Community Seed Bank
Within my own physical community and through social media sites such as Facebook, I have participated in sharing non-GMO organic seeds with other gardeners and small farmers. There are sustainable seed companies that offer non-GMO heirloom seeds, but the rate at which heirloom vegetables are being replaced (intentionally by some corporations, and unintentionally/unwittingly by food consumers) is dramatically limiting the diversity of produce throughout the world. Within crop zones, and even within smaller microcosms within a close vicinity of each other, there are always seeds that have been passed down through the generations that will only thrive prolifically in that exact location due to all climate and soil variables. (In my hometown of St. Augustine Florida, we had datil peppers, on this specific mountain plateau in the Blue Ridge, neighbors have shared their exclusive local goose belly beans). Governments and nonprofit groups have organized seed banks to preserve genetic diversity in the crops that can be grown and harvested. Using the internet to create a community of practice in the form of seed banks and seed sharing is an example of technology based learning and networking that has innumerable community, environmental, financial benefits.
I wanted to share this resource, even though it is already in action on various levels and far from a conceptual source - because it provides a model of how technology can be used to protect the most fundamental resources that we need for survival. Education, community outreach and localized cooperation can be used to share and store non-genetically modified seeds. (For those of you who may not fully understand the inherent danger of GMO seeds and corporate proponents for them such as Monsanto - GMO seeds are typically modified for a number of reasons, often pesticide resistance. Unlike "natural" seeds, the crops they produce cannot produce viable seeds for the following planting season, forcing farmers to buy new seed inventory every year, and unable to replant seeds from the previous years. This is a serious problem, especially for subsistence farmers in the developing world who cannot afford to buy seeds every year with profit yields from their crops.)
The more I delve into the use of emerging technology as a tool to empower individuals, and groups of people working for a common good, the more I appreciate the serious potential for positive change in the world... One small seed at a time!
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