As I was reading about the seed banks, the nasty corner of my brain began a taunt against those who think mono-culture is a good thing. One of the problems created by Big Ag and our commercialized food industry, is that it's created a reduction in seed diversity.
Nature creates hundreds, maybe even thousands, of varieties within a particular species. Before industrialization got hold of corn, for example, it grew in wild proliferation throughout the Americas. Now we're down to just a few varieties, grown in great plots of land that cover thousands of acres. It's all the same kind of corn and we all eat it. We eat it in practically everything, due to the proliferation of corn syrup. Cheap and filling.
Monsanto and its ilk would love to make this situation even worse. They like nothing better than creating a specific seed and getting a patent on it, then selling it, year after year, to farmers who then have to buy the special fertilizer to make it grow. And they sue the bejesus out of farmers whose fields are contaminated by these wind-blown seeds, accusing them of "stealing" the seeds.
When these are the farmers who went out of their way to NOT buy the damn things because they wanted to grow Real Food!
Oh, don't get me started.
Where did my point go?
Ah, there it is: I am bitterly amused to see us, on one hand, establishing special, "safe" places to store our seeds, when on the other hand, we're voluntarily wiping out the same seeds and handing our lives over to Big Ag.
Don't we get it? We need these seeds. We need diversity. One single insect, one single bacteria or mold or virus, can wipe out entire food sources because we've let the food industry whittle our crops down to one or two varieties. Mono-culture brings the same danger. We shouldn't grow acres and acres of Just One Thing because we lose the protection that is built-in when there are many different plants in the same area. Or the protection that comes from rotating crops.
We should fight it everywhere we see it. One of the best ways to fight it is to not buy it. Refuse to buy produce grown on a farm that uses mono-culture, fertilizers and pesticides. Insist on organic, sustainably grown food. That includes fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish... whatever you eat, it should be grown honestly and sustainably. It should benefit the planet and be there for your grandchildren.
As much as possible, grow your own. Preserve your own by canning, drying, freezing... whatever you can do.
We need to think about our food. We need to insist that we have control over it and refuse to support wasteful practices and policies, whether they are implemented by government or by corporations.
Keep it local. Keep it diverse. Support organizations like Seedsavers.org or Slow Food in their attempts to protect our plant heritage. Let nature do what nature does best: create new and diverse things to eat.
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