Seed saving

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Partially shelled popcorn seed saved for planting PopcornPartiallyShelled2007.jpg
Partially shelled popcorn seed saved for planting

In agriculture and gardening, seed saving (sometimes known as brown bagging) [1] is the practice of saving seeds or other reproductive material (e.g. tubers, scions, cuttings) from vegetables, grain, herbs, and flowers for use from year to year for annuals and nuts, tree fruits, and berries for perennials and trees. [2] This is the traditional way farms and gardens were maintained for the last 12,000 years (see first agricultural revolution).

Contents

In recent decades, beginning in the latter part of the 20th century, there has been a major shift to purchasing seed annually from commercial seed suppliers. Most farmers regard seed saving as a risky practice. If farmers do not sanitize their seed, this can result in significant pest or disease damage when the saved seed is planted. [3] [4] Other reasons farmers generally do not save seed include inbreeding depression and certain plants not growing true to seed. Many commercial varieties exhibit high degrees of hybrid vigour, and will generally outperform any saved seed in a commercial context; as such vigour is the result of specific and careful genetic research and modification by humans, those desirable traits are almost always diminished in future generations. Additionally, many seeds are proprietary, making it illegal for buyers to save them after harvest for future planting. [5] [6]

Nonetheless a significant number of farmers (especially small holders) continue to save some seed, whether out of habit, personal interest, or commercial interest. [7] Much grassroots seed-saving activity today in the developed world is the work of home gardeners. Saving seeds protects biodiversity and saves money for consumer gardeners. [8]

Method

To be successful at seed saving, new skills need to be developed to ensure that desired characteristics are retained in the landraces of the plant variety. Important considerations are the separation distance needed from plants of the same species to ensure that cross-pollination with another variety does not occur, and the minimum number of plants to be grown which will preserve inherent genetic diversity. It is also necessary to recognize the preferred characteristics of the cultivar being grown so that plants that are not breeding true are selected against, and to understand the breeding of improvements to the cultivar. Diseases that are seed-borne must be recognized so that they can be eliminated. Seed storage methods must be good enough to maintain viability of the seed. Germination requirements must be known so that periodic tests can be made.

Care must be taken, as training materials regarding seed production, cleaning, storage, and maintenance often focus on making landraces more uniform, distinct and stable (usually for commercial application) which can result in the loss of valuable adaptive traits unique to local varieties. [9]

Additionally, there is a matter of localized nature to be considered. In the upper northern hemisphere, and lower southern, one sees a seasonal change in terms of a cooler winter. Many plants go to seed and then go dormant. These seeds must hibernate until their respective spring season.

Open pollination

Open pollination is an important aspect of seed saving. Plants that reproduce through natural means tend to adapt to local conditions over time, and evolve as reliable performers, particularly in their localities, known as landraces or "folk varieties."

Legality

While saving seed and even exchanging seed with other farmers for biodiversity purposes has been a traditional practice, these practices have become illegal for the plant varieties that are patented or otherwise owned by some entity (often a corporation). [2] Under Article 28 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement), "planting, harvesting, saving, re-planting, and exchanging seeds of patented plants, or of plants containing patented cells and genes, constitutes use" and can in some cases be prohibited by the intellectual property laws of WTO Members. [2]

Significantly, farmers in developing countries are particularly affected by prohibitions on seed saving. There are some protections for re-use, called "farmer's privilege", in the 1991 International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Convention), but seed exchange remains prohibited. [2]

In the United States, seeds were first patented in the 1970s through the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970. This was the beginning of a culture where people could control how the food system was created, altered and distributed to the public for consumption, and yields.

United States

Originally the farmer's privilege to save seeds to grow subsequent crops was considered protected by the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970. American farmers, it was thought, could sell seed up to the amount saved for replanting their own acreage. [10] [lower-alpha 1]

That view came to an end in the latter part of the 20th century and early part of the 21st century, with changes in technology and law. First, in 1981 Diamond v. Chakrabarty established that companies may obtain patents for life-forms—originally genetically engineered unicellular bacteria. [lower-alpha 2] In 2002 J.E.M. Ag Supply v. Pioneer established that valid utility patents could be issued on sexually reproduced plants, such as seed crops (e.g., corn). [11] [ bare URL ] [lower-alpha 3] In 2013 Bowman v. Monsanto Co. established that it was patent infringement for farmers to save crop seeds (soybeans in that case) and grow subsequent crops from them, if the seeds or plants were patented. Seed corporations are able to earn massive profits from this control over commercial seed supplies, and consequently further loss of control has been taken from US farmers over their farm production process. [12]

