Open-Pollinated Seed Exchange: Renewed Ozark Tradition as Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation

Campbell, Brian C.

doi:10.1080/10440046.2011.630776

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The knowledge required to select and save seed, and the infrastructure for exchanges, are also social resources that if lost may be difficult to re-establish (Howard 2009). In a future of climate change, public breeding and in situ conservation are likely to be fundamental to the survival of billions of people (McIntyre et al 2011, Campbell 2012. Seed saving and exchanges persisted and thrived under intellectual property (IP) rights frameworks that dominated agriculture in the United States for most of the twentieth century.…”

Section: Box 1 History Of Southern Corn Leaf Blight Epidemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability and innovation in staple crop production in the US Midwest

Heinemann

Massaro

Coray

et al. 2013

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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An agroecosystem is constrained by environmental possibility and social choices, mainly in the form of government policies. To be sustainable, an agroecosystem requires production systems that are resilient to natural stressors such as disease, pests, drought, wind and salinity, and to human constructed stressors such as economic cycles and trade barriers. The world is becoming increasingly reliant on concentrated exporting agroecosystems for staple crops, and vulnerable to national and local decisions that affect resilience of these production systems. We chronicle the history of the United States staple crop agroecosystem of the Midwest region to determine whether sustainability is part of its design, or could be a likely outcome of existing policies particularly on innovation and intellectual property. Relative to other food secure and exporting countries (e.g. Western Europe), the US agroecosystem is not exceptional in yields or conservative on environmental impact. This has not been a trade-off for sustainability, as annual fluctuations in maize yield alone dwarf the loss of caloric energy from extreme historic blights. We suggest strategies for innovation that are responsive to more stakeholders and build resilience into industrialized staple crop production.

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Section: Box 1 History Of Southern Corn Leaf Blight Epidemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability and innovation in staple crop production in the US Midwest

Heinemann

Massaro

Coray

et al. 2013

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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“…In some cases, there was concern that varieties were not being grown widely enough to ensure they were being maintained. The interview responses reflect the importance of seed exchanges in preserving crop genetic diversity within a region, as has been noted in previous research (Campbell 2012;Gilbert 2013;Thomas et al 2011). For some individuals, contributing germplasm to this study was seen as a way to help ensure the maintenance of those varieties, indicating that public researchers could play a role in maintaining local heirlooms.…”

Section: In Situ Germplasm Conservationmentioning

confidence: 90%

Exploring the role of local heirloom germplasm in expanding western Washington dry bean production

Brouwer

Winkler

Atterberry

et al. 2016

Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

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Increasing production of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) could contribute to the sustainability of regional agricultural systems. This study in western Washington identified 24 distinct dry bean varieties grown in the region for 20-130 years; varieties originated from diverse geographic areas and were maintained because growers valued the culinary, visual, and agronomic traits as well as history and marketability. Primary barriers to increased production were access to scale-appropriate equipment and drying beans in the field prior to harvest. Locally conserved germplasm may have value in participatory plant breeding projects that recognize the contributions of regional farmers.

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“…Human societies commonly build-in leveling mechanisms such as parties and public events where resources are re-distributed from the wealthiest to ensure all members have necessary resources (Boas 1966). Seed swaps follow this political pattern because those with the best and the most seeds gain prestige through dissemination and they renew local subsistence traditions that establish alternatives to the economic model of the conventional US food system (Campbell 2012). Seed exchanges allow gardeners and farmers from diverse age, gender, ethnic and subcultural groups to share knowledge and genetics adapted to their home bioregion.…”

Section: Anthropology and Agrobiodiversity Conservation In The Us Southmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When provided the opportunity to start an applied anthropology program in Arkansas, he knew from his previous research that there remained a strong Ozark tradition of self-reliance, which included seed-saving (Campbell 2005(Campbell , 2009(Campbell , 2012. He applied his Southern Seed Legacy experiences and training and founded and directed an agrobiodiversity conservation initiative, Conserving Arkansas's Agricultural Heritage, or CAAH; the acronym sounds like a crow, a reference to the folk prescription for how many corn seeds to put in each hole when planting: "One for the cutworm, one for the crow, one to (rot) share, one to grow.…”

