“Saving” Plant Genetic Resources (& Ourselves) in a Time of Accelerating Ecological Change

Abstract

The articles in this issue examine the strategies that farmers, scientists, and citizens use to “save” the things that matter to us (our seeds, our bodies, our farms, and our communities) in the midst of accelerating, human-induced environmental degradation. They investigate the ways that these actors imagine the future—the ways that they seek to preserve what they see as vital, prevent what they see as unacceptable, and (sometimes) give in to what they see as unavoidable. The authors meticulously document the care that these actors invest in saving seeds, cultivating gardens, ensuring farm success, and documenting the information necessary for these things to be sustained (or resurrected) in an uncertain future.

We begin by presenting a special issue of four articles that provide insight into the world of seed banking, which has become a major strategy for preserving plant genetic resources in the Anthropocene. The authors take us inside a few of the major institutions that play a role in collecting and preparing seeds for banking, exploring how they developed historically, how they function today, and who plays a role in caring for these seeds and determining their future use. Together, this collection helps us understand the political-economic machinations, the everyday labor, and the imagined futures involved in seed saving.

Also in this issue, Janette Bulkan provides a meticulous overview of The Place of Bitter Cassava in the Social Organization and Belief Systems of Two Indigenous Peoples of Guyana. Drawing on historical resources and her own ethnographic research, Bulkan explains how and why cassava remains central to indigenous diets and cultural practices in Guyana, despite the availability of processed wheat flour and white rice. She pays particular attention to the role of women in cultivating cassava and protecting and disseminating knowledge about particular cultivars. She also explores the role of cassava in the areruya belief system.

In Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Understanding Motivations to Participate in Orti Urbani in Palermo, Giuseppina Migliore, Pietro Romeo, Riccardo Testa, and Giorgio Schifani examine why residents of Palermo (the largest city in Sicily) choose to participate in urban gardening. While previous studies have focused on political motivations for involvement with orti urbani, the authors found citizens involved in these gardens were primarily concerned about eating safe food. Many cannot afford to buy organic foods; so they choose to grow their own. The authors frame their work within an interesting reading of the history of orti urbani and argue that Palermo should allocate more green space to these gardens.

Thomas L. Henshaw considers collegiate food service systems in Is the Emergence of the “Fresh Prep” Food Service Provider an Entrée into Local Foods? Henshaw considers emergent strategies of food service firms, especially those who emphasize “fresh” products. Theoretically, the emphasis on fresh products should facilitate the purchase of locally produced, and therefore “fresher,” products. However, based on interviews with staff at eight liberal arts colleges in the Great Lakes region, he finds that the emphasis on freshness does little to change food service purchasing. Instead, food service managers should do more to increase institutional will and goals for local procurement, develop goals for purchasing, and enter into favorable contracts with growers.

Finally, Andrea Rissing takes us to Iowa in “Profitability” vs. “Making It:” Causes and Consequences of Disembedding Beginning Farms’ Finances to consider what a successful farm really looks like. Based on ethnographic work with Iowans who have ended their farming enterprises, as well as bankers and farm consultants, Rissing shows how financial success does not necessarily lead to farming success. Instead, financial considerations intersect with family relationships, workload, and other lifestyle factors to constitute individuals’ ideals of farming “success.” She concludes that, despite the desire of farm financial advisors to consider monetary goals as central, farm financial health needs to be considered within a social context to more truthfully measure, and predict, success.