Seed sovereignty

Seed sovereignty can be defined as the right "to breed and exchange diverse open-sourced seeds." [13] It focuses largely on the rights of individuals to be able to save seed, and be independent from major seed companies. [14] Seed sovereignty activists point to seed saving as an important practice in building food security, as well as restoring agricultural biodiversity. [15] Activists also draw attention to the cultural importance of seed saving practices, especially their role in maintaining traditional plant varieties. [16] It is closely connected to the food sovereignty movement and food justice movement.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The PVPA permits farmers to save seeds and grow crops from them without liability under the PVPA. However, if the seeds are also protected by a utility patent, that conduct becomes patent infringement. See Bowman v. Monsanto Co.
  2. ↑ The genetically engineered bacteria ate oil, as in oil spills.
  3. ↑ In that case J.E.M. was held liable because it resold purchased corn in violation of a "label license" forbidding resale or any use except planting a corn crop.

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The Monsanto Company was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in the 1970s. Later, the company became a major producer of genetically engineered crops. In 2018, the company ranked 199th on the Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collard (plant)</span> Variety of plant

Collard is a group of loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species as many common vegetables including cabbage and broccoli. Part of the Acephala (kale) cultivar group, it is also classified as the variety B. oleracea var. viridis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landrace</span> Locally adapted variety of a species

A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation from other populations of the species. Landraces are distinct from cultivars and from standard breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural biodiversity</span> Agricultural concept

Agricultural biodiversity or agrobiodiversity is a subset of general biodiversity pertaining to agriculture. It can be defined as "the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels that sustain the ecosystem structures, functions and processes in and around production systems, and that provide food and non-food agricultural products.” It is managed by farmers, pastoralists, fishers and forest dwellers, agrobiodiversity provides stability, adaptability and resilience and constitutes a key element of the livelihood strategies of rural communities throughout the world. Agrobiodiversity is central to sustainable food systems and sustainable diets. The use of agricultural biodiversity can contribute to food security, nutrition security, and livelihood security, and it is critical for climate adaptation and climate mitigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seed company</span> Business that produces and sells seeds for flowers, fruit, or vegetables

Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruits and vegetables to commercial growers and amateur gardeners. The production of seed is a multibillion-dollar global business, which uses growing facilities and growing locations worldwide. While most of the seed is produced by large specialist growers, large amounts are also produced by small growers who produce only one to a few crop types. The larger companies supply seed both to commercial resellers and wholesalers. The resellers and wholesalers sell to vegetable and fruit growers, and to companies who package seed into packets and sell them on to the amateur gardener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heirloom plant</span> Historic food crop cultivar

An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit, or heirloom vegetable is an old cultivar of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particularly in isolated communities of the Western world. These were commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but are not used in modern large-scale agriculture.

<i>Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser</i> Supreme Court of Canada decision

Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser [2004] 1 S.C.R. 902, 2004 SCC 34 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada case on patent rights for biotechnology, between a Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, and the agricultural biotechnology company Monsanto. The court heard the question of whether Schmeiser's intentionally growing genetically modified plants constituted "use" of Monsanto's patented genetically modified plant cells. By a 5-4 majority, the court ruled that it did. The Supreme Court also ruled 9-0 that Schmeiser did not have to pay Monsanto their technology use fee, damages or costs, as Schmeiser did not receive any benefit from the technology. The case drew worldwide attention and is widely misunderstood to concern what happens when farmers' fields are accidentally contaminated with patented seed. However, by the time the case went to trial, all claims of accidental contamination had been dropped; the court only considered the GM canola in Schmeiser's fields, which Schmeiser had intentionally concentrated and planted. Schmeiser did not put forward any defence of accidental contamination.

