Always I have been fascinated by seeds--their vivid shapes and colors, their power and mystery. When I joined the Seed Savers Exchange (http://www.seedsavers.org/) in 1982, I fell in love with the stories attached to seeds gifted to me. Most of our culture at the time had not yet awakened to the "heirloom phenomenon" we see today. Matter of fact, most gardeners and farmers had come to believe as they were told by seed companies and university breeding programs that modern hybrids were far superior. These beautiful seeds that I had requested would arrive at my door accompanied by wonderful handwritten stories about the seeds like these:
"My family lost almost everything during the Great Depression, but these beans kept us alive."
"This was the only corn to make ears during the great drought of '34."
"My people carried these beans on the Trail of Tears."
I added my own stories when I sent seeds in return: "Midnight, late July, Aunt Mary's Sweet Corn in full tassel and silk--strong stalks and setting two ears--I feel such powerful ecstatic energy."
Seeds and culture intertwined. There is more encoded in seeds than their DNA. Seeds have stories to tell and they are still waiting for us to listen.
So, yes! I do think seeds have agency. They are my sisters, brothers, and teachers. Since it appears that climate change may encourage us to rethink agriculture, what kinds of questions should we consider that connote a relationship between us of mutuality and reciprocity? Here are a few that I have been pondering:
Have we misinterpreted our ancient ancestors' true motivations for selection of seeds for food crops? What about the seeds/species we did not select (such as perennials) and those we have chosen to leave behind?
How might a nurturing/stewarding seed culture emerge in our Great Lakes Bioregion?
What critical consciousness skills will we need to bring to the table when we consider genetically modified organisms?
What about all the seeds that sit in cold storage in seed vaults? Where are the gardeners to find out if these seeds could have a new "homeland"?
How might we re-vision our educational ethics so that seeds and our healthy relationship to the biotic community mean more than power and money?
This talk at a Bioneers conference by John Mohawk talks about the role that the human relationship with "domesticated" plants has played in allowing humans to adapt to many different environments and how that relationship will be important as we adapt to the coming climatic changes. Take a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6kOA-KtPxw.
In class on Thursday, we'll share a bit more about our relationship to seeds and examine seed catalogs to see what options are out there for varieties of crops and types of seeds that we can grow. There seems to be a lot of confusion among the general public about different types of seeds that are available today, including "heirloom," "open pollinated," "hybrid," and "genetically modified" seed crops. If you aren't sure about what these terms mean, watch this Jimmy Kimmel Live clip and feel better about yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzEr23XJwFY.
Seriously, though, we'd like to get a sense of what you already know and think about these different types of seeds. So in your comments, please tell us about your experiences with and knowledge about seed types. What do the terms "heirloom," "open pollinated," "hybrid," and "genetically modified" mean to you? Where have you heard these terms and what have you learned about them? What are the sources of the messages you've received about these different types of seeds?
Finally, write briefly about your reactions to the Winona LaDuke and John Mohawk videos we've shared. Do any of the ideas in these talks challenge your cultural assumptions about your relationship to food and plants? If so, how so? Do parts of the talks resonate with your own experiences and beliefs? If how, tell us how!
Looking forward to exploring these ideas with you in person!
