Taking action against seed privatisation, genetic modification, chemical fertilisers, and the preference for uniformity over taste and nutrition.
National and international legislation plays a huge role in what growers, on the one hand, and large agribusinesses, on the other, can and can’t do with seed. We support our network through training, resources and workshops to better understand seed law and how it affects them, as well as working nationally with seed lawyers and policymakers to influence legislation that could negatively impact the UK’s seed sovereignty.
Recent advancements in gene editing, its accompanying legislation, and the patents, control, and corporate surveillance of farmers that come with it, threaten the future of our food system. These technologies turn seed into a global commodity, eroding its rich social, cultural, and ecological context and turning it into an object of money and control.
You can learn more about legislation and our work on this topic by reading our legislation resource and watching the accompanying webinar. To find out more about plant genetic modification, you can watch back our SeedTV from September 2024, Everything you ever wanted to know about GM (but were too afraid to ask!), featuring the wonderful Leonie Nimmo of GM Freeze.
In addition to standing against genetic modification and seed privatisation policies, our team run national trials and open-pollination breeding programmes, further advancing seed sovereignty on a grassroots level.
Find out more about our programme activities and what you can do to stand for seed sovereignty:
Growing, sharing, and sowing agroecologically grown, open-pollinated seed for food justice, community connection, and biodiversity. Welcome to the world of seed saving.
Use your power as a commercial grower, community group member, allotmenteer, or windowsill warrior to stand up for seed.
Our regional coordinators are accompanying communities reclaiming their rights to a climate-resilient food system.