Kent Whealy was an American activist, journalist and philanthropist who co-founded Seed Savers Exchange and promoted organic agriculture and the saving of heirloom seeds. Raised in Wellington, Kansas he was inspired by the works of agricultural geneticists Jack Harlan and H.Garrison Wilkes to use his training in communications to promote the protection of genetic diversity in agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seedy Sunday</span> Seed saving event

A Seedy Sunday event is one where people swap and sell seeds of landraces, folk varieties, farmer varieties and heritage seed. Sharing information about the social, cultural and culinary aspects of the seed is an important part of heritage seed saving around the world. Providing education about techniques for seed-saving, small-scale agriculture and horticulture, and about local, national and international laws that affect public-domain crop plants can also be an important part of the event.

Seed Savers Exchange, or SSE, is a non-profit organization based near Decorah, Iowa, that preserves heirloom plant varieties through regeneration, distribution and seed exchange. It is one of the largest nongovernmental seedbanks in the United States. The mission of SSE is to preserve the world’s diverse but endangered garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, and educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity. Since 1975, Seed Savers has produced an annual yearbook of members’ seed offerings, as well as multiple editions of The Garden Seed Inventory, and The Fruit, Nut and Berry Inventory. SSE also publishes Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners. The nonprofit has sold seeds to about 600 retail stores in the United States and Canada.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE) is a cooperatively-owned seed company based out of Mineral, Virginia. SESE is a source for heirloom seeds and other open-pollinated (non-hybrid) seeds with an emphasis on vegetables, flowers, and herbs that grow well in the Mid-Atlantic region. SESE also supports seed saving and traditional seed breeding through their product line, through lectures and workshops, and by working with over 50 small seed-growing farmers in the Mid-Atlantic and other parts of the United States. SESE publishes an intermittent email newsletter and blog for gardeners, as well as the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Catalog and Garden Guide.

Since the advent of genetic engineering in the 1970s, concerns have been raised about the dangers of the technology. Laws, regulations, and treaties were created in the years following to contain genetically modified organisms and prevent their escape. Nevertheless, there are several examples of failure to keep GM crops separate from conventional ones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navdanya (NGO)</span>

Navdanya is an Indian-based non-governmental organisation which promotes biodiversity conservation, biodiversity, organic farming, the rights of farmers, and the process of seed saving. One of Navdanya's founders, and outspoken members, is Vandana Shiva, an environmental activist, physicist, and author. Navdanya began in 1984 as a program of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), a participatory research initiative founded by the environmentalist Vandana Shiva, to provide direction and support to environmental activism. "Navdanya" means "nine crops" that represent India's collective source of food security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seed swap</span> Event where gardeners meet to exchange seeds

Seed swaps are events where gardeners meet to exchange seeds. Swapping can be arranged online or by mail, especially when participants are spread out geographically. Swap meet events, where growers meet and exchange their excess seeds in person, are also growing in popularity. In part this is due to increased interest in organic gardening and heritage or heirloom plant varietals. This reflects gardeners' interest in "unusual or particular varieties of flowers and vegetables", according to Kathy Jentz of Washington Gardener Magazine (Maryland).

Seed of Diversity, Semences du patrimoine, is a Canadian charitable organization that aims to "search out, preserve, perpetuate, study, and encourage the cultivation of heirloom and endangered varieties of food crops", particularly Canadian plants, and to educate the public about their use. It has been called "The Canadian NGO leader in two key areas of food system sustainability: crop genetic diversity and the redesign of pollination strategies".

Bowman v. Monsanto Co., 569 U.S. 278 (2013), was a United States Supreme Court patent decision in which the Court unanimously affirmed the decision of the Federal Circuit that the patent exhaustion doctrine does not permit a farmer to plant and grow saved, patented seeds without the patent owner's permission. The case arose after Vernon Hugh Bowman, an Indiana farmer, bought transgenic soybean crop seeds from a local grain elevator for his second crop of the season. Monsanto originally sold the seed from which these soybeans were grown to farmers under a limited use license that prohibited the farmer-buyer from using the seeds for more than a single season or from saving any seed produced from the crop for replanting. The farmers sold their soybean crops to the local grain elevator, from which Bowman then bought them. After Bowman replanted the crop seeds for his second harvest, Monsanto filed a lawsuit claiming that he infringed on their patents by replanting soybeans without a license. In response, Bowman argued that Monsanto's claims were barred under the doctrine of patent exhaustion, because all future generations of soybeans were embodied in the first generation that was originally sold.

