Speaking/Workshops

Growing Green Seeds and Putting Value on Food

An increasing amount of box store food is imported or comes from major agribusiness suppliers. Yet there is a growing trend towards ‘locally grown’ food. Are the soils around your community ‘safe’? Is a locally grown lettuce always healthy? Not if it’s grown by a major highway or if the variety has been contaminated by GMO or other pollutants.

How do we put 'value' on 'quality' of seed and ultimately the end food product? Can we put value on the 'story' behind how the variety was grown in a community garden? Can we put 'value' on the link to a cultural community and the variety? Can we put equal 'value' on a locally grown organic carrot and a locally grown conventionally produced carrot that's been sprayed and grown as a huge cash crop?

Can we define a 'green seed' in our local area and match these varieties of 'green crops' to our food choices?

• How can we define a value for ‘safe soil’?
• How do we define 'value' when buying food?
• Can we trust the soils and farmers of foreign countries to be providing nutritious safe food for us?
• How do we define 'green seed' and 'green crops'?