Our network of cross-cultural educators has connections in seed-saving communities across the world. They work wonders, preserving genetic diversity in our food supply and fighting against corporate and chemical domination of our food. Groundwork maintains a seed library and supports seed exchanges wherever we see groups of people from different countries coming together.
Why do we save seeds?
When you hold a seed in your hand, the seed is alive. A corn seed contains all of its ancestors: part of every generation of corn for the last four thousand years. It contains all of its descendants—it is the seed of life for all the corn that is to come. The seed is the link to our human history and to the food of the future. We breed our seeds to need extra care, so without humans, most seeds could not survive in the wild. Without our seeds, humanity could not survive. Modern industrial culture has forgotten this, and we lost 95% of global seed diversity in the last 100 years.
Traditionally, seed was never bought or sold. Seed is life, so it was sacred. You could always get a few seeds from somebody and grow them to save for your own seed. If you plant one seed, it produces hundreds of new seeds. The next year, you will have plenty to eat.
We save, preserve, and exchange open-pollinated (heirloom) seeds.
Our ancestors bred heirloom seeds for thousands of years by only saving seeds from the best plants: plants that grow well and taste good. Heirloom seeds are strong plants that grow with no chemicals. People developed some heirloom seeds to be juicy and sweet; others are good for drying. Some heirloom seeds thrive in dry or windy places; some have beautiful colors.
What are hybrid seeds?
Hybrid seeds come from heirloom seeds. When you take pollen from one variety of heirloom plant and pollinate a different variety, the seeds will be a cross between both kinds. A hybrid watermelon could be a combination of a very sweet watermelon and a very big watermelon, therefore growing big, sweet watermelons. Usually, hybrid seeds need more nutrients—growing a big watermelon or growing a sweet watermelon both require a lot of fertilizer. A big and sweet watermelon needs even more.
Who controls agriculture?
Seeds are alive. The only way to save seeds in the long-term is to grow them again and save the seeds. Most seeds live for 3-10 years, so if we don’t grow them in that time, they die and are lost to the world. When farmers started buying hybrid seeds, most stopped growing their local heirloom seeds. After a few years, the local seeds were gone. With hybrid and GMO seeds, corporations control almost all of the seeds. When corporations control seed, everybody in the world must pay them in order to eat. That is why seeds are sold as a product.
We do not sell seeds. We grow heirloom seeds and give them away so that you can plant them and start saving your own seeds. Good seeds let us grow delicious, healthy, chemical-free food without paying anybody. Good seeds are a source of freedom.
What are GMO seeds?
GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms. Scientists make GMO seeds by taking DNA from a one form of life (like a fish or a bacteria) and put it into a different seed (like a tomato or a papaya). The most common GMO seeds are corn and soybeans that can survive after being sprayed with poisonous herbicides. You can save seeds from GMO plants, but it is illegal. Companies like CP, Monsanto, and Bayer have seed patents, meaning that when you buy the seeds, you need to sign a contract agreeing not to save seeds from any plants you grow. GMO seeds are similar to hybrid seeds, because farmers need to buy new seeds every year.
GMOs enable farmers to spray more toxic chemicals on the plants. The chemicals kill our soil, our rivers, animals, and kill people. When we choose GMO seeds, we choose the seeds that can survive toxic chemicals instead of seeds that have the best flavor or nutrition.
Find A Seed Exchange
We have run seed exchanges in Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Cambodia, Thailand, and the United States. See a list of events here.