The process of saving seeds to maintain or improve a seed’s health, and to replant in the future. Seed sovereignty views seed saving and stewardship in the realm of fundamental human rights, due to seeds’ role as the foundation on which our food system rests (Kleeger & Still, 2010).
Seed sovereignty is a response to a lack of agricultural biodiversity. According to the Untited Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, crop genetic resources are disappearing at 1-2% a year (Kleeger & Still, 2010). Much of the reason for the lack of biodiversity is the predominance of seed companies, such as Monsanto, who are able to make more money producing and selling hybrid seeds and often drop seed varieties.
Usage example: “Seed sovereignty has been gradually transferred from farmers and their communities to the boardrooms of the five transnational firms known as the “Gene Giants” for their domination of the US$20 billion annual global market for seeds” (Kloppenburg, 2010).
Resources:
Kleeger, S., & Still, A. (2010). A guide to seed saving, seed stewardship and seed sovereignty. The Seed Ambassadors Project.Retrieved from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
Kloppenburg, J. (2010). Seed sovereignty: The promise of open source biology. Food Sovereignty: Theory, Praxis, and Power, Retrieved from http://www.drs.wisc.edu/documents/articles/kloppenburg/2010%20Seed%20Sovereignty.pdf
Entry: JL
Checked: RB
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.