Most of my seed-terminology comes from my experience studying abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year. We had a block course on sustainable agriculture (largely focusing on the development of agroforests in rural Northern Thailand). We learned some about seed saving, like the seed vault. I use the term ‘heirloom’ seeds the same way I would describe any heirloom: a treasured item passed through generations. ‘Open pollinated’ is a term I’m less familiar with, but I’d guess it refers to plants that are pollinated by insects, not plant breeding humans. ‘Hybrid’ plants, based on my minimal biology experience, are those that are the descendants of different species of plants. The plants are bred together in order to combine desirable properties. Genetically modified plants are those who’s DNA has been altered in order to obtain certain properties. This can be done to extreme, such as Round-Up Ready corn, but I see it as an accelerated version of the way plants have been domesticated for generations. Humans have bred plants to be hearty for whatever environment they’re in. Genetic modification can be a tool for selecting properties that best suit a plant to its location and the community it will feed. In the discussion of claims that they cause adverse health effects, I’m unfamiliar with the research. I know that the companies that produce the genetically modified seeds fund many of the existing studies that support the production of GMOs. For this reason, it’s important to continue to pursue an unbiased, holistic look at how they affect human health. I believe we should pursue genetic modification as a way to help feed people effectively, while still maintaining farmer’s rights and plant diversity. I know this issue is very complicated, and I’m sure I’m not close to fully understanding it. However, I do not think that GMOs should be fundamentally rejected, just as I don’t believe they should be solely embraced.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the videos had a beautiful, and more importantly, poignant message. Knowledge and wisdom of the land that people have lived on for generations can be just as, if not more, valuable than data collected over only a few seasons. This can be clearly seen in dietary recommendations, which seem to change every few years. I have been taught to accept these as true, but people have been eating healthily by producing food from their own Earth since humans have farmed. I especially appreciated Winona LaDuke’s example of diabetes in Native Americans. Without the ability to grow their own food, people are left with access to primarily unhealthy food, without nutrients. Diversifying our food production and putting ourselves closer to it is essential to ensuring that all people have access to good and just food.
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ReplyDeleteIf I am being totally honest, my knowledge and experience with seed types is limited at best. Although I would be capable of at least stating that GMO stands for genetically modified organisms, my knowledge of the harm such modification can do isn’t much better than the people in the Jimmy Kimmel video. But that is one of the reasons I wanted to take this class. I have some understanding of hybrid plants because of the World Indigenous Lit class I just participated in. One of the books used the idea of hybridizing metaphorically and we spent some time analyzing that. But the setting of the novel was Victorian and so I am still pretty unsure of what opinions of hybridizing are today. Basically, my understanding of these terms is that I believe heirloom and open pollinated have a more positive connotation and genetically modified and hybrid plants have a more negative, less natural connotation. I am excited to learn more why that is.
ReplyDeleteI was really excited to watch the Winona Laduke and John Mohawk videos because Native American literature has been a specific interest of mine here at K. I have taken all of the Indigenous lit classes and just TA’d for the World Indigenous Lit class in the winter. We read Last Standing Woman by Winona Laduke and actually heard her speak a few years ago. My experience in these Indigenous Lit classes were part of the inspiration for taking this class. Respect for food and the land can be seen as a trans-indigenous ideology and the fight for food justice has manifested itself in many different ways for Indigenous communities. Just the other day I read a creation story about corn with themes of respect for both fellow human beings and the land. Oftentimes for indigenous communities, like the Maori example Laduke mentions in her Ted Talk, food and crops are seen not only as sustenance but members of the community of the world we live in. I think this is a powerful ideology that can change harmful farming practices and lead us to a more caring world. My knowledge of seeds and farming is extremely limited, mostly based on what I have gathered from literature, but I am so excited to have the opportunity in this class to learn more and to connect my reading with experience.
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ReplyDeleteMy understanding or relationship to seeds is sadly limited. Like Marie, (and I assume, many people in this class) I have become more aware of seed through my experience in Chiang Mai at the seed vault/bank. Witnessing the care and concern oriented around their protection and continued production allowed me to understand their importance. Mainly, though, I’m still just learning.
ReplyDeleteI loved Winona LaDuke’s talk. I think she has such an interesting way of talking about the earth and the human connection to food. I especially loved the way she spoke about the connection between the specific plants and their intended origin of growth. The intentionality of crops and places of growth has been so warped with mass production food. Sophomore year I was fortunate enough to attend an event where she was speaking about her work and specifically the White Earth Project. I think the connection to tradition and recovering tradition so interestingly translates into a lost intimacy with food. Connecting this to Mohawk’s video I loved that he described the growth of food as a language, a language which we can tangibly see our society losing. I know that if I were forced to attain my food I would be in a tight spot, as I wouldn’t understand what the food needed. Through this class I am excited to understand more about the use and importance of seeds, and growth production within our society. I am also interested to see more examples of ways to go about the slow food movement through this class.
