Today many seeds are considered “intellectual property” by large companies who own the patents, which lead to monopolies of food production and profits. Vandana Shiva has become a leader for the global battle over genetically modified seeds. Shiva and others challenge the safety of genetically modified seeds, with claims that the seeds harm the environment, cost more, and can leave local farmers deep in debt and dependent on suppliers.
I recently checked out Shiva’s website which has news and resources about “seed freedom” as well as updates and pictures about current projects. One of the resources on the site includes a “seed kit,” which has resources to help you create a seed bank, a network of seed saving and exchange in your region.
Seed banks are often also called seed Libraries, where individuals can give and borrow seeds. So far Navdanya and her team have set up over 80 community seed banks.
The website gives suggestions about how to get started, and it starts with collecting seeds:
“First, start collecting the seeds in your region. If you are saving seeds in pots, keep it in a cool and dry environment to prevent any damage. Similarly it is important to label the pots with the details of the seed variety contained in it (like the name of the variety, particulars of the variety-for ex, drought tolerance etc). If you are planting the seeds, make sure you are able to identify the varieties cultivated (for instance, by labeling the plants). Similarly, save a portion of the seed before replanting the variety.
If you are a school, start saving seeds by setting up a “garden of life” to save seeds of freedom. If you are in a community, start a “garden of hope” as a community seed bank. If you are associated with a temple, church, mosque, gurudwara, start a seed sanctuary or distribute seeds as a blessing.”
You can read more about Vandana Shiva and her work on vandalashiva.org, and I recommend checking out the video of Banda Shiva being interviewed by Bill Moyer.
Images and Links:
Interview with Vanda Shiva – by Bill Moyer