Why Local Seed?
Virtually all vegetable seed planted in Canada is imported. Buying, planting, and saving locally produced, open-pollinated seed is one way to support local growers and strengthen our food system, starting with regionally adapted seeds.
- Saved seed is open-pollinated (OP) seed. While "hybrid vigour" is compelling to many market growers, OP seeds have much to offer in flavour, uniqueness, versatility, and resilience. OP seeds can be easily adapted, saved, and shared, they cost less, and their use sustains agricutural biodiversity. Hybrid seed, after all, wouldn't exist without OP genetics.
- Seeds learn as they grow. By saving seed, farmers adapt their crop varieties to their growing conditions, and improve them over time. Having a good supply of regionally adapted seed creates resilience and crop security in a changing climate.
- Seeds help make sustainable farms. Saving seed can reduce a farmer’s input costs at the beginning of the season, and selling seed can provide useful off-season income.
- Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy ecosystems! Globally, we’ve lost 75% of agricultural biodiversity in the last century. By saving seed, farmers save, improve, and even expand the diversity of local seeds available to all of us.
- Seeds are for the people. Due to corporate consolidation in the seed industry, 10 seed companies now own 75% of the global commercial seed market. By saving seed, farmers retain access to and control over the seeds that grow food for all of us.
- Every seed tells a story. Seeds have incredible historical and cultural value. By saving seeds, farmers keep these little pieces of our history and heritage alive.