Section: Conserving Arkansas' Agricultural Heritage Seed Swapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are a variety of ways these approaches have been implemented. Such efforts include the raising of awareness in the form of education or diversity fairs (Tapia 2000), community seed banks (Nazarea 2006a), participatory crop improvement (Bellon et al 2003), repatriation of diversity from ex situ collections into local contexts (Nazarea et al 2013;Nazarea 2006b), the support and promotion of "eater-based conservation" (Nabhan 2008;Veteto et al 2011), and the hosting and networking of seed swaps as illustrated by the case study below (see also Campbell 2012). Because of our unique ethnographic skills working with local farmers and communities utilizing a grassroots approach, anthropologists will likely continue to play an important role in efforts to ensure the continued maintenance and availability of agrobiodiversity in diverse world contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Free seeds and food sovereignty: anthropology and grassroots agrobiodiversity conservation strategies in the US South

Campbell

Veteto

2015

Journal of Political Ecology

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Neoliberal economic frameworks threaten the ability of marginalized people worldwide to grow, harvest, and access sufficient healthy food because they deny traditional collective seed ownership and preclude subsistence as a viable livelihood. Many internationally-oriented counter-responses work to reframe intellectual property law in favor of traditional farmers. In the United States, various grassroots agricultural biodiversity conservation projects designed to re-establish the control of open-pollinated seeds within communities have emerged with similar intent. This article situates and explores the role of open-pollinated seeds and agricultural biodiversity conservation strategies in local food sovereignty. The authors direct applied research projects that collaboratively document and disseminate open-pollinated seed varieties throughout the Southeastern United States with a specific focus on the Ozark Highlands and Appalachian Mountains. The research methods represent an activist anthropology-participant observation and ethnographic interviewing while collaboratively growing and sharing seed varieties with local farmers, gardeners, seed-savers, and activists-with the explicit purpose of forging more sustainable, integrated, and sovereign local food systems. Keywords: agricultural anthropology, agrobiodiversity, grassroots strategies, in situ conservation, seed saving RésuméLes cadres économiques néolibérales menacent la capacité des personnes marginalisées dans la culture, la récolte, et l'accès à des aliments sains de l'autosuffisance, parce qu'ils nient la propriété collective des semences et empêchent de subsistance comme moyen de subsistance viables. Beaucoup d'efforts internationaux ont tenté de résister à cette tendance en recadrant le droit de la propriété intellectuelle en faveur des agriculteurs traditionnels. Aux États-Unis, il y a nombreux projets communautaires de conservation de la biodiversité agricole. Ils sont conçus pour rétablir le contrôle des semences à pollinisation libre au sein des communautés. Cet article situe et explore le rôle des semences à pollinisation libre, et les stratégies de conservation de la biodiversité agricole, dans la souveraineté alimentaire locale. Les auteurs mènent des projets de recherche qui documentent les variétés de semences à pollinisation libre dans tout le sud-est des États-Unis, avec un accent particulier sur les Monts Ozark et les Appalaches. Les méthodes de recherche représentent une anthropologie activiste, impliquant l'observation participante et entretiens ethnographiques. Au même temps, nous cultivons et partageons des variétés de semences avec les agriculteurs locaux, les jardiniers, es gens qui épargnent les graines, et des militants. Un but explicite est de créer des systèmes alimentaires locaux qui sont plus durable, intégrée et souverain. Mots-clés: anthropologie agricole, la biodiversité agricole, les stratégies de base, la conservation in situ, la conservation des semences 1 Dr. Brian C. Campbell, Associate Professor, Anthropology and...

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Open-Pollinated Seed Exchange: Renewed Ozark Tradition as Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

Sustainability and innovation in staple crop production in the US Midwest

Sustainability and innovation in staple crop production in the US Midwest

Exploring the role of local heirloom germplasm in expanding western Washington dry bean production

Free seeds and food sovereignty: anthropology and grassroots agrobiodiversity conservation strategies in the US South

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