Wanna hear/meet me in person? I'm shorter than you think.
I'll be speaking about the adventure of my Front Yard Vegetable Garden in Niagara Falls on Sunday, February 9th at the Seedy Saturday event. More on that in a minute. But first ...
One of the first posts I did on the Art of Doing Stuff was a post on how to grind your own ground beef. It was a reaction to the movie Food Inc. And doingies. Those things in meat that go "doi-nngggg" in your mouth sometimes. Or crunch. Or simply won't chew away no matter how long you try.
The focus of the movie is the business of food. Hence the clever title, Food Inc. One of the main focuses of the film is seeds. Or the lack of them due in part to the government and believe it or not, one seed company. Monsanto.
Monsanto is most well known for their genetically modified corn seed. It produces corn with a flavourful punch of sweetness and pesticide! The company has created corn that has pesticides bred into every cell of every kernel. So if certain bugs happen to try to eat the corn, they will die. Because the plant itself is a pesticide.
Now, normally this sort of thing wouldn't bother me. Honestly. I'm aware of what I eat and actually eat really well. But I'm not a zealot. Do what you can, when you can. That's my motto. So, with regard to the frankencorn I'd figure, well ... I don't eat that much corn. If that uncooked pork hamburger I ate in Antigua in 1990 didn't kill me, this corn sure isn't.
But then came the bees.
My friend Russell is a beekeeper. One who keeps bees. Last spring he got 2 colonies of bees and brought them out to his fields. One colony did fine. They thrived. The other colony ... did not. Tiny little bees, alive, but unable to do what they do. Gather pollen and make honey. There was something wrong with them.
photo stolen from Jesse Senko's website Homemade Crackers. Profile of Russell.
When Russell contacted the guy he bought the colony from he was told that particular colony of bees had been drinking from puddles in a corn field. A corn field that was planted with pesticide infused corn seed. After rain, the pesticide within the cells of the corn, leached into the dirt and therefore the puddles on top of the dirt.
All the bees that came to one of those puddles to drink, became very sick in a very weird way. Stammering. Shaking. Stumbling. The man who sold Russell the colony of bees suggested he burn them and come back for a new colony.
Russell didn't have it in him. He took the bees home to his backyard to try to nurse them back to health. They didn't make it. They didn't die directly from the puddle water. They just failed to thrive. They didn't reproduce, lay eggs or get strong. They couldn't protect themselves. They were overrun by ants. They were weak and didn't reproduce.
Eventually, Russell had no choice but to kill them. They were sick and miserable.
All because of genetically modified corn.
And it's not an easy fix. For one thing very few seeds are allowed to be sold legally for commercial sale. Very few. It's costly and a long process to get any new seed onto the list. It's big business and the small farmer just doesn't have the money or the clout. So they're forced to grow food they may not necessarily want to grow.
Because of this, heirloom or heritage seeds have been lost at a rapid rate. They are the seeds of plants that have been around for generations. But they've been pushed away and in some cases lost forever in favour of commercial seeds. Vegetables that grocery stores want to buy are perfectly uniform, picture perfect, unmarked food. Someone decided a tomato should be perfectly round, bright red and have the ability to travel thousands of miles without bruising. So ... that's what we have to choose from at the grocery store. Oddly, not a whole lot of thought seems to be given to how it will taste. Presumably because we shop with our eyes not our mouths. Unless you're me in the grape aisle.
Where was I going with all this?
Ah yes. Seedy Saturday.
Seedy Saturday is an event held by different organizations and people all across Canada for the sole purpose of selling and exchanging open-pollinated and heritage seeds.
The very first was organized in 1990 by Sharon Rempel in Vancouver, British Columbia and it's spread across Canada and into parts of the UK since then.
Most events have seeds and gardening related stuff for sale as well as a big table where you can drop off the seeds you've saved and pick up a packet of someone else's seeds for free. Along with the seeds, there are vendors and workshops and speakers.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am one of the featured speakers at the Niagara Falls Seedy Saturday Event this year. I'll be giving a photo presentation of last year's project of ripping out my front yard and putting in a vegetable garden. I'll cover how I did it, how many plants I grew, which ones I'd grow again and how to grow a few of the less familiar vegetables like Sweet Potatoes and peanuts. I also have a small Art of Doing Stuff gift for everyone who shows up.
If you plan to come you might wanna show up wearing a tee shirt with your Twitter handle or Gravatar picture on it so I know who the hell you are.
Not in Southern Ontario? Check here for a Seedy Saturday event coming up in your area.
Have a good weekend!
