Resilience through Seed Saving The industrialized nature of our current century have turned common goods into economic goods. From land, to water, to seeds, these life-giving forces get reduced to privatized and commodified things. Agroindustrial seed production prioritizes shipping hardiness, shelf life and profits meaning great loss of diversity, poor nutritional value, increased dependence of farmers on seed companies and loss of culturally relevant crops. Seed stewardship is vital to the autonomy of farmers and gardeners and contributes to a resilient food system. When we save and steward seeds, we are ensuring that our seed is adapted to our environment, making it more resilient. Farmers around the world have been stewarding seed for as long as agrarian societies have existed. Dr. Vandana Shiva, an Indian food sovereignty activist, describes the seed as “an embodiment of millennia of nature’s evolution and centuries of farmers’ breeding. It is the distilled expression of the intelligence of the earth and intelligence of farming communities'' (Navdanya 14). While seed saving can be an involved process, it can also be an experimental and enjoyable one. Some tips on seed saving from Organic Seed Alliance (seedalliance.org) include: start small and with a crop you love, consider your climate, try annuals first, meet and learn from other seed savers.
Organic and heirloom seed companies: Kitazawa Seed Company, True Love Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Johnny’s Select Seeds, Hudson Valley Seed Company For more on seed saving see seedambassadors.org for a printable guide For more on Indigenous seed preservation and stewardship visit sierraseeds.org
