The Open Source Seed Initiative: Freeing The Seed from Corporate Control with Jack Kloppenburg

EcoJustice Radio

Most would agree it is a farmer’s right to save, replant, share, breed, and sell seed. This fundamental right is rapidly eroding globally as multinational seed companies push for the worldwide expansion of restrictive seed laws, patents, and intellectual property rights. Multinationals–like Monsanto/Bayer, DuPont, and Syngenta--account for about half of all commercial food crop seed sales (also the singular largest producers of pesticides and herbicides) and continue to consolidate control. However, it is the independent farmer who has historically been the basis of food security for local communities; they are often the first line of defense against hunger. Many new vegetable varieties (especially lettuces) are now being patented; with use-restricted seeds, a farmer is unable to plant a new crop without purchasing new seed from an outside supplier. Do you wish to help an organic food system flourish? Do you want varieties that reflect the values and needs of organic gardeners and farmers rather than the interests of multinational seed companies— many of which are also the singular largest producers of pesticides and herbicides? Enter the global movement to maintain free access to plant genetic resources. The Open Source Seed Initiative or OSSI [https://osseeds.org/] was created to counterbalance the trend towards patenting and restricting the use of seeds and the ancient rights of farmers and gardeners who buy them. Buying seed of OSSI (or the Open Source Seed Initiative) varieties, gardeners support breeders, seed growers and seed companies that are collectively committed to freeing the seed from corporate control. They share a solemn vow to keep our food supply secure and genetically diverse for future generations. Join the movement for seed sovereignty and a diverse, open source, accessible food system for all. In this episode, Jack Kloppenburg shares how we can create and sustain an equitable food system that celebrates the legacy and potential of a single seed. For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio Jack Kloppenburg is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has studied the social impacts of biotechnology, the controversy over control of genetic resources, and the prospects for framing food sheds as an analytical basis for developing sustainable food systems. He is the author of First the Seed: The Political Economy of Plant Biotechnology from Cambridge University Press. He is currently inspired by the potential of food sovereignty and by the possible application of open source principles to plant breeding. He is a founder and board member of the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) [https://osseeds.org/] which advocates the use of ”copyleft” approaches to “free the seed” from corporate control. Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth. Resources: available at https://osseeds.org/resources/ Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt Hosted by Carry Kim Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats Episode 194 Photo credit: Jack Koppenburg