By Dr. Mercola
The seed saving movement is growing. Communities are banding together
to save and share heirloom and open pollination seeds that are in
danger of disappearing off the face of the Earth as a result of
industrialized agriculture and multinational corporations that control
the majority of our seed supply.
The documentary "Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds," by M. Sean
Kaminsky seeks to inspire people about the importance of seed saving —
and its urgency.1
When you save seeds, you're joining a chain of farmers, gardeners and
seed enthusiasts that dates back to the Stone Age — our civilization
literally arose due to seed saving.
Early humans selected the best wild plants with which to feed
themselves, and passed those varieties along to others by saving and
sharing seeds.
Seeds are the foundation of life, from fruits and vegetables to grain
and livestock feed — without them, we have no food. It's estimated that
upward of 90 percent of our caloric intake directly or indirectly comes
from seeds.
Age-old heirloom varieties are disappearing at an alarming rate — 90
percent of the crop varieties grown 100 years ago are already gone. The
Millennium Seed Bank Partnership estimates that 60,000 to 100,000 plant
species are in danger of extinction.2
Why Seed Saving Is So Important
Four of the most important reasons to save seeds are the following:3
1. Seed Security: By saving your seeds, you control your seed and therefore your food supply — you aren't depending on seed stores or catalogs for difficult to find seed.
Hundreds of excellent plant varieties have been discontinued as big
corporations have consolidated the seed industry and focused on more
profitable varieties. Half of the vegetables grown today have no
commercial sources — you have to get them through seed trades.4 2. Regional Adaptation: Most commercially available seed has been selected because it performs fairly well across the entire country if given synthetic fertilizers.
But when you save seed from your own best performing plants, on your
land and in your own ecosystem, you gradually develop varieties better
adapted to your own soil, climate and growing conditions. 3. Consistent Quality:
Large seed suppliers rarely "rogue" the fields to pull out inferior or
off-type plants, so the open-pollinated (OP) seeds they sell have
inferior specimens in the mix.
You can select your own seed for uniformity and quality. You can
control the gene pool for optimal germination, ripening time, flavor,
storage, disease resistance and color. After a few seasons, more and
more of your plants will have all of your personally selected traits. 4. Preserving Your Heritage and Biodiversity:
Today multinational corporations select seed varieties according to
their own financial interests; they control 82 percent of the world's
seed market, which includes 75 percent of the vegetable seed market.
It's up to small farmers and home gardeners to preserve thousands of years of biodiversity.
Understanding Open-Pollinated, Heirloom and Hybrid Seeds
As a gardener, one of your more important decisions is whether to
choose open-pollinated, hybrid or heirloom seed varieties — but which
are best?
According to Seed Savers,5
for seed saving purposes, the most significant distinction among these
types is saving true-to-type seed from open-pollinated and heirloom
varieties, and avoiding hybrids.
Open-pollination seeds are pollinated by insects, birds, humans, wind or other natural mechanisms. According to Seed Savers:6
"Because there are no restrictions on the flow of pollen between
individuals, open-pollinated plants are more genetically diverse. This
can cause a greater amount of variation within plant populations, which
allows plants to slowly adapt to local growing conditions and climate
year-to-year.
As long as pollen is not shared between different varieties
within the same species, then the seed produced will remain
true-to-type, year after year."
An heirloom variety is a plant that has a history of being passed down multiple generations within a family or a community. An heirloom variety is by definition open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms.
Hybridization is a controlled method of pollination in which the
pollen of two different species or varieties is crossed (usually by
human intervention, although it can happen in nature), usually from a
desire to breed in a particular trait.
Hybrids are typically unstable and less vigorous, producing fewer of
those desirable traits with each passing year. However, hybrid seeds can
be stabilized by open-pollination — by growing, selecting and saving
the seeds over many seasons.
Choosing open-pollinated and heirloom seeds helps conserve genetic
diversity and prevents the loss of unique varieties, including the ones
that contribute to our long-term survival because of special hardiness
and disease-resistance traits.
Biodiversity is our only insurance in times of vulnerability, such as when facing climate change.
Our Loss of Seed Diversity Is Shocking
In 80 years (between 1903 and 1983), we lost 93 percent of the
variety in our food seeds. According to Rural Advancement Foundation
International:7
We went from 497 varieties of lettuce to 36
We went from 288 varieties of beets to 17
We went from 307 varieties of sweet corn to 12
Even the popular heirloom tomato
has taken an enormous hit, having lost at least 80 percent of its
diversity over the last century. Even more tragic is the fact that a lot
of these precious plants are being replaced by patented genetically
engineered (GE) varieties.
The National Geographic infographic below shows how many varieties of fruits and vegetables appear to be nearing extinction.8 This data is already more than 30 years old, so the statistics may be even more grim today.
