Seeds: More Precious Than Gold or Oil

relentless

You can’t eat gold or oil. Well, i suppose you can. At least in trace amounts gold appears to be an essential element and won’t harm you in minute quantities. As for oil it’s used in so many insidious ways, even as food, vitamins and drugs after being rearranged molecularly—synthetically, i suppose you could claim you can (and some do) eat it in a million processed ways. But, obviously, neither will keep you alive and thriving as seeds will.

Seeds are something else. Something rare, unique, wondrous and beautiful. Something spectacularly alive, awaiting renewal, a life force of unequaled value. Something magical. Something mysterious. Something beyond human analytical understanding or reductionist scientific thinking or ignorant tinkering. One-eyed observations don’t cut it.

Seeds keep all life going and prospering. Seeds continue the evolution of life. Seeds are surely the Universe’s gift to the Earth, Starmatter enclosed in highly concentrated form, lying dormant, waiting patiently for the specific conditions, the specific code, that Nature has deposited within them for their glorious return to transformation into plant and food.

Seeds are critical, period.

Look around. Most anywhere will suffice. Things are not going well for the planet. Earth is being assaulted and duly tested every moment by one of its own. That would be we human beings being very unearth-like, behaving like some alien invaders from another planet, or spoiled brats, destroying our only habitat, what i often refer to as The Most Beautiful Planet In the Universe.

What is going down is beyond sad, sad beyond measure.

It’s enough to make one cry. And i do. i cry very often as of late. You know why don’t you? i suspect you cry too. Something is deeply amiss in the human psyche, seemingly at least for the majority, so disconnected and detached as they are from reality. A majority that continues onward decimating, via greed, mindwashing, miseducation, rape and plunder, this most amazing and sensual of planets. i cry also because i can hear the Earth crying, asking how could one of its own be so cruel and devastating.

We must cry more often, not less. Cry for the life being hampered and extinguished by ALL OF US. We can all do better, far better for the Earth, and we all know it. Well, many of us anyway who care. But let’s not go there for now. For those of us who care beyond caring can change things for the better. So, let’s cry our hearts out quickly…and then act. Don’t fall for hope to save us, for hope is a tactic used by the controllers to lead us astray, to give you bones with no nutritive value, for hope derails action.

© 2008 relentless

If you haven’t figured it out by now, i am in awe of seeds, passionate being a generous understatement. i know i was not put on this beautiful blue sphere to inactivate it. i am merely a member of the entire diversity of wondrous life, of thankful and indebted beings, at most a caretaker, though i often cringe at such a pompous and egotistical attitude—as if i am outside it all and somewhat in charge—which i’m not. Maybe i should trust a more modest term, say subconscious caretaker, attempting to interfere with life as minimally as possible while still adding life-advancing value to the planet. Maybe what i do could be called a nurturer. Unfortunately, due to the dire circumstances we now find ourselves embedded within, i must also resort to acquiring for the time being that of an adjunct protector and defender of Big Blue. Perhaps the quote of mine from the new Fedco Seed Catalog summarizes and galvanizes this struggling personal conundrum better: “Plants make love with one another…the plant breeder may assist by offering them ‘options’—diversity of lovers so to speak—that they may never have come in contact with otherwise. Then it’s each plant’s ‘choice’ to accept or reject one another. Plant breeders (and other pollinators) are, in essence, a botanical escort service.”

We are in no way the planet’s masters. We must be far more reserved, reticent and humble, more akin to the physicians’ sacred Hippocratic Oath to “First do no harm.” At most are we not here as humans to quietly and unobtrusively simply assist life’s struggles, not unravel them, mostly just letting life be and do its thing whenever and wherever possible? Biotechnologists please take note.

Seeds. This is where life begins, and miraculously recyles itself, where the sublime mysteries emanate and unfold from. As gardeners, farmers, agrarians, farmer pirates or whatever we choose to call ourselves, we must have that Thoreauvian faith in a seed. Sow them and they will germinate and grow. The miracle of miracles if there ever was. Sacred. Yes. Seeds are sacrosanct. Sacred, divine miracles. If i were ever to worship anything it would surely be seeds. As a classical plant breeder and seed saver in the lineage of Luther Burbank, Alan Kapuler, Frank Morton, et al and those great yet forever unknown plant breeders who came before (re: non-violent, never doing any conscious harm), i’ve come to cherish, obey and defend the rights of seeds to be seeds without tampering with their God-given genetic right to not be trespassed upon by transferring, no, let’s call it what it really is: without resorting to violence and rape. Trespassing without permission. Trans-species genetic rape, pure and simple. You know, genetically-engineered seeds. Altering life via violence, via taking one species and forcing some of its genetic material into another species, blasting away, with something akin to a crude shotgun (the biotechers call it splicing as if it’s some finely-tuned surgical operation, which it isn’t at all), a fish gene into a tomato gene or a bacterium into a corn’s genetic code and thinking it will only do what the biotechnologist amateurs said it would do, re: hoped it would ONLY DO. Realize that Nature doesn’t do this, doesn’t work this way, doesn’t cross divergent species barriers, simply doesn’t function in such an anti-life way because Nature is far wiser than any hubristic human or delusional corporation composed of delusional individuals.

