Seeds v. Hybrids :: Growers v. Technology

Before I launch into this too in-depth, I was doing a search for seed saving and came across some wild information. I’ve tried to condense this into what would be a logical progression for everyone else, and a reverse progression for me. I had planned on adding some media, but the web site I got the video from doesn’t quite work. I think I can get a YouTube link to work, though.

One of the biggest sets of issues facing the world today revolves around food:  world hunger, farm economics (small and large growers), and food prices, just to name a few.  As always, I highly recommend doing your own research on this, and not just reading what the UN’s FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) and the USDA (US Dept. of Agriculture) want you to know about the issue.  Recently, and there’s a Flash video embedded below from WSFTV.net about this, the FAO held a summit in Rome, which was protested.  Apparently Italy has different laws than the US does about peaceful protests.

So, there’s that.  The Slow Food USA® Blog has an article on the FAO summit and some responses, which I’ll summarize briefly.  The first article is an Agence France-Presse article (retrieved from Google) that gives a brief rundown of the plans, the attendees, and the pre-protest.  The second article is a BBC News Viewpoint article basically promoting the ideas of biodiversity and old growing knowledge while speaking against the corporatization of the food market, like it is today.  France 24, another French news agency, also talks about opposition to the FAO, even from with the UN.

Now, how did I get to this subject?  I was looking up information on seed saving, since I am saving some heirloom tomato seeds and I need to know how long they need to dry before storing.  I came across a WikiPedia article with some links out, and one of them talked about Iraqis no long being allowed to save seeds.  Well, that wasn’t quite true.  The article in GRAIN was 4 years old, so there’s no telling how things are working right now.  Basically, it’s building off a provisional government law for patents that has a new concept for the Iraqis, which is patent of plants.  If someone grows a new variety of plant, they can patent it, and no one is allow to do any seed saving from that variety.  This works to US companies’ favors at the time the article was written, because hybrids (from which you cannot grow the same variety from its seeds) are our chief stock in trade.  You don’t make money off of heirlooms, since you can save their seeds and promote regional evolution of those plants.

Why should this matter, though?  Food is getting really expensive and people are starting to do their own gardens.  Of course, this means that food may continue to get expensive, but people can, with the right education, create sustainable food gardens.  There was a recent news article on one of the local TV stations (WBIR, an NBC affiliate) on how the local Farmers’ Co-Ops were running out of seeds and plants.  (If you click on that link, you will have to watch a short commercial, but it’s worth it.)  Now, a lot of people aren’t buying seeds that are considered “heirlooms” because heirloom seeds are expensive, often running $5-6 for a small packet when you can buy a packet of the Better Boy Hybrid  or Big Boy Hybrid for what looks like less than $2.  The problem is that packet of heirloom seeds is an investment.  You can save the seeds from year to year, getting the traits you want out of your plants, and thus working some micro-evolution magic.  The hybrids, well, you could save the seeds from these cloned or hand-pollinated plants, but they won’t be the same.

So, you can take this last bit from a couple of different perspectives.  I’ll list 5 I can come up with off the top of my head in no particular order.

• Sticking it to “The Man”:  Agribusinesses like Monsanto and Cargill rake in millions while people starve, and they increase their profits all the time.
• Social & Environmental Justice:  You can help create sustainable habitat while providing organic, healthy food that hasn’t been treated with harmful chemicals, thus helping your family and/or your community, as well as your environment.
• Saving Money:  By saving seeds and growing sustainable varieties of plants, you’re actually saving money.  Think about this:  If you grow tomatoes for salads, burgers, etc., and you spend $2 a year for 6 years on the same variety, that’s $12 you’ve spent; but $5 for the first packet, and you can save seeds, which may allow you to have more seeds (let’s say there are 30 seeds in one fruit, the same as a packet, 2 fruits = 2 packets = $10 worth of seeds) that you can plant the next year, at the end of 6 years, you’ve only spent $5 for the seeds.
• Security:  Let’s say you like a particular kind of vegetable or flower.  If it’s a hybrid, you have to hope they keep it in stock.  If it’s an heirloom, you can save the seeds and never have to worry about a company not selling it anymore.
• Health Insurance:  Okay, I’m not talking HMO vs. PPO here.  I’m talking natural food sources.  By growing your own you can guarantee an organic crop.  With heirlooms, you can guarantee no “frankenfood,” too, if you’re worried about it.  (Frankenfood is a derrogatory term for genetically modified food products.  Do a search for it for more information.)  Look at how much healthier people are outside the US, check out their diets, and check out how much other chemicals are in their food and how much genetically modified food they eat.  I’m willing to bet it’s a lot less.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share that mass of poorly put together information.  Now, I’m back to my calculus homework…

Cheers,

Red Wolf