Residents urged to watch for unsolicited seed packets from China

[1srelluc]

Pender County residents urged to watch for unsolicited seed packets - WWAYTV3

Pender County Cooperative Extension is urging residents to stay alert after reports that unsolicited seed packets are once again being mailed to U.S. addresses.

www.wwaytv3.com

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Pender County Cooperative Extension is urging residents to stay alert after reports that unsolicited seed packets are once again being mailed to U.S. addresses.

Similar incidents were reported nationwide in 2020, when mysterious seed packets believed to have originated from China arrived at homes across the country. Earlier this year, the Texas Department of Agriculture confirmed that comparable shipments have resumed, with 16 seed packets recently delivered to locations across Texas.

So far, no unsolicited seed packets have been reported in North Carolina. Even so, Pender County Cooperative Extension is encouraging residents in Pender County and surrounding areas to closely monitor their mail and take immediate action if an unexpected packet of seeds arrives.

Officials stress that anyone who receives an unsolicited seed packet should not open it and should not plant the seeds. Instead, residents are asked to contact a consumer horticulture agent at a Cooperative Extension office in Onslow, New Hanover, or Brunswick counties, or deliver the unopened packet to the NC Cooperative Extension Office at 801 S. Walker Street in Burgaw.

Unsolicited seeds can pose serious risks to agriculture, the environment, and native plant species. Introducing unknown or invasive plants can spread pests, plant diseases, and weeds that threaten crops and landscapes.

Pender County Cooperative Extension says it will coordinate the proper handling and reporting of any suspected seed packets in cooperation with state and federal agricultural officials.

I say fight fire with fire.....What exotic invasive species can we export to China?

Wait! There's a strain of Poison Oak in CA that has 2-3 times the Urushiol oil of regular Poison Oak.

Put "CA peppercorns" on the packet.

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

Pender County residents urged to watch for unsolicited seed packets - WWAYTV3

Pender County Cooperative Extension is urging residents to stay alert after reports that unsolicited seed packets are once again being mailed to U.S. addresses.

www.wwaytv3.com

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Pender County Cooperative Extension is urging residents to stay alert after reports that unsolicited seed packets are once again being mailed to U.S. addresses.

Similar incidents were reported nationwide in 2020, when mysterious seed packets believed to have originated from China arrived at homes across the country. Earlier this year, the Texas Department of Agriculture confirmed that comparable shipments have resumed, with 16 seed packets recently delivered to locations across Texas.

So far, no unsolicited seed packets have been reported in North Carolina. Even so, Pender County Cooperative Extension is encouraging residents in Pender County and surrounding areas to closely monitor their mail and take immediate action if an unexpected packet of seeds arrives.

Officials stress that anyone who receives an unsolicited seed packet should not open it and should not plant the seeds. Instead, residents are asked to contact a consumer horticulture agent at a Cooperative Extension office in Onslow, New Hanover, or Brunswick counties, or deliver the unopened packet to the NC Cooperative Extension Office at 801 S. Walker Street in Burgaw.

Unsolicited seeds can pose serious risks to agriculture, the environment, and native plant species. Introducing unknown or invasive plants can spread pests, plant diseases, and weeds that threaten crops and landscapes.

Pender County Cooperative Extension says it will coordinate the proper handling and reporting of any suspected seed packets in cooperation with state and federal agricultural officials.

I say fight fire with fire.....What exotic invasive species can we export to China?

Wait! There's a strain of Poison Oak in CA that has 2-3 times the Urushiol oil of regular Poison Oak.

Put "CA peppercorns" on the packet.

.

If you garden, ONLY use seeds from the most reputable companies -- Baker Heirloom Seeds, Territorial Seed Co., Strictly Medicinal Seed Co.

.

 

[JGalt]

Common sense says this is an obvious attempt at agricultural warfare being waged by the CCP. China would love nothing better than to disrupt our agricultural system.

You think we would have learned something after they gave us Covid.

 

[1srelluc]

You gotta watch out for those really big seeds.

 

[JGalt]

You gotta watch out for those really big seeds.

Too long, don't read.

"AI Overview

Yes, the original 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers is widely interpreted as an allegory for the communist threat and McCarthyism during the Cold War, reflecting fears of infiltration, loss of individuality, and conformity, though it can also be seen as a critique of those same anti-communist anxieties. The emotionless "pod people" replacing citizens mirrored public perception of Soviets, while the focus on conformity also touched on fears of totalitarianism and brainwashing.
Why it's seen as an allegory for communism:

• Infiltration: The aliens emerge from pods, secretly replacing people, much like fears of hidden communist sympathizers.
• Loss of Emotion: The pod people are cold, unified, and lack individual feeling, similar to stereotypes of Soviets.
• Conformity: The need to blend in and the horror of being different resonated with anxieties about surrendering personal freedom for the collective.

Alternative Interpretations:

• Critique of McCarthyism: Some view the film as a warning against the paranoia and witch hunts of the Red Scare, suggesting the "invasion" was a metaphor for anti-communist hysteria.
• Cultural Anxiety: Other readings point to broader themes like postwar conformity, anxieties about technology, or the dehumanizing effects of modern society, notes Springer Nature.

Ultimately, the film's enduring power comes from its ambiguity, allowing it to tap into multiple cultural anxieties of the 1950s, with the communist threat being a prominent one, according to The Criterion Collection and The Cine-File."

 

[JustAnotherNut]

IDK how the heck any seeds can get into this country thru the mail..

Several years ago I had ordered some seeds off Pintrest, not realizing where they would be coming from. A couple of weeks later I get an envelope from US Customs or some such entity with a letter stating transporting of seeds from other countries (Canada in this case) without proper registration is illegal and my seeds had been confiscated.

I did contact the seller to let them know and did get a refund....but I think they were just a backyard gardener and didn't know they had to have the approved license or whatever to sell to the states.

 

[JGalt]

IDK how the heck any seeds can get into this country thru the mail..

Several years ago I had ordered some seeds off Pintrest, not realizing where they would be coming from. A couple of weeks later I get an envelope from US Customs or some such entity with a letter stating transporting of seeds from other countries (Canada in this case) without proper registration is illegal and my seeds had been confiscated.

I did contact the seller to let them know and did get a refund....but I think they were just a backyard gardener and didn't know they had to have the approved license or whatever to sell to the states.

For years China was one of those countries that could send packages to the US duty-free and without Customs inspections, That's one of the reasons so much fentanyl was coming into the country. Thank God President Trump put a stop to that.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

For years China was one of those countries that could send packages to the US duty-free and without Customs inspections, That's one of the reasons so much fentanyl was coming into the country. Thank God President Trump put a stop to that.

So China was A-ok, but not Canada? Figures