The biotechnologists have lied to us. That or they were so hell-bent on playing God with the delusional dream of controlling life itself that they lost their very mandatory connectivity to this beautiful planet, lost their way, forfeited their humanness. Or maybe all the above or maybe they simply are mad and insane. You decide.

Here’s the straight scoop. No one, may i repeat that? No one knows what forcefully transferring alien genes from one genera to another will really do once they are unleashed onto the Earth. No one. What is known, and has been known before the hubristic ones started experimenting utilizing the Frankenstein approach to science, is that 1) gene transfer via this violent method in no way guarantees what the biotechers had desired and claimed it would accomplish and 2) that genes express themselves in more than one way, not necessarily in a singular way as the spinmeisters at Biotech Central would curiously and sinfully claim they would and remain containable and controllable. As reported July 1, 2007 in the NY Times: “Evidence of a networked genome [re: genes expressing themselves in multiple ways other than the anticipated ways—it’s called pleiotrophy] shatters the scientific basis for virtually every official risk assessment of today’s commercial biotech products, from genetically engineered crops to pharmaceuticals.”

There you have it. The gods of biotech screwed up big time and knowingly or maybe, a big maybe, unknowingly and now, and now, all life will be experiencing their conceit, hubris and sheer fallibility. If ever there were reason to hold an all species world trial for crimes against all life such a time will one day blatantly exhibit its evidence, though by then it may be too late for us all, especially the following generations. They may well forever reap the arrogance of today’s arrogant few.

Now the unleashed ‘genetically-altered mutant monsters’ (i’m referring to the GE seeds now) are in the initial stages of contaminating everything sacred, besides the seeds—even you and your loved ones—and our seed. We are, along with all life, the biotech’s guinea pigs. They have begun altering and destroying the magic of life itself. Perhaps forever. Perhaps without the ability to return to normalcy, of which only the entirety of the natural world could resolve what is and what isn’t normal, or at least once were able to before G. E. It has reached the point where not only the seeds and their plants are contaminated but even the soil microorganisms are being affected and severely challenged to remain viable. Yes, the contamination is now in the living soil.

What to do, what to do? The biotech firms are incorrigible and will never admit error without outside intervention [Interestingly, unlike the nuclear industry that has a 20 million dollar cap on liability, the biotech industry ‘chose’ to not place a cap on their liability. Not because they’re such good, upstanding boys and girls, but because they apparently came to realize that placing a cap on liability would be bad PR, placing into public question the doubts and the safety concerns of GMOs. In essence, a gamble that i surely desire to come back to haunt and bite them really hard.]. However, sadly and most obviously we can no longer depend upon, let alone trust, the majority of the politicians, more often than not controlled and bankrolled by those very mega-biotech companies, to shut them down. These politicians deserve only the most absolute of disrespect and utter contempt for they are accomplices for the murder of the Earth. We cannot depend on the controlled media either. Hardly. They too are controlled and thus beholden to the corporations which own them, thus, money, AKA greed, is calling the shots. The journalists who have attempted to expose the conflicts of interests have more often than not been terminated or forced out through some impromptu legalese. That, or they simply couldn’t continue with the charade and quit. Meanwhile, few real journalists of mettle remain.

So it’s up to you and me to do the defending. How? One immediate and absolutely necessary measure is to start saving your own seeds—NOW! First by purchasing non-genetically-altered seeds and buying as many as you can possibly afford from the remaining ethical seed companies. Not the hybrid (F1s) that the seed companies push, mostly for profit (and realize that maybe so-called hybrid F1 seeds may not even be hybrids, just called such so that you don’t save them, thereby having to continue to buy them each growing season). i’ve grown enough hybrids and open-pollinated (OPs) seeds, and have dehybridized true F1s, to realize that there isn’t always that great a difference between the F1s and the old faithful OPs. Most simply aren’t worth the extra cost to justify their use…and addiction (Yeah, OK, F1 diehards, there are some, repeat, some few exceptions, but not many and simply not worth mulling your hybrid minds over.).

Saving seeds is absolutely critical and will become ever more so as this discivilization continues its downward spiral while the megacorporations gobble up the remaining seed stock to strangle the independent seed companies and seedsavers thereby giving you no choice but to purchase your seeds from them, the seed pushers alliance, at their monopoly prices of course, and then having to sign contracts stating you will not save, replant or sell said seeds. Welcome to the future of the seed industry. It’s already begun and continues as i compose these thoughts. The new SPAs are shysters, not the ethical seedsmen or women of many seasons past (yes, there still remain a few diehards about, such as J.L. Hudson, Seedsmen, Alan Kapuler’s Peace Seeds, Fedco Seeds and a handful of others).