The Disastrous Consequences of Patenting Life
Traditionally, seeds have been saved and shared between farmers from
one season to the next. Farmers rarely ever had to buy new seed. Nature,
when left alone, provides you with the means to propagate the next
harvest in a never-ending cycle. Valuable heirlooms have been replaced
by massive expanses of genetically engineered (GE) crops. According to
the USDA, 94 percent of U.S. soy and 88 percent of U.S. corn are now
genetically engineered (GE).
It's estimated that, since 1970, 20,000 seed companies have been
swallowed up by mega-corporations. In 2005, Monsanto bought the world's
largest fruit and vegetable seed company, Seminis, for $1.4 billion.
Just four agrichemical companies now own 43 percent of the world's
commercial seed supply, and 10 multinational corporations hold 65
percent of global commercial seed for major crops.9
Many farmers are now dependent on patented GE seeds and must buy them
every year from companies like Monsanto. Saving such seeds is illegal because it's considered patent infringement.
Farmers don't buy seed anymore — they essentially buy a license to
use the seed for a short period of time — typically one season. It's
more of a lease, or a "technology use agreement." For 200 years, the
patenting of life was prohibited, especially with respect to foods. But
all of that changed in 1978 with the first patent of a living organism,
an oil-eating microbe, which opened the proverbial floodgates.
According to the film, one of Monsanto's proxies has a patent
claiming 463,173 separate plant genes! Patenting of life forms was never
approved by Congress or the American public, but as far as the GMO
industry is concerned, they own a gene wherever it ends up and however
it gets there. The trail of destruction left by GE seeds isn't limited
to the West — Indian farmers have been coerced into using them, with
completely disastrous consequences.
GE Seeds Responsible for 250,000 Farmer Suicides
More than a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide
over the past 16 years, since the introduction of GE seed. These crops
have failed (especially Bt cotton), leaving them financially ruined. Bt
cotton is much more expensive than traditional cotton seed, requires
more water and pesticides, and has failed to produce the increased crop yields promised by Monsanto.
India's government has largely abandoned small farmers, discontinuing
support programs and failing to address factors such as lack of rural
credit and access to irrigation, among others, and new government
programs have barely scratched the surface of this crisis, which results
in one farmer committing suicide every 30 minutes, typically by
ingesting pesticides like Roundup.
On a side note, concerns over glyphosate's toxicity are finally starting to be taken seriously. The U.S. EPA announced in 201510 that U.S. regulators may start testing for glyphosate
residues on food in the near future, but only a year later, in November
2016, the FDA announced that it was putting its testing "on hold" even
though the International Agency for Research on Cancer determined that the active ingredient in Roundup is a "probable carcinogen."
While thousands of foods are tested for about 400 different
pesticides each year, glyphosate is not on that list simply because it's
been thought to be safe. A step in the right direction, however, is
that in early 2017 a California court ruled that the state's efforts to require warning labels about the cancer possibility could move forward.
While that's good news, it's worth noting that the EPA raised the allowable limits for glyphosate
in food in 2013, and the allowable levels may be too high to protect
human health, based on mounting research. Root and tuber vegetables
(with the exception of sugar) got one of the largest boosts, with
allowable residue limits being raised from 0.2 ppm to 6.0 ppm.
Meanwhile, malformations in frog and chicken embryos have been documented at 2.03 ppm of glyphosate.11 And, as reported by the Institute for Science in Society:12
"The amount of allowable glyphosate in oilseed crops (except for
canola and soy) went up from 20 ppm to 40 ppm, 100,000 times the amount
needed to induce breast cancer cells."
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a serious threat to our
environment and our health. Although the U.S. has the strictest food
safety laws in the world governing new additives, the FDA has allowed GMOs to evade those laws, as Steven Druker explains in this recent interview.
The sole purported legal basis for the marketing of GE foods in the
U.S. is the FDA's claim that they're "Generally Recognized as Safe"
(GRAS) — a claim that is actually fraudulent. Documents released as a
result of a lawsuit against the FDA reveal that the agency's scientists
warned superiors about the extraordinary risks of GE foods — but their
warnings were spurned and covered up.
According to the law, no GE food can qualify as GRAS unless there is
overwhelming consensus about its safety within the scientific community,
and that consensus cannot be based on hypotheses or speculation — it
must be based on solid evidence. In the case of GE foods, there is no
such evidence. FDA's own files contain the admission that they didn't
have any technical evidence upon which to base their presumption that GE
foods are GRAS.
On January 24, 2015, a statement signed by 300 scientists was published in a peer-reviewed journal,13
asserting that there is no scientific consensus about the safety of GE
foods, which confirms that they are on the U.S. market illegally.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine wrote, "There is more
than a casual association between GE foods and adverse health effects."
