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1. #SeedWeek is all about celebrating the brilliant growers, gardeners and #seed keepers reviving seed diversity in the UK & Ireland.
As the week draws to a close, we thought we'd get a wee bit serious and talk about WHY their work is so key for us all...
1. #SeedWeek is all about celebrating the brilliant growers, gardeners and #seed keepers reviving seed diversity in the UK & Ireland.
As the week draws to a close, we thought we'd get a wee bit serious and talk about WHY their work is so key for us all...
2. Simply put, there's no #food without #seed!
Almost everything we eat is grown from, or ate something that was grown from seed.
Seed is important to every single one of us, every single day.
Almost everything we eat is grown from, or ate something that was grown from seed.
Seed is important to every single one of us, every single day.
3. But it's not just the existence of seed that matters. It's the diversity of seeds available to us, and whose hands those seeds are in.
4. A food system rooted in a diversity of seed grown in many localities, saved & shared by farmers in those localities, is resilient to shocks and challenges.
A food system that relies on a few varieties controlled by a few companies, is by contrast very vulnerable to shocks.
A food system that relies on a few varieties controlled by a few companies, is by contrast very vulnerable to shocks.
5. Farmers have always known this. But over the past 100 years or so, the growing dominance of agrochemical corporations has dramatically reduced seed diversity globally. https://news.un.org/en/story/2010/10/357072-conserving-plant-genetic-diversity-crucial-future-food-security-un
6. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisations estimates that between 1900 - 2000, 75% of global crop diversity was lost.
In the same period, 4 agrochemical corporations have grown to dominate 60% + of the global seed market.
These facts are connected.
In the same period, 4 agrochemical corporations have grown to dominate 60% + of the global seed market.
These facts are connected.
7. As we face increasing climate instability globally, exacerbating the challenges and shocks that have always challenged our food production, we urgently need to re-build that seed diversity.
Our food system will only be more resilient if our seed system is more diverse.
Our food system will only be more resilient if our seed system is more diverse.
8. Beyond these 'big' concerns, there's also the fact that a seed diversity is good for the birds, bees & #pollinators.
That diverse seed means diverse and nutritious #food on our plates, which is good for our health.
That every seed variety has beauty and inherent value.
That diverse seed means diverse and nutritious #food on our plates, which is good for our health.
That every seed variety has beauty and inherent value.
9. This is why our @SeedSov Programme's official 'motto' is 'A Food Revolution Starts With Seed'.
10. Three years in to our @SeedSov Programme, and thanks to the incredible work of seed keepers around these Isles, there are signs this revolution is taking shape... http://www.seedsovereignty.info
11. Lockdown has accelerated the growth in appreciation of diverse, open-pollinated, organic and ecological seed in the UK.
Our friends @VitalSeedsUK, @seedcoop, @MadsMcKeever, #RealSeeds and others, have seen record demand for their amazing seed.
Our friends @VitalSeedsUK, @seedcoop, @MadsMcKeever, #RealSeeds and others, have seen record demand for their amazing seed.
12. There are many reasons for this, because seed are multifaceted little beings. They grow our food, but they mean so much more than that to us.
David from @seedcoop believe seeds are offering us the connection we crave right now:
David from @seedcoop believe seeds are offering us the connection we crave right now:
13. @SEEnglandSeed, meanwhile, believes folks are also waking up to the threat corporate seed monopolies pose to us all.
14. Sinéad Fortune, our @SeedSov Manager says this re-awakening in our appreciation of seed shows no sign of letting up into 2021.
She's keen to emphasise the benefits of going local when it comes to #seed for all growers.
She's keen to emphasise the benefits of going local when it comes to #seed for all growers.
15. Read more about this 're-awakening' in The Guardian's recent article on this theme. #SeedWeek https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/19/plotting-the-future-the-seed-guardians-bringing-variety-to-uk-gardens-aoe
16. Despite these green shoots, there are some critical threats to the positive direction our food system could take in the UK. Namely:
The new Agriculture Bill and what it says about trade, gene editing and #agroecology...
https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/amend-the-ag-bill/
The new Agriculture Bill and what it says about trade, gene editing and #agroecology...
https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/amend-the-ag-bill/
17. Our friends @LandworkersUK are monitoring and campaigning on these issues.
Please follow them, read their information and take action when they call for it!
See: https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/campaigns/
Please follow them, read their information and take action when they call for it!
See: https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/campaigns/
18. In summary, then:
Seed matters. Seed is under threat. It's up to us to bring back the diversity we and our relatives of other species need.
We need #SeedSovereignty.
Still want more info? Find out more here: http://www.seedsovereignty.info
Seed matters. Seed is under threat. It's up to us to bring back the diversity we and our relatives of other species need.
We need #SeedSovereignty.
Still want more info? Find out more here: http://www.seedsovereignty.info
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