JENNIFER JEWELL: WHAT WE SOW
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Jennifer Jewell who is a gardener, garden writer, and gardening educator and advocate, discusses her new book “WHAT WE SOW: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds.” Watch here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on Acast.
As we navigate the climate crisis, a sharp decline in biodiversity, financial uncertainty, and social unrest, we must reconsider what humans need most. One hope can be found in the humblest of forms—the seed. This tiny kernel can have an immense impact, providing us with community, family, clean water and air, and sufficient food. In WHAT WE SOW Jewell reveals the power of seeds in our world “for food, for medicine, for utility, for the vast interconnected web we include in the concept of biodiversity and planetary health, for beauty, and for culture.”
Jewell explores:
- Natural history of seeds.
- Loopholes in the seed supply chain for growing “organic” plants.
- How agribusiness has patented genomes of staple foods like corn and soy.
- Efforts of activists working to regain legal access to heirloom seeds that were stolen from Indigenous peoples and people of color.
As Jewell marvels at the beautiful, wild seeds she encounters on her daily walks, she shows how, “to know and care for seeds ourselves [is] one of the most proactive steps we can take to rebuilding our human food systems, our social systems, and the global ecosystems of biodiversity on which we all depend.” In WHAT WE SOW, Jewell shares personal observations over the course of a year that begins at the autumn equinox, interviews prominent scientists and seed-savers, and proves how we must work hard to preserve our future by protecting the great natural diversity of seeds. More https://www.cultivatingplace.com/
