Talk:Kent Whealy

DRAFT Revised Profile
Kent Whealy (born 1946) is an American activist, journalist and philanthropist known for his work in organic agriculture and the promotion of saving heirloom seeds. Raised in Wellington, Kansas he was inspired by the works of agricultural geneticists Jack Harlan and H.Garrison Wilkes to use his training in communications to promote the protection of genetic diversity in agriculture.

Career
Kent Whealy graduated from the University of Kansas in 1969 with a degree in journalism. He started a family garden in 1975 which through various land acquisitions he helped developed into the Heritage Farm six miles north of Decorah, Iowa growing nearly 2,000 varieties of vegetables.

In 1990 Whealy received a Fellowship from the MacArthur Fellows Program for his work in agriculture.

Seed Savers Exchange
Whealy co-founded Seed Savers Exchange, Inc. in 1975 with then wife Diane Ott publishing an annual yearbook identifying heirloom seed varieties available for sale in North America. The organization evolved into a private seed bank, collecting and saving heirloom varieties of vegetable, fruit and grain seeds. In 2004 the group extended its reach to include maintaining an ancient rare breed of White Park cattle. Whealy was fired by the Seed Savers board in 2007. In litigation, speeches and published letters following his termination Whealy cited disputes with board chair Amy P. Goldman and director Cary Fowler over the donations of Seed Saver members collections to the Svalbard Global Seed Doomsday Vault as the root cause of his termination while the board claimed Whealy had breached his fiduciary and employment responsibilities to the organization.

Ceres Trust
In 2009 Whealy became a trustee with the Ceres Trust. Ceres was founded by his second wife Judith (Judy) Kern and she and Whealy are the sole officers of the organization. Via the Ceres Trust Whealy and Kern fund research and advocacy campaigns in support of organic agriculture. Their initiatives include academic research and consumer education campaigns including funding for the production and promotion of documentaries including Sandra Steingraber’s movie Living Downstream on the dangers of pesticides and The Vanishing of the Bees on the role pesticides play in Colony Collapse Disorder, and other advocacy in partnership in support of organic agriculture with the Pesticide Action Network advocacy group.

Advocacy
Whealy has been an outspoken supporter of organic agriculture and the Slow Food movement and critic of pesticides and genetically modified crops calling their use “immoral.”  In 2012 he was listed among the largest financial donors providing $1,000,000 in support of a California ballot initiative campaign to label foods derived from genetically engineered plants and animals.

Comments about the DRAFT
1) Whealy cannot be used as a source to describe the reason he left Seed Savers - it can only say that he left. 2) citation 7 to Mother Earth News needs a complete citation to month (or was MEN just annual?) 3) its missing the actual Genius Grant which is the thing that actually makes him stand alone notable 4) there is nothing about Philanthropy, the contribution to the California Prop is activism, not philanthropy 5) the CERES content is based solely on CERES primary documents and borderline promotional -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  22:16, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * The reason he left is cited in multiple references, included the Center for Food Safety. It was a well publicized (but not in mainstream press articles) split over the Doomsday vault issue.)
 * Fixed, it was a reference to the previously footnoted Mother Earth article.
 * Added, simple ommission.
 * His work and position with the CERES Trust is philanthropy. It's referenced in donations noted and referenced in the article (Funding: The Vanishing of the Bees, Living Downstream, the National Organic Coordinating campaign, etc...)
 * The CERES documents are public tax returns filed with the IRS - it's not promotional, they are simply matters of fact that the organization supports organic agriculture and funds organic related advocacy. Further, they are backed up by multiple third-party references and NOT solely sourced to Ceres.
 * With the various comments addressed and no additional input, it appears OK to make the proposed update to the article. CinagroErunam (talk) 12:10, 11 December 2012 (UTC)
 * sorry I should have looked much closer. We cannot use primary sources such a court filings for content like this, we cannot use Diane formerly Ott Whealy's book for information/phrasing like that. the content regarding CERES is entirely Primary sourced. among the major issues I missed. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  13:56, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

Merge with Seed Savers Exchange
Is there any reason why this article shouldn't be merged into and redirected to Seed Savers Exchange?? 16:14, 3 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Whealy is no longer associated with Seed Savers but he continues to be independently influential, so merger would NOT be appropriate. His work in agriculture/food policy remains influential but completely separate from (and in fact in several key areas is in opposition to) Seeds Savers. Whealy has authored books and articles independent from his work with Seed Savers, he is a major financial contributor and advocate on food policy issues - all independent from that organization. CinagroErunam (talk) 16:25, 3 December 2012 (UTC)