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ReplyDeleteMy knowledge about seeds is relatively limited aside from some reading I have done and debates I have found myself in about the environmental activist Vandana Shiva; a figure who tends to be quite polarizing. Shiva advocates seed saving and started the seed savers organization Vandanya, a network that operates across 18 states in India. While I appreciate many of Shiva's views surrounding seed sharing and preservation, she has not been immune to criticism in recent years as some of her claims have been based in questionable evidence. Another entry point of mine in the world of seeds is my brother-in-law, a microbiologist who analyzes plant and seed DNA for a patent law firm in California. I hope the conversations in this class will allow me to engage in more well-informed conversations about the politics of seed saving and notions of ownership and property when it comes to seeds.
ReplyDeleteI associate the term heirloom most often with tomatoes and I remember these making my mom's farmers market list every summer growing up. My understanding is that these seeds are selected for their desirable characteristics and have been saved and passed down from generation to generation but are rarely used in large scale food production. Of the four terms, open pollinated is the one I am least familiar with but I am assuming this means that the pollination of these plants occurs via animals, insects, wind, etc. as opposed to pollination taking place in a more controlled and intentional way like hybridization. Genetically modified is such a buzzword these days that it can be tricky to decipher the actual definition of this term. In the most basic sense, a genetically modified organism is a plant or animal that has had some part of it's genetic material altered or changed in some way that does not occur through mating or natural pollination. This is often to reproduce desirable characteristics in the organism such as making the plant more durable or resistant to particular toxins or diseases. I think there is quite a bit of confusion and misinformation surrounding this term in particular so I am interested to enter this conversation with an open mind.
Heirloom: seeds that are passed down over many generations
ReplyDeleteOpen pollinated: pollinated by winds and insects
Hybrid: has genetic information of two different plant species
Genetically modified: Genes within a plant is modified so that it would become easier for us to produce valuable food crops in a large quality
I learned most of these in environmental science class I took during my sophomore year. I also learned some of the concepts in a seminar course called “Trees” during my junior year.
In Dr. LaDuke’s talk, the most agreeable point was that humans and plants should be mutually influencing each other’s evolutionary processes, rather than unidirectional. By genetically modifying plants’ characteristics and selecting only beneficial traits, humans have been modifying the pattern of evolution, which has been shaping the earth from its beginning. With the largely modified evolutionary process, I cannot imagine what the future plants would look like. Additionally, changing plants means changing other organisms that also rely on the plants we modify. People should realize the complicated web of natural ecosystems, and shouldn’t easily modify the genetic information for our own benefits.
I was first introduced to seeds by my mother. I remember traveling with her to hardware stores and watching her pick up packets of seeds. I remember grabbing packets with pictures of the flowers I thought were the prettiest and begging that she planted those. I thought that if you planted the seeds in the packets they would turn out exactly like the picture. The seeds she bought were usually seeds for flowers versus for food, but occasionally she would decide to plant some vegetables. I would play in the garden while she would pull out her gardening gloves and put the seeds into the earth. I remember loving when a good tomato or carrot plant grew in our garden and we were able to eat it for a meal. Looking back then, and still today, I have a simplistic and basic understanding of how seeds work and how food is produced from seeds. I do not really know the true differences between the terms "heirloom," "open pollinated," "hybrid," and "genetically modified" and specifically how they impact the taste or look of food. I associate the terms more with something occurring to the product the seed produces while it was growing or after it has completed its growth, versus to actions being taken to impact the seed itself before it is planted. John Mohawk’s speech illustrated to me the importance of paying attention to seeds and brought my attention to how our treatment of something as small as a seed can have great and grave environmental impacts.
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ReplyDeleteLike some of my fellow peers who have commented already my knowledge on terms like heirloom, open pollinated, and genetically modified organisms is little. Occasionally I get on a health kick and spend hours looking at internet food blogs. I have seen the word heirloom to name potatoes on these blogs but have been unsuccessful when trying to find them at places like Meijer or Kroger. I assumed they were too fancy for large produce stores and made a mental note to look them up. It isn’t until now (several months later) that I am still left clueless and hoping to learn their proper definition.
