SAVING SEEDS – IS IT WORTH IT?

It really depends upon whom you ask. Ask most vegans, or any health-conscious advocate, and the answer will be a resounding “yes”. That is because they have learned to appreciate the increased nutritional values, better tasting food and other benefits of knowing where their food has come from. Some people are very passionate about saving their seeds. Seeds from past generations of farmers (heirloom seeds) have been passed down through family farms to preserve the preferences that they have in their own food. Those choices include benefits like fewer chemicals used in food production, food naturally ripened to suit their tastes and raising fresh/live vegetables that have been proven to maximize nutrition. We should also mention the important benefits of watching things grow, the self-satisfaction of accomplishing something with your two hands, the fruits of physical labor and arriving at a consistent/fully predictable crop (unlike hybrid varieties)…to name a few. Please look at Fedco’s website for a few other reasons to save seeds.

On the other hand, six companies, DuPont, Mitsui, Monsanto, Syngent, Aventis, and Dow control 98 percent of the world’s seeds. They have gobbled up most of the small generational seed companies and have genetically modified numerous seeds for which they have received government patents. Those patents are registered with world governments to control the availability of the seeds, and thus, the production from those seeds. Some call it a conspiracy…they call it good business. To get an idea of the number of food varieties they control, look at the seeds from one recent Monsanto acquisition here.. Before it was acquired by Monsanto, Seminis eliminated 2,000 varieties of seeds from its inventory. These were the open-pollinated types that were not genetically modified, thus not as profitable. So what’s the problem with leaving the world’s food supply in the hands of a few large agribusinesses? Well, there IS that one little matter that I call; “the squeeze” — more commonly known as the “profit margin”. This would only be a problem if these companies prioritized their profits above consumer benefits…in this case, the consumer’s health. In fairness, Monsanto claims to have made more food available to more people through its’ heavy chemical sales to modern farmers. But, critics warn that problems from a food supply monopoly, chemically-induced health concerns and aggressive patent supervision (in the form of lawsuits that have ruined small farmers) does not speak well of these large companies.

Seeds are the ultimate source for all of our food. It would be impossible to describe how important they are to our survival in writing this short blog article. It is also difficult to sort through the various arguments made for and against the methods for growing. One thing seems certain about the supplies of seeds worldwide…the older varieties are being lost. I would encourage everyone to look further into this seed argument, and be the judge for you. That would include the radical act of trying to grow some of your own food. You can gather seeds from your own garden each year and reuse them to personalize your crop. One of the healthiest food supplies in the world could come from your own back yard. There are still a few generational seed banks if that is your preference. You can get a catalog from “heirloom” seed suppliers like Baker Creek Seed Company. Owner, Jere Gettle, tells us more here.

TOUGH QUESTIONS… »« WHY AM I A VEGAN? Part 1 of 100000 :-)