Ruth
Unfortunately for us here, Jamaican Customs placed seeds on the 'banned' list fairly recently. I discovered that when I was attempting to buy seeds from Cubits, which is why I decided to try sending it to my friend in Toronto, so she could smuggle it in a book in her suitcase. Since - for some odd reason - PayPal refused to use my credit card to send something to her address, I am stuck with what I think might be GM seeds (the seeds I save from my first harvest never germinate).
Let me know when you're coming to JA.... assuming you're not averse to smuggling seeds. :D
jane
Excellent post!
AmieM
I'm coming!!!
Karen
Well I'll see you there then! ~ karen!
Lori
Fantastic post Karen! My husband and his uncle have started beekeeping and that's when we found out about how the bee collapse that you hear about is mostly due to corn. Unbelievable. We have several acres and are in the process of planting all the things that we can to help the little guys out. Heirloom seeds...pesticide free and org. fertilizer. Thanks so much for helping to spread the word.
Erin
I agree with Erin/Lemon Sugar - I love love love this post. I forwarded the link onto several others so that they could bask in the awesomeness of it, as well. I then lept to the interwebs in order to see if there is such an event in Northern Florida...and there is, to an extent...so now I'm in love with this post and giddy with excitement over the prospect of a seed swap ;]
Amanda
Monsanto is the devil. Seriously. Those poor bees.
I wish we had a Seedy Saturday somewhere near me in the States...until then, I've got a good source for some heirloom seeds and plants. We bought a house with an actual YARD, so we're gonna get all square foot garden up in it's business this year!
DzynByJules
I so wish I could be there too, but stuck in sunny S. Carolina ;) I have heard just small snippits about GMO's but hadn't a clue it was as bad as you mentioned... definitely getting my fella to finally give up the occasional bag of popcorn and handful of Fritos. Why isn't there a bigger outrage against this????? One of the best kept dirty secrets of the food industry, can't thank you enough Karen for enlightening us once again! Consider me "Corn-Free"! Break a leg this weekend, Girl!
Jules:)
P.S. Your amazing garden has inspired me to think about growing a side-garden in my yard, but that hard, southeast clay already has my back a-breaking! Any thoughts for how I could grow a variety garden in stylish containers???
Karen
Jules - You can grow many/most things in containers. They just have to be large enough and you have to remember to keep them watered. Some that are guaranteed to work in containers are potatoes, lettuces, tomatoes (need a tall, big container like a planter), even carrots if the container is tall enough! Really .... just about anything will work. Basil does great in containers, as do a lot of other herbs. Good luck! ~ karen!
Melissa L
Hi Jules...
Last year I grew tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, peas, radishes, peppers, strawberries and cucumbers, all in containers! Easy peasy. Good luck, and just be sure to have good drainage and lots of water. :)
Cat
Jules, there's a lot to be said about 5-gallon buckets and container gardening. Potatoes, for example grow incredibly well in them. Also, if you're not up to investing $50 or more in a ceramic planter, you could always buy a few of those Rubbermaid containers and drill a few holes in the bottoms. Don't bother getting the lids for them, unless they'll be used to cover your garden in snow. Since Texas (okay, the Big Country area of Texas) doesn't see a lot of snow except maybe 2 weeks a year, I don't use them. I have an apartment, and that's what my balcony gets covered in every spring & summer. You can use trestle tables or long benches to keep them off the ground and reduce your bending requirement as well. Get plain old dirt (potting soils are great, but some may not be the best in the world for food plants) and some eggshells, coffee grounds, and other "waste" products that are organic (banana peels, apple peels, stuff like that) and put it in a 55 gallon drum if you have the space, or a 5 gallon bucket if you don't, and cover it with an appropriately-sized black trash bag. Set it in the sun. Stir the mess twice a week, and in about 4 weeks, you will have the perfect growing medium. Wear a mask filter. It stinks. It is SO worth it though.
Mary Werner
If you want to become informed about Monsanto and other corporate powers that have influenced what we eat - try the book 'Stolen Harvest' by Vandana Shiva. She is Indias' top physicist and devoted her life to informing everyone of the dangers of genetically engineered crops and seeds. I have several of her books and have heard her speaking and found she was able to talk to me - a non scientific plain person that likes to eat. She is not a wild and crazy radical but humble, pleasant woman that informs with authority in a completely captivating manner. I have read Earth Democracy and Water Wars also. She started the "Monsanto, Quit India" campaign against genetically engineered crops which is now a global movement. Stolen Harvest is a must read for everyone.
Beckie
the last few days have been viciously cold here in my corner of the Northeast and to combat going stir crazy I have been planning this year's garden.
