There seem to be more and more anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms–foods) enthusiasts protesting against genetic engineering every day. The fear is that their release is premature because we do not know how they will affect our health. Many are also just ethically apposed to them. I support the protest against GMO’s, but what are we really achieving during this fight? We need to start focusing on making small victories. These small victories are the conservation of genetic diversity through protecting Heritage and Heirloom seeds.
Why is maintaining Heritage and Heirloom seeds important? Genetic diversity within species of plants is like insurance. One variety may be tolerant to a disease while another is not, or insects may find one species desirable and another undesirable. Genetic diversity increases the variables for the survival of the species. Imagine we decided to only grow one variety of pepper and a virus came along and wiped out all of the pepper crops? Imagine an entire season without peppers or an entire season without various vegetables! We now ship food globally so this is an unlikely scenario, however an incident such as this could drastically reduce the supply of certain foods, which could affect everyone, nutritionally speaking. This is why protecting Heritage and Heirloom seeds should be important to everyone. Blight among plants is just as unpredictable as viruses and flu among humans. They are always changing so we can never know exactly what we will be resistant to and what we need to protect ourselves from. For example the flu shot protects us from a small number of flu’s that are predicted to be dominant during the next flu season. The flu shot does not protect us from every possible flu virus.
There is also still much to be learned about phytochemicals and how they affect our health. Different plants provide different amounts and combinations of phytochemicals. By reducing the number of available fruit and vegetable varieties we could be reducing access to phytochemicals that have valuable health benefits.
We need as many people growing and protecting Heirloom and Heritage seeds as possible because crops can be contaminated by the pollen of sterile hybrid and/or GMO crops. There have been situations where farmers’ crops have been contaminated by GMO pollen. I recall one particular situation where a wheat farmer was sued because the pollen from a nearby GMO crop contributed a patented gene to the farmer’s wheat. Therefore he was ordered to destroy the crop. Since the entire crop had to be destroyed, he lost the wheat seed that had been grown by his family for generations. This is how Heritage seed varieties can become extinct. If people grow seed varieties in a vast array of locations, the seeds will be better protected against unwelcome contamination and the plants will also evolve and adapt to different habitats.
Two great non-profit organizations that protect Heirloom and Heritage seeds are The Seed Savers Exchange and Native Seeds/SEARCH.
The Seed Savers Exchange produces a Seed Savers Yearbook “which contains names and addresses of 900 members and 6,000 listings of rare vegetable and fruit varieties that they are offering to other gardeners” (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-buy-heirloom-plants-seeds.html#). Those who are interested in obtaining seeds can simply write to the members who have listed the varieties.
The Native Seeds/SEARCH is focused on growing Heritage and Heirloom varieties in their native habitats, specifically in the U.S. Southwest Northwest Mexico. They distribute these seeds to home gardeners and give them to Native American farmers (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-buy-heirloom-plants-seeds.html#).
Where to find Heirloom and Heritage seeds:
http://www.saltspringseeds.com/
http://www.cottagegardener.com/
http://www.westcoastseeds.com/
Happy growing!