They go on to cite specific scientific evidence pointing to potential
organ damage from GE foods (liver, kidney, spleen and GI system),
accelerated aging, immune dysregulation, infertility ... and the list
goes on and on.14
Support Seed Diversity by Ditching GE Food
As you often hear me say, one of your greatest powers is your
pocketbook. You can take back control over our food supply with the
choices you make about the foods you eat, the seeds you plant, and the
products you use. Here are a few suggestions:
Stop buying non-organic processed foods. Instead, build your diet
around whole, unprocessed foods, especially raw fruits and vegetables,
and healthy fats from coconut oil, avocados, organic pastured meat, dairy and eggs, and raw nuts
Buy most of your foods from your local farmers markets and organic farms
Cook most or all your meals at home using whole, organic ingredients
Frequent restaurants that serve organic, cooked-from-scratch local
food. Many restaurants, especially chain restaurants, use processed
foods for their meals (Chipotlé is a rare exception)
Buy only organic, open-pollinated and heirloom seeds for your
garden, which applies to both decorative plants and edibles; they're
obtainable from seed swaps, seed libraries and exchanges (see next
section for sources)
Boycott all lawn and garden chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides,
herbicides) unless they are "OMRI Approved," which means they're allowed
in organic production. If you use a lawn service, make sure they're
using OMRI Approved products as well
Join the Organic Consumers Association's new campaign, "Buy Organic Brands that Support Your Right to Know"
Seed Saving Resources
If you want to begin saving your own seeds, there are four basic
steps: Choosing the right plants, collecting their seeds, cleaning the
seeds and storing them appropriately.15
Below are some excellent seed saving resources, as well as suggestions
for where to purchase open-pollinated and heirloom seeds.
"Seed to Seed: Seed Saving Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners," by Suzanne Ashworth (March 2002) is an excellent and widely cited book about seed saving
Seed Savers Exchange: Organization whose mission is to promote saving and sharing of heirloom seeds and plants
SeedSave.org: Online seed school with free downloadable book about the basics of seed saving
Hudson Valley Seed Library: Featured in the movie, Hudson is much more than a library — it's also a place where you can order heirloom seed
Mother Earth News articles16 about their picks for the top 15 vegetable seed companies
Why Independent Films Are So Important
Cinema plays an important role in how we think, how our opinions are
formed, and how we view our ever-changing world. Independent film makers
take huge risks and are often the main financial support behind
bringing you cutting edge and riveting news through the eyes of experts
and real life survivors.
They are not swayed by cinema or popular opinion, but are instead
influenced by their dynamic surroundings and the evolution of change to
bring you the facts at their own cost. We need independent film makers
to continue to bring us the news that no one else is willing to face.
Please show your support for these amazing artists for their hard work
and efforts to bring us the facts by visiting their sites, sharing their
information and purchasing their films.
I believe in bringing quality to my readers, which is why I wanted to
share some information about the producer, Sean Kaminsky, of Open
Sesame. Through his hard work and dedication we are able to shine a
light on the dangers and poisons that are hiding in our food and
damaging our health. Thank you to Mr. Kaminsky for sharing with us.
About the Director
I believe in bringing quality to my readers, which is why I wanted to
share some information about the director, Sean Kaminsky, from "Open
Sesame: The Story of Seeds." We sat down with Sean to learn a little
more about what goes in to making these films. Thank you to Sean for
sharing with us.
What was your inspiration for making this film?
When I told friends I wanted to make a short documentary about seeds
back in 2009, I received lots of blank looks and polite nods. Many folks
(myself included) were pretty disconnected from the source of our food.
And back then I didn't have a garden. That only came after the film!
"Open Sesame" quickly grew into a full-length feature after I started to
interview people and learned what was at stake.
I'd already worked on several environmentally themed projects
including an HBO documentary on climate change and numerous shorts for
Sundance Channel. I felt like I had a decent grasp of the primary
environmental issues we faced.
So, I was stunned to learn about the seed crisis — but when I started
the film few people were talking about the importance of seeds or how
industrial farming, patents and GMOs threaten 12,000 years of our
agricultural heritage. All those blank looks told me I was on the right
track in telling a story that needed to get told.
What was your favorite part of making this film?
Making this film was an incredible adventure and it's hard to choose
one favorite. One favorite part was meeting numerous amazing individuals
who have tremendous passion for seeds and want to help change our food
system. Many of the people that I filmed with have since become friends.
I feel grateful to have been able to share their stories. Visiting
Navdanya in India was an incredible experience and witnessing the love
and care they gave seeds was something I worked hard to convey in the
film.
Seed School was also a highlight since I learned a ton while shooting
and still use many of the tips I learned in my own small garden when I
plant. The editing process was also rewarding because that's when I
started to discover the threads that unite folks in the growing
community seed movement. Amidst all the challenges, there are reasons
for hope and optimism.
Where do the proceeds to your film go?
This film has been a passion project from start to finish without
support from big media companies or distributors. Everyone who supports
the film also supports sustainable indie filmmaking. A significant
percentage of proceeds goes toward outreach and helping to make the film
affordable for small community screenings. I also have another
food-related film in the early stages of production. There are many
challenges facing our food supply and more stories that need to be told!
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