STORIES OF SEEDS @JANUARY SUPPER
Last night we held the first supper of 2019 with a nourishing stew and screening of the film SEEDS: THE UNTOLD STORY.
Vaida made a nordic stew served with Riverside Sourdough bread and a mesclun salad mix from the Global Gardens polytunnel. Our first harvest of the year! You can check out the recipe for the stew here.
SEEDS: THE UNTOLD STORY is a film about seed-saving and biodiversity. The film introduces seed-savers working around the world to protect genetic diversity of edible plants.
We learn about the birthplace of wild corn in Mexico and its story of domestication. The fight for the protection of the wild rice of the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota from the introduction of GMO wild rice. And the story of a particular kind of 'desert cucumber' that grows in the arid conditions of the Kalahari desert. Apparently it needs to be cooked to ease the spice!
The film told the story of the 'dance' between plants and humans that "find each other and make a culture possible" (Dr. Ignacio Chapela, Molecular Biologist). Rowen White (Sierra Seeds) describes how crops are co-creations between plants and humans. Whilst Dennis Klocek (Biodynamic and anthroposophist) describes seeds as "a doorway between the life of an old plant and its gift to the new plant."
Gary Nabhan highlighted how the diversity of seeds is as endangered as pandas or great white rhinos. Between 25-33% of all plant species are threatened by extinction. Globally, crop genetic resources are estimated to disappearing at a rate of 1- 2% per annum (Shand 1997).
Today, around thirty crops provide 95% of human food energy needs, four of which (rice, wheat, maize and potatoes) account for over 60% of energy intake. Yet over 5,000 plant species have been domesticated and grown as food crops. Indeed, it is estimated that there are 250-300,000 potentially edible plant species in the world.
Seed-saving at Global Gardens
Last year we saved borage, calendula, evening primrose, chard and kale. This year at Global Gardens we are hoping to continue and deepen the work we are doing on seed-saving. So watch this space to get involved.
Also, check out the Chapter Seedy Saturday event on the 23rd February which will be full of seed-saving activities and seeds to share.
