Seed Libraries
Seed Libraries

Author: Cindy Conner

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2015-02-01

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 155092575X

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Community-based initiatives to preserve and protect our food supply Historically, seed companies were generally small, often family-run businesses. Because they were regionally based, they could focus on varieties well-suited to the local environment. A Pacific Northwest company, for example, would specialize in different cultivars than a company based in the Southeast. However the absorption of these small, independent seed businesses into large multinationals, combined with the advancement of biotechnology resulting in hybrids and GMO seeds, has led to a serious loss of genetic diversity. The public is now at the mercy of the corporations that control the seeds. In the past few years, gardeners have realized the inherent danger in this situation. A growing movement is striving to preserve and expand our stock of heritage and heirloom varieties through seed saving and sharing opportunities. Seed Libraries is a practical guide to saving seeds through community programs, including: Step-by-step instructions for setting up a seed library A wealth of ideas to help attract patrons and keep the momentum going Profiles of existing libraries and other types of seed saving partnerships Whoever controls the seeds controls the food supply. By empowering communities to preserve and protect the genetic diversity of their harvest, Seed Libraries is the first step towards reclaiming our self-reliance while enhancing food security and ensuring that the future of food is healthy, vibrant, tasty, and nutritious. Cindy Conner is a permaculture educator, founder of Homeplace Earth and producer of two popular instructional gardening DVDs. She is also the author of Grow a Sustainable Diet .

Administering and Managing the U.S. Food System
Administering and Managing the U.S. Food System

Author: A. Bryce Hoflund

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-06-11

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1793633347

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Food and the systems that produce, disrupt, prepare it are central to all human life. Yet, scholarly analysis of the food systems that support human life are highly fragmented across a variety of disciplines. Public administration, with its focus on the doing of public policy, would seem to be a logical home for analysis of food systems in action. However, food is largely ignored by public administration scholars, and scholars from other disciplines can unintentionally draw up established public administration literature. The chapters in this edited volume highlight where the lenses and languages of public administration can and should be used to analyze food systems. Viewed collectively, the editors argue that the lenses and languages of public administration can and should become a common ground for scholars and practitioners to discuss food systems.

Community Seed Banks
Community Seed Banks

Author: Ronnie Vernooy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1134608535

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Community seed banks first appeared towards the end of the 1980s, established with the support of international and national non-governmental organizations. This book is the first to provide a global review of their development and includes a wide range of case studies. Countries that pioneered various types of community seed banks include Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. In the North, a particular type of community seed bank emerged known as a seed-savers network. Such networks were first established in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA before spreading to other countries. Over time, the number and diversity of seed banks has grown. In Nepal, for example, there are now more than 100 self-described community seed banks whose functions range from pure conservation to commercial seed production. In Brazil, community seed banks operate in various regions of the country. Surprisingly, despite 25 years of history and the rapid growth in number, organizational diversity and geographical coverage of community seed banks, recognition of their roles and contributions has remained scanty. The book reviews their history, evolution, experiences, successes and failures (and reasons why), challenges and prospects. It fills a significant gap in the literature on agricultural biodiversity and conservation, and their contribution to food sovereignty and security.

What We Sow
What We Sow

Author: Jennifer Jewell

Publisher: Timber Press

Published: 2023-09-19

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1643263153

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An insightful, personal, and timely exploration into the wonderful world of seeds. In What We Sow, Jennifer Jewell brings readers on an insightful, year-long journey exploring the outsize impact one of nature's smallest manifestations—the simple seed. She examines our skewed notions where "organic" seeds are grown and sourced, reveals how giant multinational agribusiness has refined and patented the genomes of seeds we rely on for staples like corn and soy, and highlights the efforts of activists working to regain legal access to heirloom seeds that were stolen from Indigenous peoples and people of color. Throughout, readers are invited to share Jewell's personal observations as she marvels at the glory of nature in her Northern California hometown. She admires at the wild seeds she encounters on her short daily walks and is amazed at the range of seed forms, from cups and saucers to vases, candelabras, ocean-going vessels, and airliners. What We Sow is a tale of what we choose to see and what we haven't been taught to see, what we choose to seed and what we choose not to seed. It urgently proves that we must work hard to preserve and protect the great natural diversity of seed.

Promoting Biodiversity in Food Systems
Promoting Biodiversity in Food Systems

Author: Irana W. Hawkins

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2018-10-25

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1351816306

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Describes the relationship between food systems and the planetary boundaries at risk. Delineates the importance of food system related issues including biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, environmental degradation, and human health. Assesses the benefits of biodiversity-promoting food systems and describes the importance of shifting national, regional, and global policy to support them. Identifies the public health impacts of conventional food systems on consumer health. Demonstrates how to put biodiversity-promoting food systems into professional practice.