The term genetically modified organism entered my vocabulary during my first quarter at Kalamazoo College. All of my fellow environmentalists began claiming they were “bad” so I agreed without really understanding why or even how. During my time abroad in San Jose I faced conversations with chemists and other science majors who claimed that they “aren’t really that bad” and “people need to stop freaking out about GMOs”. I had a professor who agreed with this and claimed that it was a waste of money and a way for people to spend more money on food that was labeled “natural”. Winona’s talk has given me some sustenance on how to approach these conversations in the future and I hope to learn more.
My knowledge of seed types comes mostly from educational contexts. My FYS (Cultivating Community) familiarized me to these concepts in an academic setting and the agroecology course in Thailand reintroduced these terms in the context of seed saving (in banks and in homes). I also have read Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire, which doesn’t exclusively deal with seeds, but with plant propagation and human and plants’ coevolution more generally, as well as Thor Hanson’s The Triumph of Seeds (a similar read to Pollan). To me, “heirloom” connotes a seed of traditional significance (culturally, familiarly, or otherwise). “Open pollinated” is a term I’m less familiar with, but I’d guess that it refers to plants that are pollinated by non-human forces e.g. animals, wind, insects, water, etc. I’d also guess that they are not hybrids if they are left to “openly pollinate” because their offspring would not be uniformly preferable. “Hybrid,” if I remember my Punnet squares correctly, denotes a plant whose parents are two differing varieties of a given specie. Usually, hybridization is performed to select for desirable traits. Hybrid plants produce offspring that are unlike the hybrid parent as mentioned above. Thus, hybrid varieties contribute to the persistence of unequal power dynamics between the corporations that sell the hybrid seed and the grower, who must buy seed each year from the corporation. Winona LaDuke and John Mohawk referenced these dynamics in very powerful ways. This dependence was evident and problematic for many Northern Thai farmers who are plagued with debt and whose traditional, climate-adapted varieties have been made rare or extinct. LaDuke and Mohawk’s talks especially resonated with my experience in that region. Finally, I associate “genetically modified” with varieties that have been altered in a laboratory to select for preferable traits. I have reservations about the social and environmental consequences of these organisms more so than the health related concerns associated with GMOs. LaDuke and Mohawk articulated these concerns profoundly. I question whether this modification is another form of colonization, reducing cultures’ food sovereignty and what the ramifications of little biodiversity for adapting to a changing climate might be.
ReplyDeleteMy first encounter with seeds were in kindergarten. We were supposed to bring any type of seeds and share it with the rest of the class. I brought a seed for persimmon and shared a cool trick that my mother taught me. If you cut the seed in half, you will see a shape of a white spoon. My knowledge regarding to seeds is very limited. I’ve heard of openly pollinated probably from a high school biology class that it is a type of seeds that are pollinated by winds or insects. I’ve heard of genetically modified organisms from a conversation that I had with my friend. Particularly, food that contains genetically modified crops has a negative connotation due to health and environmental issues. Other than that, I’m not familiar with the rest of the terms.
ReplyDeleteThe video of Winona LaDuke resonated with me a lot especially on her introduction that food comes from relatives, has culture and history, and relationships that tie us. It is very important to know where your food comes from. I don’t think I really paid attention on this issue until now. I relate this issue only with health problems not from a holistic view. I liked how she pointed out how seven big corporations are in charge of distributing commercially available seeds all over the world. That was quite shocking and I wanted to know more about how our food has rapidly turned industrialized over time.
