, vegetable seeds are restricted through patents, licenses and other forms of intellectual property protection. Members of OSSI are worried that this trend could lead to a time when no valuable plant genetics are available for public use.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"Already, many public breeders don't have the freedom to operate. They can't do what they want to do as often as they would like," says Jack Kloppenburg, UW-Madison Professor of Community and Environmental Sociology.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">OSSI's seed initiative was <b>inspired by the open source software community</b>, which freely shares and collaborates to create new software products.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"It creates a parallel system, a new space where breeders and farmers can share seeds," says Kloppenburg. "And, because it applies to derivatives, it makes for an expanding pool of germplasm that any plant breeder can freely use."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">This initiative is expected to make more varieties available for public breeders, hopefully leading to better new crops varieties in the future.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/22748" target="_new"> University of Wisconsin-Madison </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