The Seed Underground
The Seed Underground

Author: Janisse Ray

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1603583068

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Discusses the loss of fruit and vegetable varieties and the genetically modified industrial monocultures being used today, shares the author's personal experiences growing, saving, and swapping seeds, and deconstructs the politics and genetics of seeds.

Save Our Seeds
Save Our Seeds

Author: Sheryl Normandeau

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers

Published: 2024-04-16

Total Pages: 117

ISBN-13: 1459836995

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Key Selling Points Learning about the importance of seeds and how to save and conserve them for the future is imperative to sustaining healthy life on the planet. Introduces young readers to STEM concepts, such as pollination, biodiversity, healthy ecosystems, food security, the climate crisis, GMO food and genetic engineering. Gives young readers the practical tools to take action to save seeds in their own lives and communities. The author is a certified master gardener and works with various gardening organizations in Alberta. She has a background in horticulture and urban agriculture and has written a number of nonfiction books for adults and kids.

Let's Wildflower the World
Let's Wildflower the World

Author: Josie Jeffery

Publisher: Leaping Hare Press

Published: 2022-05-24

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 0711275408

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This is an exciting introduction to the global seed-swapping and grassroots gardening movement, exploring how we can rewild the world around us with beautiful wildflowers. As seedbombing and seed swapping become even more popular, passionate seed activist Josie Jeffrey presents an invaluable handbook to the practices, explaining how we can fill the world around us with beautiful wildflower blooms, as well as why we should care about our plant heritage. With an invaluable directory of all the best common seeds to save and swap, alongside essential seedbomb recipes to transform concrete oases into colorful wildlife havens, this timely handbook provides all the tools you need to start your very own green revolution. Endorsed by Kew, the Soil Association, Seedy Sunday UK, Dr Vandana Shiva, Satish Kumar and The Heritage Seed Library, these practices will transform any space into a riot of color, and at the same time help enrich the environment around where they are growing. With essential husbandry and harvesting techniques and a step-by-step guide to creating your own seedbank, this is an empowering call-to-action every environmentalist or gardener will embrace.

Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener
Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener

Author: James Ulager

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2019-09-24

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1771423153

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How home gardeners with limited time and garden space can reclaim the joy and independence of seed saving Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener explores how seed saving is not only easier than we think, but that it is essential for vibrant, independent, and bountiful gardens. Many home gardeners refuse to eat a grocery store tomato, but routinely obtain seeds commercially, sometimes from thousands of miles away. And while seed saving can appear mysterious and intimidating, even home gardeners with limited time and space can experience the joy and independence it brings, freeing them from industry and the annual commercial seed order. Coverage includes: Why seed saving belongs in the home garden Principles of vegetative and sexual reproduction Easy inbreeding plants, including legumes, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers Plants with a few more challenges, including squash, spinach, onions, and parsley Brief discussion of more difficult crops, including corn, carrots, and cabbage. Written by a home seed saver for the home seed saver, Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener is a comprehensive guide for those who want to reclaim our seed heritage, highlighting the importance of saving seeds for you, your neighbors, and most importantly, subsequent generations.

Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds
Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds

Author: Mark Robison

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2017-05-30

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13:

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This exploration of the range of options for a "library of things" collection demonstrates what has been implemented successfully and offers practical insights regarding these nontraditional projects, from the development of concepts to the everyday realities of maintaining these collections. What services libraries provide and how they function in their communities is constantly being reconsidered and redefined. One example of this is the trend of experimenting with building circulating collections of nonliterary "things"—such as tools, seeds, cooking equipment, bicycles, household machinery, and educational materials—by drawing on traditional library functions and strengths of acquisition, organization, and circulation. Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds: Building a Library of Things enables you to consider the feasibility of creating a specific type of "thing" collection in your library and get practical advice about the processes necessary to successfully launch and maintain it, from planning and funding to circulation, promotion, and upkeep. This contributed volume provides a survey of "library of things" projects within the United States, from both public and academic libraries, offering real-world lessons learned from these early experiments with nontraditional collections. The authors offer practical insights from their projects, from the development of their initial ideas to the everyday realities of maintaining and circulating these collections, including cataloging, space needs, safety concerns, staff training, circulation, marketing, and assessment. The contributed chapters are organized thematically, covering "things" collections that encompass a wide variety of objects first, followed by collections with a community-building focus (seeds, recreation, tools) and those that serve an educational purpose, such as curriculum centers, children's toys, or collections that support a university curriculum. The last section addresses collections that support media production.