My knowledge of the seed types, like many of my classmates, is quite limited. Heirloom to me is a variety that has been passed down within a family line. Open pollinated is a term I have not heard in relation to seeds but to me implies that the pollination process was not restricted. I do know about GMO foods and I am familiar with some of the dangers of them, I am also familiar with some of the benefits they offer to starving communities. I think that it is important to consider that GMOs are not intrinsically bad, rather the way they are used in a way that is harmful to farmers and the biology. Hybrids however are much more sinister in practice. To my knowledge they are a plant that has been selectively bred to produce traits that only that seed/plant will exhibit. Without careful restrictions on pollinating they will not breed true (the offspring will be different) so farmers who purchase these hybrids are not able to save their seeds and they must go back next year and buy new seeds. Which seems short-sighted to me but they are told they need to use these seeds or their yields will not make profit.
ReplyDeleteThe two tasks were interesting to me but the first one spoke to me more. I may not agree on every point but the relationship to one's food is definitely important. Knowing where it comes from and how it was made and what is in it can show more about the food than we think. I really liked the idea that we were colonized by corn, one I had heard before. The idea that corn has caused humans to toil over corn to such an extant as we have is humbling. The other clip, regarding GMOs bothered me. I knew that there were people who avoided GMOs and didn't know what they were but it bothered me to see it. The idea that they are inherently bad is simply false. The way that they are broadly used today are bad. This comes from greenwashing which is unsettling to me as it is ignorantly following an ideology that is not based on fact. People think they are "going green" with these ideas but it can actually be quite harmful.
I have had almost no direct experience with seeds and seed types. However, I was always surrounded by them. My mother was and is an avid gardener, my from yard was always covered in flowers, hostas, and other carefully tended greenery. I suppose in this way I grew to appreciate, at the very least, the aesthetic of a garden and the joy and sadness it can bring someone. My mother had to fight all manner of weed, insect, and mammal to keep her garden alive. There were times where she came close to giving up, but her perseverance won out year after year.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn’t be until later in life that I would come to understand terms like "heirloom," "open pollinated," "hybrid," and particularly "genetically modified”. I suppose that I still wrestle with “genetically modified”. I say that to mean that I cannot entirely condemn its practice nor can I fully condone it. Much of the food that is available to humans is genetically modified. Not in the same way as pesticide-resistant corn or vitamin A-rich golden rice, but in the same way pit bulls, greyhounds, and chihuahuas are genetically modified from their ancient wolf ancestors. Domestication of life by humans is genetic modification, it simply takes longer. To say that the organic banana, apple, carrot you purchased at the farmers market is not genetically modified is to be ignorant of just how much influence humans have had on plants and animals sine the birth of agriculture.
I respect the work of scientists who work tirelessly to bring better nutrition and food to people the world over through genetic modification, however, I think we have lost our respect for nature. There is certainly a place for genetics in the food industry, we must continue to look forward, but it is as unsafe to charge blindly ahead in this way as it is to drive without your rearview mirror. As long as humans exist, there will be domestication and genetic modification, but I believe that it is the hight of hubris to feel that we have conquered nature. Nature has provided us with the tools and diversity to thrive, to not look back at the ways of our ancestors and to respect the way live has been able to survive for millions of years without humans is to place a greater value on human live than it deserves. We cannot afford to bend nature to our will, I feel that eventually we will irreversibly tip the scale if we continue down this path, we must learn to co-exist and domesticate with better respect and understanding of nature.
My experience with and knowledge of seeds, seed saving, and biodiversity has been picked with feelings of conflict and sometimes of guilt. I come from a place straddling worlds: too well educated to be "small townish," yet more aware of the food systems around us and perhaps less blind to the repercussions of turning them on their heads as some of my peers might like to do. While we had all different sorts of livestock according to the interests of my four siblings and I, our primary income came from conventionally grown cash crops - RoundUp Ready soybeans and corn, for example. With that going on amidst most of our acreage, we also had (have) an expansive vegetable garden that would feed us from June through October, and access to meat and dairy and eggs that came from no more than a few blocks away and remain the only animal products I can really stomach thinking about. My mother ran the greenhouse at our feed mill (it's changed entirely and my folks retired last year) and served as master gardener and species extraordinaire, and my high school job was a her assistant. Most of our revenue came from annoying hanging baskets and the like, but what my mother really loved and strive to supply was highly diverse vegetables. While no master, I came to love knowing the twenty some different types of tomatoes we carried... Only later did I come to understand the role of both heirloom varieties and hybrid breeding in preserving or creating those varieties, and when I did I began to feel uncomfortable with our use of conventional crop methods. My family has continuously struggled against the squeezing out of small and mid sized family farms, viewed at once as too small and unproductive and from another side as sell outs. They've put our land into Greenbelt Conservation as they watched our neighbors turn into subdivisions and a twisted refuge for people who want to come enjoy the country and subsequently ruin ours. They've dug a pond and battled invasive species and were even named conservation farmers of the year, yet they still support companies like Monsanto. Companies whose injustices in their parts of the world I would learn of as a college student - one whose tuition bill was paid each time after the price of beans bumped up and we sold what we had - and I began to feel a twisted sense of displeasure with the bucolic place I was raised. Still I realize that a crucial step to sustainability must necessarily be economic sustainability (maybe more so for a family of 7), and I'm interested in exploring different approaches to achieving that.
