US Government Claims Release of Information on Chinese ...

May. 06, 2024

US Government Claims Release of Information on Chinese ...

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One of the great mysteries of the early days of the pandemic involved “Chinese mystery seeds,” a much-reported-on phenomenon in which

One of the great mysteries of the early days of the pandemic involved “Chinese mystery seeds,” a much-reported-on phenomenon in which Americans began receiving plant seeds in the mail from Chinese addresses, which in turn stirred something of a media frenzy.

Motherboard—through the use of a public records request blitz sent to all 50 states and a series of federal agencies—was the

Motherboard—through the use of a public records request blitz sent to all 50 states and a series of federal agencies—was the first to report that many of these mystery seeds were not mysterious at all: They were seeds that people had ordered, forgotten about, and then panicked about anyway. The rest were likely part of “brushing” campaigns, fraudulent schemes in which Amazon sellers mail cheap physical products to people so that the sellers can masquerade as “verified buyers” and post positive reviews of the products.

The mystery of the Chinese mystery seeds has thus largely been solved by journalists. (We highly recommend the

The mystery of the Chinese mystery seeds has thus largely been solved by journalists. (We highly recommend the UnderUnderstood podcast episode about this phenomenon.)

And yet the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General just denied Motherboard’s

And yet the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General just denied Motherboard’s two-and-a-half-year-old Freedom of Information Act request because, it says, it is still conducting an active investigation into the mystery seeds and releasing any information about them would possibly interfere with those efforts.

“The information you requested pertains to an ongoing inquiry and all records are therefore exempt from mandatory disclosure,” a lawyer for the USDA’s OIG wrote. “To release any information at this time could interfere with the ability of personnel to develop relevant evidence and may jeopardize the inquiry.”

The news shows that the USDA is still investigating the mystery seeds, despite the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service publishing the results of, seemingly, a

The news shows that the USDA is still investigating the mystery seeds, despite the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service publishing the results of, seemingly, a completely separate investigation into the seeds on February 18, 2021, more than two years ago. That investigation stated unequivocally that “APHIS has found no evidence that someone was intentionally trying to harm U.S. agriculture with these shipments. In fact, there is no correlation between where the seeds were sent and U.S. critical agriculture infrastructure. APHIS officials believe the unsolicited packages are part of an internet ‘brushing scam.”

At the moment it is entirely unclear how the Office of Inspector General’s investigation differs from the APHIS investigation, though it is worth noting that OIGs are quasi-independent from the agencies they investigate, and that they often—but not always—investigate malfeasance within specific government agencies.

This response highlights how deeply broken the FOIA can be and often is. Our initial request was filed on August 5, 2020. The FOIA statute states that federal agencies have 20 business days to respond to FOIA requests. Anyone who has ever filed such a request knows that this deadline is almost never hit by federal agencies, and that there is little to nothing a requester can do to force the government to comply with the statute. State and local response times under state freedom of information laws vary greatly but are usually faster.

Here are excerpts from the full series of communications we received from the USDA’s OIG over the course of nearly three years:

Sept. 3, 2020:

Dec. 7, 2020:

Feb. 10, 2021:

May 14, 2021:

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Sept. 22, 2021:

April 5, 2022:

Aug. 29, 2022:

Nov. 7, 2022:

Jan. 6, 2023:

Feb. 10, 2023:

Feb 28, 2023:

The attached document, of course, said that our FOIA request had been denied. It added, however, that we are free to start the process all over again once this nebulous and perhaps interminable investigation was complete: “Once the matter has closed, you may make another request and we will process the records as appropriate under FOIA law.”

Americans are planting mystery seeds the government has ...

Americans have been planting mystery seeds which appeared to be sent from China, unaware of government warnings to dispose of the suspicious shipments.

Four people who have come forward after apparently randomly receiving the seeds have since contacted their local agricultural departments to collect the resulting mystery plants – or in some cases, fruitless seeds.

Tiffany Lowery, of Kentucky, said she had thought the seeds were sent from her planting club. “I didn’t realize it was a thing until I saw it on the news,” Lowery, who ended up with a bright green-leafed plant, told WBKO news.

Patricia Smith, of Texas, also thought the seeds were a gift from a group she is in. “I planted them in a pot, they never came up, so I didn’t think any more of it,” Smith told KXII news.

Shelley Aucoin, in Louisiana, said she had bought seeds from online retailer Amazon, so she planted the ones she received in the mail.

“Then we saw the post saying don’t plant them,” Aucoin told WAFB news. “I mean, I’m not scared about it, I’m not worried about it, but I guess people are.”

Plants grown from mysterious seeds that arrived in the mail, as seen in an undated photo.

Photograph: Usda Aphis/Reuters

“We brought them down here and planted the seeds just to see what would happen, every two weeks I’d come by and put Miracle Grow on it and they just started growing like crazy,” Doyle Crenshaw, of Arkansas, told local news channel 5News.

Crenshaw said he planted the seeds in his garden months ago and they produced large white fruit and orange flowers, resembling a squash plant.

The US Department of Agriculture warned people last month not to plant the seeds and to keep them in their original packaging after more than a dozen states reported receiving the mystery packets in the mail. People who receive the seeds are also instructed to contact their local agricultural office.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in a release: “Seeds for planting pose a significant risk for US agriculture and natural resources because they can carry seed-borne viruses or other diseases.”

The agency’s preliminary analysis has shown the seed packets included a mix of ornamental, fruit, vegetable, herb and weed species – as in weeds, not, apparently, “weed”. It also said the agency did not link the seeds to “agro-terrorism”.

So far, the agency said the most likely reason these seeds are being sent around is because of an online scam where sellers try to boost sales by sending unsolicited items to unsuspecting customers, then post false online reviews of the item.

US Customs and Border Protection, which is helping with the USDA investigation, has in recent years intercepted similar seed shipments.

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