11 July 2010—A new collection of some of North America's hottest foods—an eclectic range of New World chili peppers—were delivered to the cool Arctic Circle environs of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, where their exotic tongue-scorching qualities can be kept safe for centuries. The seeds were delivered to the vault by a seven-person bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress...
Mebbe youse heard of the Svalbard Seed Vault? Thang is straight outa a James Bond movie.
Idea is a good one--iffin' thar's a world calamity that wipes out important food sources ( famine, pestilence, bio-engineerin' mistakes (heh) an the like) then the hope is mankind can jump start a recovery usin' these stored seeds:
The USA has its own system too--which also contributes to the Arctic vault project.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization oversees still other plant gene pools, an' we know that Canada, Russia, Germany, China, and India have their own vaults, jes' in case. An, you guessed it, the major seed houses also have their own super secret seed vaults. A tropical seeds vault is in Costa Rica. Another in Venezuela.
But when ya can catch a person-in-the-know off guard at a UN gatherin', they will let the truth slip: we are addicted to cheap easy food made from GMOs an' eventually, nature will have her revenge, hence the need to reseed the world wif' REAL not GM seeds.
On the personal level, Aunty ain't sayin' youse gonna see it in yore lifetime, but ain't no harm in havin' your own seed bank is thar'? Nuthin' fancy, jes' some basic heirloom seeds in unopened packs stored in a cool dark place.
Main worry I has (see ealier Back Porch posts) is that the major seed companies like Monsanto are tryin' to build a monopoly on seeds--their Terminator Technology kills other seed groups so that ya have NO CHOICE but to buy seed from them. And then how costly will food be? rationed?
I ain't into weird wild eyed conspiracy theories--cause the one right out in the open is enough fer me. Monsanto admits to this goal. I aim to resist an' is urgin' y'all to do the same.
8 comments:
Way back even afore Mermaid came to us there was a hydroponics food growing venue at Epcot.
Which, I think, was sponsored by Monsanto. As visitors traveled through the greenhouse there was a continuous loop of information about "foods of the future" and what Monsanto's place was in this future. Even then I can remember being creeped out by the idea. Stepford vegetables? No thank you.
I am pleased to say I do have a stash of heirloom seeds stored alongside some of my favorite flower seeds.
I do use some hybrids in my garden and am certainly not against hybridization of food crops.
We'd be a lot hungrier without hybrid vigor.
But, your advice and your points about seed monopolization and saving some heirloom seeds just in case is right on.
Hey Fishy,
Stepford veggies! heh. Would be hilarious 'cept it is true.
FC!
Oh you bet--Aunty also has hybrid seeds, ain't against them at all. I is against the ones wif' terminator technology ( mostly those varieties sold fer commercial farmin'). I is adamantly opposed to the idea of seed monopoly. Even pharma giant DuPont is squawkin' about Monsanto's monopoly.
more info here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN087196620100108
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/seedfees103004.cfm
Good morning Aunty Belle,
This goes back to my belief in decentralization. Having a single source control any market and specifically a market as important as the food supply, is a recipe for disaster.
Although, we're really shouldn't worry there's always Soylent Green.
Now those Monsanto bastards are trying to revitalize Haiti by "giving" them their seeds. To my knowledge, the big problem with the Monsanto seeds is that they can't be grown again? Is that correct? So after a harvest, the farmer has to buy the seeds again from Monsanto. Please correct me if I am wrong, Aunty. Thanks for turning me on to those monsters, I feel just as passionately about this as you do.
Karl
Oh yessiree! Decentralize ever'thang!
Beginning wif' gubmint-- I'se a State's Rights
Advocte.
La Diva C!
Youse right--them seeds won't grow again iffin'
Ya save them an try to replant.
So then farmers are forever indebted to Monsanto and must continuously buy from them to grow their crops, talk about a monopoly and built in obsolescence! It's so frightening to think about that some corporation would have so much power over our food supply. I've heard some Haitians don't want the seeds, they have their own and are being pressured. Aunty, I think are there are some organizations that are fighting Monsanto....
I just recently heard a report on MRSA. The report was intereting for the fact that it was about a hospital that made a concentrated effort to reduce MRSA cases. They discovered a disconcerting failure of simple hand washing was part of the problem. Doctors and Nurses and staff. Not washing hands. In a hospital. When they finally made everyone realize how they were contributing to the problem their incidence of MRSA went way down. Why should we stop you?
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