J. E. M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., 534 U.S. 124 (2001), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court holding for the first time that utility patents may be issued for crops and other flowering plants under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Supreme Court rejected the argument that the exclusive ways to protect these plants are under the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA), 7 U.S.C. § 2321, and the Plant Patent Act of 1930 (PPA), 35 U.S.C. §§ 161-164.

The Seed Savers' Network (SSN) is an Australian not-for-profit organisation, based in Byron Bay, New South Wales. Since 1986, SSN has organised gardeners and farmers to collect, multiply and redistribute garden seeds in Australia and also within peasant organisations worldwide.

The Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) is an organization that developed and maintains a mechanism through which plant breeders can designate the new crop varieties they have bred as open source. This mechanism is advanced as an alternative to patent-protected seeds sold by large agriculture companies such as Monsanto or DuPont. OSSI is a U.S. based not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization focusing on establishing a protected commons of open source varieties and on educational and outreach activities associated with the development of this open source seed commons and on seed rights and issues related to the control of seed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biowatch South Africa</span>

Biowatch South Africa is a non-profit, environmental justice NGO which aims to achieve food sovereignty and food justice for smallholder farmers. Biowatch researches, monitors, and publicizes issues around GMOs, as well as promotes biological diversity, biosafety, food sovereignty, and social justice. Biowatch formed in 1997 and was officially established in 1999. The organization works with community members and the government to ensure the protection of farmer's rights, as well as the continuation of sustainable and ethical food production systems. Biowatch encourages the advance of agroecological practices, hoping to advance farmers abilities and freedom while simultaneously protecting the environment.

References

  1. ↑ Bruce Hotchkiss (2012). "Monsanto: Farmers permitted to 'brown bag' seeds". American Farm Publications, Inc. Archived from the original on 2014-11-01. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kerstin Mechlem and Terry Raney (2007). "Agricultural Technology and the Right to Food". In Francesco Francioni (ed.). Biotechnologies and International Human Rights . Hart Publishing. p.  156. ISBN   978-1-84113-703-2.
  3. ↑ "Late Blight". Wisconsin Horticulture. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  4. ↑ Professor, Associate Research (2022-08-31). "Avoiding Viruses in Small Grain Crops". Penn State Extension. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  5. ↑ Folta, Kevin (2023-11-05). "UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department". UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  6. ↑ "Does Monsanto sue farmers who save patented seeds or mistakenly grow GMOs?". Genetic Literacy Project. 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  7. ↑ McGuire, Shawn; Sperling, Louise (2016). "Seed systems smallholder farmers use". Food Security. 8 (1): 179–195. doi: 10.1007/s12571-015-0528-8 . ISSN   1876-4517.
  8. ↑ Swee, Becky (2022-08-20). "Why Save Seeds". Minnesota State Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  9. ↑ Jarvis, D., B. Sthapit, and L. Sears (eds.). 2000. Conserving agricultural biodiversity in situ: a scientific basis for sustainable agriculture. Proceedings of a workshop. Rome, Italy: IPGRI
  10. ↑ The Crucible II Group (2001). Seeding Solutions. IPGRI. ISBN   978-92-9043-499-3.
  11. ↑ "J. E. M. Ag Supply, Inc. V. Pioneer Hi-Bredinternational, Inc. (Syllabus)".
  12. ↑ Mascarenhas, Michael; Busch, Lawrence (2006-04-01). "Seeds of Change: Intellectual Property Rights, Genetically Modified Soybeans and Seed Saving in the United States". Sociologia Ruralis. 46 (2): 122–138. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2006.00406.x. ISSN   1467-9523.
  13. ↑ "Seed Sovereignty". Seed Sovereignty. The Gaia Foundation. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Winter, Lauren (Jan 2020). "Cultivating Farmers' Rights: Reconciling Food Security, Indigenous Agriculture, and TRIPS". Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. 43 (1): 223–254.
  15. ↑ TEDxTC - Winona LaDuke - Seeds of Our Ancestors, Seeds of Life, 4 March 2012, retrieved 2023-04-24
  16. ↑ "The Native Seed Revolution". The Native Seed Pod. Retrieved 2023-04-24.

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