ReplyDeleteI never knew there was so much meaning behind a seed, but I definitely agree on their larger than life meaning. I remember Wednesday, John you said something along the lines of our bodies are like the soil, which got me thinking. If our bodies are the soil, than seeds must be the ideas were are taught, plant deep in our souls, water and eventually flourish into words and actions. In that case, we are walking patches of land with diverse soils of experience, knowledge and skill. In regards to the different seed types you mentioned earlier, they can also be compared to the different types of thought. An heirloom seed could be a traditional thought or way of living that is passed down from generation to generation. Open pollinated seeds can be thoughts that are considered as common knowledge, since wind currents affect areas regionally, common knowledge is thus regional as well. These OP seeds can also be seen as any thought that is easily popularized and spreads with ease. Lastly, a hybrid could be any fused thought that is the combination of any other, which is generally how many people think. We are melting pots of cultures, thoughts and traditions, making us as rich as the soil underneath.
ReplyDeleteI’m happy to be revisiting these original posts because they remind me what my effort should always building toward. I love the philosophy you have presented as your relationship with the food you grow, and it is echoed in the thoughts of both LaDuke and Mohawk. Seeds are our relatives! They are the tangible building block from which all things grow, and they deserve the respect such a role requires. I don’t have much experience with seed types, and what I do know has come from minimal exposure to seed saving in Thailand as well as work with this class. I have come to understand “heirloom” as meaning an older, tried and true, albeit not popular or necessarily standard-looking/tasting variety of plant; this class taught me that “open pollinated” could mean a plant that reproduces without the intervention of human hands; “hybrid” means a combination of two or more types of a plant, most usually human-made with the intention of bringing out the best qualities of both parents in their offspring; and “genetically modified” is not a four-letter word! It only means that a particular being has had one or more aspects of its genetic make up altered in some way. I have come to know all of these terms by walking through life, paying attention to the news, and taking classes with overlapping themes to this one. Sometimes, these words presented as scary, but most times and because of further education, I look for the positives surrounding them.
ReplyDeleteI’m happy to be revisiting these original posts because they remind me what my effort should always building toward. I love the philosophy you have presented as your relationship with the food you grow, and it is echoed in the thoughts of both LaDuke and Mohawk. Seeds are our relatives! They are the tangible building block from which all things grow, and they deserve the respect such a role requires. I don’t have much experience with seed types, and what I do know has come from minimal exposure to seed saving in Thailand as well as work with this class. I have come to understand “heirloom” as meaning an older, tried and true, albeit not popular or necessarily standard-looking/tasting variety of plant; this class taught me that “open pollinated” could mean a plant that reproduces without the intervention of human hands; “hybrid” means a combination of two or more types of a plant, most usually human-made with the intention of bringing out the best qualities of both parents in their offspring; and “genetically modified” is not a four-letter word! It only means that a particular being has had one or more aspects of its genetic make up altered in some way. I have come to know all of these terms by walking through life, paying attention to the news, and taking classes with overlapping themes to this one. Sometimes, these words presented as scary, but most times and because of further education, I look for the positives surrounding them.
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