 * It doesn't really matter whether or not he's still with the organization. What we need are independent reliable secondary sources providing in-depth coverage of Ken Whealy the individual.  If he has been notable outside the organization, there should be sources to cover that.  Can we find those sources and get them in the article?  With the way the article is now, there's not enough sources to support a stand-alone article.    16:29, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * as above, the MacArthur grant which was given to him as an individual satisfies the WP:ANYBIO, and the other item that he was known for, the donation, is not related to the Seed Savers. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  16:34, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * ...as long as there are sufficient reliable secondary sources from which we can write an article, right? I agree he passes notability criteria, I'm just complaining that we need the sources from which we can write the bio.    16:39, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * meeting WP:N creates the presumption that he is suitable for a stand alone article, but there is of course no mandate. however, since two of the three items that we have sources for (the genius grant and the donation) are not related to Seed Savers it makes little sense to WP:COATRACK cover them in that article rather than a stand alone article about whealy himself -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom  14:01, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

More comments There are several comments to be made here. First for accuracy: It is Heritage Farm not Bucknell. The org is Seed Savers Exchange not International. Mr Whealy left in 2007 not 09. Secondyou should not be providing a full birth date and residence for a living person. Particularly when coupled with the million dollar remark you are providing a roadmap for harm. Also it is not necessary to invade the privacy of his second wife and drag her onto wikipedia. She is not a notable person and her position is at a private, not public trust.Treastor (talk) 13:34, 4 December 2012 (UTC) You have not provided any documentation to support your assumption that Kern and Whealy are married. Are you just repeating rumors ?Treastor (talk) 16:52, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the correction on Seed Savers formal name (I will fix) and on Bucknell - there were some confusing references to "Bucknell Heritage Farm" in Decorah and "Heritage Farm" in Decorah - since you appear to be involved or associated with the family here I'll assume you're correct and make that correction. I'll modify the Seed Savers section to include his 2007 departure - I was trying to avoid making a reference there that wasn't neutral given the only documentation for that date are references to his being fired by the board.  Based on the publicly filed tax returns, Mr. Whealy was formally added to the Ceres Trust only in 2009 (he was not listed in their 2008 filing), so that's why that date was used.  Do you have a reference or other information showing he joined prior?  Mr. Whealy's spouses are influential and relevant to his profile.  He co-founded Seed Savers with first wife Dianne Ott and His second wife Judy Kern is influential in that she founded Ceres and it is her personal wealth (based on the tax returns - over $30 million) which funds it and Mr. Whealy's related activities. CERES Trust is a publicly listed 501c3 Charitable Organization which has a website, issues communications offering research grants to public institutions and publicly promotes the results of its works.  As the head of a tax-exempt organization, Ms. Kern's role and the activities of her organization are a matter of public record and not protected - were she not seeking public tax benefits/deductions for her organization and use of money exempt from taxation then she wouldn't have to file public tax returns.  Via CERES, where she was the sole director/trustee, Ms. Kern was also a major donor to Seed Savers prior to marrying Mr. Whealy (he references her and the Ceres Trust contributions as important in his speeches and letters when he was publicly responding to his being fired from Seed Savers), Ms. Kern is jointly listed with Mr. Whealy as a contributor to other philanthropic groups and political campaigns, she has made public statements in defense of Mr. Whealy's work, she is referenced as a party to litigation involving Mr. Whealy and Seed Savers,  and she is publicly referenced as Mr. Whealy's spouse in multiple valid/credible sources.  I see nothing here which violates her privacy or which makes her somehow insufficiently relevant for inclusion in his profile.  As for inclusion of birth dates, typically balancing privacy with using dates which are available on reliable public sources - Mr. Whealy's DOB is published in multiple sources publicly available online (not primary sources) see:Biographies of living_persons allows for their inclusion in biographical profiles - but I'll leave that up to other editors to weigh in on that detail - leaving the year of birth versus specific day and month would seem like a reasonable balance here. I hope it's clear that I have no interest in presenting anything other than a neutral and accurate profile here.  Given some of the comments suggest I'm providing "promotional" claims as well; I'm just seeking accuracy and comprehensive relevant details to this influential person. CinagroErunam (talk) 18:05, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Treastor, really? What are you their lawyer or something?   Their marriage is referenced in documents posted by the Seed Saver's board of directors on their website forum and in multiple other gardeners sources from people who know them.  