In addition to the initial $100 in “seed” money from the garden club, more than 70 varieties of seeds have been donated by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Patrons can “check out” small packets of seeds to plant in their own gardens, and they will have the opportunity to be educated on how to “return” the seeds at the end of the season.
SEED FREEDOM IN THE NEWS
06/07/17 – As Climate Change Threatens Food Supplies, Seed Saving is an Ancient Act of Resilience
For millennia, people the world over have selected the best edible plants, saved the seeds, and planted and shared them in sophisticated, locally adapted breeding projects that created the vast array of foods we rely on today. This dance of human intelligence, plant life, pollinators, and animals is key to how human communities became prosperous and took root across the planet.
a modern agribusiness model works to reduce the genetic diversity of our food stocks and consolidate control over the world’s seeds. Six seed companies now control three quarters of the seed market. In the years between 1903 and 1983, the world lost 93 percent of its food seed varieties, according to a study by the Rural Advancement Foundation International.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that giant agribusiness companies have no interest in the vast varieties and diverse ways people breed plants. It is hard to get rich off of an approach based on the distributed genius of people everywhere. Such a model doesn’t scale or centralize well. It is intensely democratic. Many people contribute to a common pool of knowledge and genetic diversity. Many people share the benefits.
Sustainable Shrewsbury 