Shattering: Food Politics and The Loss of Genetic Diversity

I finished reading Shattering:  Food Politics and The Loss of Genetic Diversity early this morning.  It's not a long book, but it took longer to read than most 222 page books, NOT because it was difficult to read or not interesting.  On the contrary, it was extremely interesting...

It was a challenge to read and that wasn't the fault of the authors, but probably because the authors packed a lot of wallop into those 222 pages.  I found myself assured, frightened, enlightened, confused and despondent - and that was typically in the span of two or three pages at a time.  I was so relieved at the hopeful words at the end because I wasn't sure how we were going to end up. I found myself pausing to consider what I had read and the ramifications.  

The word 'shattering' in the title refers to what a head of grain - like wheat or barley, for example - does, scattering seeds to the ground - a useful process for a wild plant.  Human hunter/gatherers came along and harvested the seed heads that did NOT shatter as easily and when domestication of the plants began somewhat later, these were the seeds planted and thus the beginning of the agricultural revolution.

There is much to digest in this book on the seeds of our food plants, but the most clear message of all is we need local control over our seeds and we need back up our diversity to seed banks to help maintain that diversity of food crops and other species that benefit humans as well. There are agencies galore charged with different aspects of the problem but the bottom line becomes much more personal. I have seen Fowler speak twice and each time he urged folks to write their Congresspersons asking for more funding for the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, a US Government project nestled in the mountains near Fort Collins, CO. This book underscores why we need that center and why we need to appropriately fund it.

The diversity of our food plants has been plummeting.  From a plethora of varieties in the early 1900's, we are down to minuscule percentages that leave one aghast that we have squandered so much through simple neglect and corporate willfulness. The losses are a long way from a complete triage so far, especially from third world countries - who are of course, the most vulnerable.  

The story unfolds brilliantly, often with the tension of a novel.  Published in June 1990, I would like to see some updating and see how author Cary thinks we are progressing - some things for the good and for the bad have unfolded.  The most significant is, perhaps, that citizens in the Northern countries are seeing the reason for the alarm Fowler and Mooney raised over 25 years ago.  

In reading Shattering, a helpful ploy I wish I had would be a card handy with which to record which agency is referred to by which set of initials.  Maybe it's my own bad memory, but such a cheat sheet would have been useful especially when they come fast and furious in some sections of the book.  

This book is vital to understand where we are and how we got here and gives strategies for how to move forward - some of which enlightened individuals have begun. 

I am glad I read it and I believe you will be too.  

david  

This Week LA! Seeds of Time

There's a new documentary out of interest to all who like to eat and especially those of us who like to grow some our food... 

Ostensibly the film is about Cary Fowler and the Svalbard Seed Bank - but what it's really about is our food and the seeds that food comes from.  It doesn't sound all that dramatic, but it is! 

In the past, I have been vocal about the difference between seed libraries and seed banks and I was vocally critical of seed banks.  I felt the only "real" way to save seeds was to cultivate them - grow them, and use them.  Keeping seeds in frozen storage has its downsides and I was well focused on that as well as the fact that I only knew of seed banks were owned by governments and tended to have a top down focus.  Seed libraries, on the other hand, are bottom up and tend to be community efforts without a lot of money and dependent on volunteers.  I was definitely pro-library and anti-bank.   

My attitude has matured.  Only recently did I reconcile with the idea of seed banks when it became apparent that the Seed Library Of Los Angeles was going to eventually need a seed bank to back up our work.  That realization hit when it became clear to me that ANY physical location has the chance to be compromised.  Our Venice location, for example could be wiped out by a fire (the building is very old and a fire is not out of the question  - or a tidal wave or the vagaries of the Los Angeles Unified School District.  We need some place when all else fails, doesn't.

Little did I realize that Svalbard could well be it.  Svalbard, created from the original idea of Cary Fowler, is located above the Arctic Circle on the island called Svalbard and run under the auspices of the Norwegian government.  It is wholly funded by the Norwegian government, unlike the information one can find on the internet.  The seeds are held in storage as a backup for the people who sent them there, should there be a disaster that causes the loss of the seeds in their gardens and farms.  

Seeds are prepared by, say, SLOLA, placed in a container and sent, with an inventory to Svalbard.  There these seeds are checked in and place in the vaults.  The only folks who can ask for the seeds to be removed from Svalbard would be SLOLA in response to a disaster befalling the libraries inventory.  

This is not a dry movie.  It moves with elegance and purpose.  There is barely a dry eye in the house when the Filipino woman has to say what has happened to the seeds they had gathered to ship to Svalbard.  When you watch this film with the awareness of our seeds and the importance of them, you will be moved as well.  

And now we see clearly that we need both and this is one of the most ambitious seed banks in the world.  The possibility that we will desperately need the seeds that are stored in Svalbard grows more and more unavoidable as politicians play blithe games with the reality of global climate change.

The movie is showing tonight, tomorrow (I'll be there as the Q and A guy on Sunday) and and on into next week.  It is worth your while and you will learn a lot more about our food, our seeds, seed banks and Svalbard.  Most of all though, you'll meet Cary Fowler, author of  Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity as well as other books. Compassionate, inspired, passionate and informed, Fowler is a thoroughly lovable and charming subject.  The movie making is top notch and I encourage everyone who likes food and enjoys eating! 

david