At our CASaV meeting in March Catherine Howell, Seed Sovereignty Programme, asked us to imagine a positive future for seeds that is very different to the current situation. Currently 75% agricultural plant diversity has been lost since 1900 but diversity is essential for plant adaptation. Four seed companies (Corteva, ChemChina, BASF and Bayer control over 60% global seed market and 80% organic vegetable seed is imported. (65% non-organic).
What can we do?
- Buy locally or UK-grown, organic if possible, seasonally appropriate, food
- Grow as much of your own food as possible (but small is better than none!)
- Choose seeds that are UK-grown from independent suppliers that favour agro-ecological systems and have good business ethics
- These include: Esk Seeds, Real Seeds, Seed of Scotland, Vital Seeds, Tamar Organics, Wales Seed Hub…
- Learn how to save your own seeds and share your spares!
Catherine has shared her slides and pointed us to the resources on the Seed Sovereignty website. She also highlighted Professor Tim Lang’s report on Food Resilience.
We are going to look at organising a workshop on seed saving and processing in September/October if there is enough interest.
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 