Author: Jeremy Cherfas

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Spreading diseases one seed at a time

Robert asks whether the kind of experimentation, diversification and exchange that might be fostered by making it easier for people to swap seeds requires some sort of risk control. My simple answer is “I don’t know”. Fungi, bacteria and viruses can all hitch a ride on the outside of the seed, inside the seed coat, and in some cases within the tissues of the seed, and several can be a really bad problem. Many growers control the risk by treating seeds with fungicides and other chemicals. Organic growers have developed other kinds of treatments, including carefully controlled hot water baths. I think there are two problems.

First, will you introduce a new disease to your own plot? Quite possibly, and only you can decide whether that is worth the risk, and what steps you are willing to take to prevent it.

Secondly, will you introduce a new disease to your region or, as Robert puts it, “spread devastating plant diseases across the globe”? This, naturally, is much harder to answer. I’m inclined to believe that individuals swapping seeds pose no greater threat than industrial and government activities, but that is very much a gut feeling. Pests and diseases do slip past almost every control system, although seldom is it possible to pinpoint the specific occasion on which it happened.

Phytosanitary legislation aims to minimize the risks, but I have no idea whether there are exceptions for small quantities, as there are for some other seed laws. Perhaps a reader can enlighten us.

People may want to take precautions before sending or receiving swapped seeds, but I wouldn’t rely on that (or anything else) to protect the world from seed-borne diseases.

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Help me find a link, please

UPDATE: The internet is a wonderful thing … thanks to Aaron Cummins, I have an answer … SPIN-Farming.

Ok, I admit it, I’ve failed, and I need your help. Some time ago I linked to some folks in the US who offer courses in intensive horticulture, the kind that can make a small urban vegetable farm a profitable enterprise. But now that I want to find them, I can’t, and every search I’ve tried doesn’t reveal any more. Are you those folks? Get in touch. Do you remember who they were? Give me a clue. Please. Thank you.

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News from the ‘Tubes

On a quiet Sunday morning, two pieces of internet news that might be of interest. Karl J. Haro von Mogel, 1 of Inoculated Mind, has launched Biofortified.org, a “group blog on Plant Genetics and Genetic Engineering”. The blog is “devoted to educating the public about genetic engineering, and discussing how it intersects many aspects of our lives,” and I wish them luck. Once upon a time I too thought that education would help people to understand. I no longer do. I think the polarized opinions on genetic engineering owe almost nothing to lack of scientific evidence and everything to lack of thought. But maybe that’s just me.

I don’t recall any huge outcry (only little ones) when genetically engineered human insulin came along and removed the need to rely on pigs. 2 And I don’t suppose there’ll be much of an outcry when genetic engineering delivers something that straightforwardly benefits ordinary people — as opposed to those with a financial or political interest.

The discussions will surely be interesting, but in the meantime, regular readers can imagine what I think of Karl’s explanation for the choice of name:

The name Biofortified comes from biofortification, which is when the bioavailable nutritional content of a food crop is enhanced. Literally, strengthened through biology. Like fortifying foods with vitamins, biofortification through breeding or genetic engineering can allow the plants to produce the nutrients that people need on their own. This can be good for people in industrialized nations, but a boon for developing countries. It is also a topic that several of our authors find personally very interesting!

I’m just going to bite my tongue. You needn’t feel so constrained.

The other piece of news is that Eve Sibley commented that the seed swap mechanism I hoped for is now alive and well at World Food Garden.

The craigslist of seeds — post seeds you have to offer or request a particular rare variety.

I hope it works well. Go, try it, report back here.

Just don’t try it with any GM seeds, deliberately or by accident.