One thing I have been scrounge the interwebz for is heirloom seeds. I want the tomatoes my grandmother grew!
here's to being old-fashioned =)
Julie
Thanks for the great post! If you get a chance this a wonderful movie to watch: http://www.queenofthesun.com/
Have fun at the Seedy Saturday event - wish I could be there.
mimiindublin
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant post Karen.
I'm so with you on this, not going over the top or stressing out about what's in our food, but the onward march of big-business-meets-grow-food-cheaply is not good for us.
Your compatriot, Udo Erasmus has some fascinating things to say about how food is produced with economy, uniformity and shelf life in mind, and scant regard for taste or nutrition.
We have an org. here called Seed Savers who do similar to your Seedy Saturday: i have 2 of their Apple trees!
Wish I could be there on Saturday!
Kate
Fantastic post.
This is really scary stuff and exactly why people should be supporting non-GM and organic food producers! Better yet support heirloom seed companies and grow them yourself, the fruit and vegetables are WAY more interesting anyway.
I love the idea of seedy saturday, too! It should be global.
Kx
Lush
Yes to all of this!! It really is time that we woke up before it's too late.
Good luck with the seed day, we have one here locally in the UK, I will be attending.
Cheers
Lush
Heather
Thank you for this post. I called you my hero earlier in the week but this post is an example why. I am a high school biology teacher. i decided to go into teaching a few years back to educate the next generation about what we are doing to our world and the lifestyle changes (such as growing their own food) they can make when they are adults that may help their health and the health of our beautiful planet. Most adults don't want to hear it but you are presenting it in a funny cool way that is getting the info to many and inspiring change. Thank you Karen--not all heroes wear capes you know xo
Violet
Monsanto is so evil.
Have you ever considered taking up beekeeping, Karen? I think about it sometimes. Not for honey, I'm not interested in that. I just want to give bees a safe place to live and thrive to try to make up in what small way I can for their dwindling numbers. Bees are so wonderful. But I'd want to just set up hives and let them do their own bee thing. I don't really want to do the whole beekeeper thing. I'd like to let the poor things alone. But with a hive, I think you have to do SOME maintenance, for the sake of keeping the bees healthy, so that's what I need to look into. I don't want to be out there fiddling with and poking the hives every day. I just want the world to have more bees!
Amie Mason
Good luck with your presentation! Wish I could be there! xx
KiwiKat
The issue in our area is beekeepers having their hives stolen (we have a lot of manuka in the area, which produces very special honey with lots of health benefits - more so than most)...there has been a lot of thefts and hive sabotage in the news lately.
As for heritage seeds, we have some great companies here in NZ (mostly started small as co-ops or individuals rescuing our past plant history) - Koanga gardens is amazing!
heather t
Fruitless Fall is an excellent book about Colony Collapse Disorder. Spoilers: The book explores many of the prime suspects, but concludes that pesticides are probably the main culprit. :(
Meghan
Jesse is married to my husbands cousin. Small world. The fate of pollinators world wide breaks my heart. If things don't change and quickly these poor bugs are going to die and we and the planet's animal life will starve. Wish I could make seedy Saturday. But I'm stuck at home in Sudbury dying from frostbite and cabin fever.
Patti
I knew that was a Jesse Senko photo! I went to school with him at Conestoga, for graphic design (he was a year ahead of me). His photos are awesome, and it is a small world!
Erin {Lemon Sugar}
I love everything about this post. Everyone should watch all of those food documentaries, even if they just roll their eyes - it's just something you don't forget and it's definitely changed the way we eat in my house!
We have four beehives going on our land right now, and so far, so good. I might just send you a bottle of our honey, friend!
Great post.
Karen
Thanks Erin. Don't promise anything yet but if it all works out for you I'd love a jar of your honey! ~ karen
Amber
If you drive a car in America then you use GMO corn. Ethanol is an additive used to lower the cost of gas especially during winter. It is made from corn. It is added to appease voters, and to line the pockets of politicians who own corn fields. It burns at a lower temperature, but it drives the cars. It burns dirty, because lower temperatures means higher amounts of pollutants which are not burned off. It also means lower gas mileage. I moved from Montreal to Vermont and watched my gas mileage decrease by half. Yes, from 4.5 liters per 100 kilometers to 9 liters per 100 kilometers. To be closer to my parents I am buying gas at half the price as in Canada, and driving half as far while dirtying the environment and poisoning the bees. The majority of American corn fields fuel cars now. I did not sign the petition to decrease the Vermont gas tax. We should pay more for cleaner fuel.