She is listed in the Charlevoix, MI phone book as "Judy Kern Whealy" . They are listed as joint contributors to various charities and political committees. And, they both claim the same residence in other public documents in Charlevoix, MI.  Are you somehow claiming now that they are not married?  Here is one of the many Seed Savers Exchange website discussion board posts which references her as Kent Whealy's wife: "Only after Kent stepped down as Board President, did a whole new culture start blossoming at Seed Savers Exchange. We are weary of the seemingly relentless attacks Kent has made against us and against Seed Savers Exchange. We have attempted many times to resolve his issues. Kent and his new wife, Judy Kern, have each sued SSE in different courts and for different claims."  (Archived at: http://www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=2546392&targetid=profile). They are listed as "joint donors" - "Kent Whealy & Judy Kern" to the Littler Travers Land Trust 2009, 2010, 2011: http://www.landtrust.org/Newsletters/AnnualReport2009.pdf; http://www.landtrust.org/Newsletters/AnnualReport2010.pdf; and http://www.landtrust.org/Newsletters/AnnualReport2011.pdf.  Here Judith Kern defends Kent Whealy, claims ex-wife forced him out of Seeds Savers "driven by her anger at being divorced..." = http://uncpressblog.com/2010/04/01/great-american-gardeners/ Judy Kern says: April 4, 2010 at 9:39 am, Ms. Coulter, I’m afraid you have your facts wrong. It was not Diane Ott Whealy who kept those seeds going, or Diane who introduced them to the commercial trade. It was her ex husband,Kent Whealy. Seed Savers was taken over by two board members, Amy Goldman and Neal Hamilton in October 2007. They through out SSE’s founder and director of 33 years, Kent Whealy. They had two motives. One to give Goldman a prestigious role in seed conservation which she does not deserve, and two to allow them to deposit SSE’s rare seeds in Svalbard, something the founder would not have allowed. Svalbard is not the black box storage that it is claimed to be. It is the portal to a FAO Treaty set up to facilitate acssess to seed banks collections for corporate breeders. The current board has viciously attacked Mr. Whealy, has spread malicious lies about him,has denied him access to 33 years worth of papers, has published new editions of his ground breaking books without his name on them, and has attempted to rewrite the history of SSE, giving all credit to his ex-wife who had a marginal role at best, while writing him out of it. Goldman’s actions have appalled SSE’s funders and their funding has vanished. Goldman maintain’s her power at SSE by handing out money to the other board members and lying to everyone concerned. A great injustice hs been done here and you should not be repeating their packaged lies.Diane Ott Whealy facilitated this takeover, driven by her anger at being divorced. - Judith Kern posted similar claims and documents defending Kent Whealy using her name here: http://www.findthatpdf.com/search-45649214-hPDF/download-documents-land-inst-svalbard-portion.pdf.htm  Treastor, why don't you explain why it is so important to remove references to Kern in this profile?  As previously noted, she's a relevant aspect to Kent Whealy's work and is the publicly listed co-Trustee to the philanthropy he uses to promote his work.  She's clearly also willing to use her name publicly online defending his work and there is nothing about her in this profile that's disparaging or not factual and well sourced.CinagroErunam (talk) 22:53, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Treastor is far too close to the subject. Major COI if I ever saw one. —  J J J   ( say hello ) 01:34, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Ott whealy was divorced in 2004. I wonder why you would make up dates when you don't have documentation.Treastor (talk) 16:02, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Now this ain't my pissin' match, but I just read through this weird screed and want to know who the heck is Ott Whealy and what 2004 has to do with anything written down here? Somebody just needs to delete this Treastor's comments and make some decisions about this article and move on... What ridiculousness and distracting BS going on here should stop.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.134.43.66 (talk) 03:04, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Judith Kern
She's a trustee of the Ceres Trust, she signed their 990-PF form last November.. Dougweller (talk) 17:45, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added tag to http://www.motherearthnews.com/article.aspx?id=68184
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121026150138/http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/campaign/save-our-seeds/seed-saving-and-seed-banks/ to http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/campaign/save-our-seeds/seed-saving-and-seed-banks/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100609081543/http://www.new-ag.msu.edu/Home/tabid/37/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/43/The-Ceres-Trust-announces-competition-for-500000-in-organic-research-grants.aspx to http://www.new-ag.msu.edu/Home/tabid/37/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/43/The-Ceres-Trust-announces-competition-for-500000-in-organic-research-grants.aspx
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131005013331/http://media.gfem.org/node/11329 to http://media.gfem.org/node/11329
 * Added tag to http://www.nationalorganiccoalition.org/NOCDecember2011/NOC2012Budget.pdf

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