The Power of Seed Saving
Every plant has a life cycle - as seen in the diagram below:
http://theseedsite.co.uk/lifecycle.html
Before the majority of us bought our seeds each year from the garden centre, taking, saving and sharing seeds from our favourite plants would have been the norm. Many indigenous communities continue to do this when their plants go to seed as a way of ensuring that their traditional plant varieties are not lost. So, why isn’t this encouraged anymore?
The State of Seed
In 2021 over 50% of the global seed market is owned by four large companies - Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain [1]. These companies control what, where and how seeds are produced and, in turn, have a lot of control over our food system. This trickles all the way down to what seeds you grow in your veg plot and the impact that has on the local environment, ecology and your localised food system.
To bring it into context, let’s look at ‘F1 Hybrid’ seeds that many people buy each year from their garden centre. ‘F1 hybrid’ seeds are a cross between two varieties that result in a new, more interesting plant - for example a tomato that has stripes and is extra sweet, or a very large dahlia that is a rare colour. The crosses are done under controlled conditions and usually by hand, hence why they are more expensive. The thing with ‘F1 hybrid’s’ is that they do not come from true seed so if you try and save this seed and plant it next year you will end up with a sub-standard plant that looks very different to what you had growing last year. These varieties - and other examples like them, including genetically modified seeds - have been created to ensure that a farmer or gardener cannot save the seed and replant it next year.
While this is a wise business decision on the part of the seed companies as you have to buy from them each year, in the long run, it won’t be so great for us. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 75% of the world's crop varieties disappeared between 1900 and 2000 [1]. With the constant flow of new seeds in our catalogues, we are made to believe that seed diversity is growing. But as these hybrid seeds grow in popularity they are weakening a centuries-old diverse plant gene pool and replacing natural seeds with varieties that are not genetically strong. As climate change affects how and what we grow, having genetically strong seeds and a diverse range that can withstand different conditions is critical.
Why Should We Save Seed?
Within our globalised world we have forgotten the importance of local knowledge. If I grow tomatoes on my plot in Hampshire, they will be in very different conditions to my mum’s tomatoes in Somerset. As with most things, we have tried to create a one-size-fits-all for seed, which will never be as strong as a localised approach.
So let’s imagine another scenario. Imagine if each year you and ten friends local to you all tried out different varieties and then saved the seed from the plants that grew well and tasted amazing. You then all got together and shared out your seed or stored it in a collective seed bank for next year. Over ten, 50 or 100 years, that seed bank would be a collective hub of knowledge and resilience against a changing climate that future generations could tap into and build upon - pretty cool.
This is called Seed Sovereignty and it’s how many small-scale farmers, growers and home gardeners are coming together to rebuild our plant diversity. The Lexicon of Food defines seed sovereignty as “the farmer's right to breed and exchange diverse open source seeds which can be saved and which are not patented, genetically modified, owned or controlled by emerging seed giants” [2].
Seed is very important when it comes to climate change. If we don’t have a seed supply that is diverse and resilient then ultimately our food system will be vulnerable.
Hopefully, this post has given you more understanding as to why this is important. If you want to start seed saving, learn more or support ethical seed companies then I’d recommend checking out these resources:
https://www.seedsovereignty.info/
https://www.gaiafoundation.org/
[1] https://www.dw.com/en/agriculture-seeds-seed-laws-agribusinesses-climate-change-food-security-seed-sovereignty-bayer/a-57118595
[2] http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.com/2006/07/f1-hybrids-what-every-gardener-should.html
[3] https://www.seedsovereignty.info/