Anyone can save their own seeds—if you want to and NEED TO. And i state emphatically that you do NEED TO. In the not too distant future, seeds will become far, far more valuable, more precious, than gold or oil. They will be all that stands between you and starvation. They ARE that critical. So even if you’re not a gardener, farmer, agrarian, farmer pirate, whatever, i suggest you better become one or get on the best of terms with those who are, and with those who are local. But more than local. Extremely Local. Everything in the not too distant future will become EXTREMELY LOCAL—everything. And seeds will be your first line of defense. Defend them as you would your family and loved ones, as you should the Earth itself, for they are the indispensible, vital core of life…and you are a crucial aspect of the Earth’s wellbeing.

Books and information are everywhere for the ardent seedsavers. The best i’ve used so far, and great for novices, is Suzanne Ashworth’s Seed To Seed, available just about everywhere including your local library though i highly recommend obtaining your own copy because you’ll need it, especially at first, and often. Besides, it only seems the ethical approach to see that those who have written such valuable books and information be paid back through royalties for their important contributions to our planet. A great reference. Also, if you’re not a member, please become a member of Seedsavers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa, dedicated, fanatically, to preserving our OP (open pollinated) seed heritage. Also, for the new seedsaver, every packet of Seedsavers own brand seeds comes with a short note on on how to save that particular variety of seed.

As the poet author Gary Synder wrote: “Find your place, dig in, and defend it.” i would rephrase that to: “Get your seeds, grow them out, save them and defend them.”

Seeds and their offspring plants connect everything essential to life: air, soil, food, lifeforms, natural, unadulterated evolutionary information transfers. Seeds are ground zero for taking the Earth back from the precipice. Seeds are a nearly perfect medium of exchange, yes, far better than gold (delay and find out if you dare). They’re real, they exist, unlike a monetary system created out of thin air with nothing backing it. Seeds have LIFE ITSELF backing them. Seeds are easily harvested, transported and stored. You don’t need to dig thousands of feet into the ground, or to dig out the bowels of Mother Earth, or remove mountaintops and forests to obtain them. But most of all, seeds translate into food. Food for all life.

Every OP seed you save and regrow places us all one step closer to self-sufficiency, to closing down the disaster of genetic engineering and the demented dreams of the mega corps to control our lives via their aforementioned takeovers of smaller seed companies, and with their rampant and virtually unrestrained frenzied drive for life patents (an oxymoron if there ever was) and intellectual property rights, all foisted upon us without our consent. Furthermore, think of it this nakedly obvious way: if the biotechnologists were so perfect and god-like as they intone, they could make and create a seed from scratch. But they can’t. Only the Nature they wish to control and overthrow can do that. The Monsantos, Syngentas and Dows are not gods, but very bad actors, quite fallible and very, very dangerous godlike impersonators. Furthermore, and even more horrific if that is at all imaginable, if these mad ones ever ‘accidentally’ begin releasing terminator seeds (seeds that will not reproduce unless the mad ones’ proprietary chemical activates them), it could well mean the end of life’s Earthstory [my term replacing the hubristic history or herstory] once they escape into the environment, which they surely will.

Take back your heritage, your natural right to save and barter and grow your own seeds. Don’t ever allow the conflict-of-interests experts, specialists, congresscritters and judges to tell you “You can’t do it” or “You can’t do that” or “The (rigged) laws disallow it.” Just do it! Choose up sides quickly: Allying with the whole Earth, The Most Beautiful Planet In the Universe, or with the conflicts-of-interests gang(sters). For me, it’s a no brainer.

In the words of Thomas Jefferson: “I hold it that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” Consider this: whose words would you rather trust if your life depended upon it (and it does): Thomas Jefferson or George W. Bush? Fedco Seeds (which refused to carry Seminis Seeds once Monsanto bought them) or Monsanto (forever referred to by me as MonSatan)?

The moments are ripe for a seed rebellion (and many others too). Seeds are not the controllers’ future as much as they think it inevitable. To hold claim over the seed supply is to hold claim over our lives. Start the rebellion now, today. Tomorrow is too late. Take back control of our seeds gifted to us by our ancestors, not to be owned by the devious and dishonest, never ever to be entrusted to the ruling few. Defend and honor our ancestors who kept life alive for millenia through their seeds. Defend our future generations, our children, their children and all children who will desperately require our thoughtful preservation of this most precious asset. Do the honorable thing.

It’s way beyond the point of doing the right thing. We have to do many right things quickly while remaining passionate, caring and uncompromising in the face of the formidable odds stacked against us, odds that we all allowed to fester, odds which have now become ominous and dangerous, like a cornered beast. i harbor no illusions that the looming battles will not be difficult indeed but the alternative choices are too ignoble to contemplate if we think us sane and wise human beings. We have no choice then but to free ourselves from the yoke of seed tyranny. To become seed self-sufficient (and as overall self-sufficient as possible). Save your own and help secure a health-giving, not health-taking world. Let resistance, passion and enchantment reign. What better courageous, honorable, and yes, audacious path to venture forth onto to help save The Most Beautiful Planet In the Universe?