| The Seeds of Modern-Day Agriculture: Growing Your Own Grain |
| Friday, 13 November 2009 | Guest Contributor | Blog Entry |
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Nearly every plant we grow and eat today has undergone this same developmental process—from a wild progenitor to a more edible, productive and nutritious crop through the conscious selection of desirable traits. The wild forebear of carrots still grows freely in what is now Afghanistan. Potatoes originated in the Lake Titicaca region of Bolivia and Peru. Modern apple varieties were domesticated from the wild European crab apple, which bore fruit with a diameter of less than three centimeters. Maize came from the wild genus Zea, known as teosinte, native to Mexico and Central America. This plant usually grows multiple small ears with about five to 10 kernels each (compared to the 200-400 kernels on modern maize cultivars). Today, many farmers continue to selectively save seeds from their healthiest and most productive plants as a way to develop a specific variety adapted to perform best under their local conditions. This is the same method farmers have used to obtain seeds for their next season’s crop since the very first wild-grass species were domesticated into useful crops. Within the last few centuries, though, farmers have been able to buy seeds from businesses that specialize in the development of specific varieties with characteristics like higher productivity, resistance to pests and diseases, or better flavor or nutrition. Some of the more aggressive of agribusiness companies selling seeds, perhaps with good intentions, are endangering the livelihoods of many farmers. Certain conventional seed varieties, including genetically modified and proprietary strains, can and often do deliver beneficial traits. They are developed on a large scale and under uniform and specific conditions that unfortunately can differ drastically from the varied and less-than-ideal conditions under which many farmers, especially in developing nations, grow their crops. Additionally, farmers lose the specifically adapted traits of local varieties (developed through selective seed saving), such as resistance to local pests and pathogens, or the ability to grow in specific temperature, moisture or soil conditions. The act of purchasing seed also becomes an additional investment for farmers, especially if they become dependent on purchased seed varieties. Small-scale farmers with limited financial resources can fall heavily into debt, particularly when seeds require other specific inputs such as mechanization or the use of fertilizers or pesticides to produce successfully. This leads to a dangerous trend in agriculture: dramatically increasing input costs that drive out small farmers and favor the consolidation of food production under corporate control. In October I decided to undertake a largely symbolic action by planting barley, rye and two varieties of winter wheat (thankfully all have already been domesticated for my current use…) in the mostly neglected front yard of the cooperative where I live. I bought each of the different seeds, all of which have since sprouted and are about a forearm tall, from the bulk grain sections of health food stores. Come spring I plan on gathering seeds from the healthiest and most productive plants to replant later, with the loose goal of eventually developing a crop adapted to my front yard. You can do this (with varying degrees of ease) with most plants you would want to grow in your garden. With grains, the seed is the same part we eat. With most vegetables, like kale or carrots, keep your best plants alive in the ground (rather than completely harvesting them) and let them eventually “go to seed,” flowering and producing seeds that you then save and reuse. It’s November as I write this, and some of the wheat stalks in my front yard are already bearing clusters of green seeds, each with a graceful, stiff barb pointing to the sky. I know I won’t harvest enough this spring to make more than a small bun. Regardless, it comforts me to think that some of those wheat berries will be growing next November, hopefully a little taller and healthier, for next spring’s loaf of bread. [This piece was written by Tim Kline and provided courtesy of the Society for Agriculture and Food Ecology (SAFE). – Ed.]
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Agriculture began about 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia with practices still used today by many farmers—specifically selective harvesting and seed saving. Those Neolithic agriculturalists began removing the more undesirable plants from then-wild wheat and barley species, leaving only plants with apparently beneficial qualities, such as higher seed production and retention. This was most likely the first domestication of any organism by humans. Upon successive seasons of selective harvesting, these wild-grass species began to resemble the crops grown today. Neolithic communities eventually began collecting and saving the most desirable seeds for planned future plantings. 
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