Environmental for Food Justice

Illustration by Julie Notarianni | Courtesy of Yes Magazine . Moderator’s Note: Our guest blog today is by a scientist who long has worked with New Mexico and Colorado acequia farmers to protect the native landrace chile peppers of the Rio Arriba (Upper Rio Grande) watershed. For many years, she worked closely with the late much beloved Estevan Arellano; Sandoval has a farm in Dixon not far from the Arellano family’s permaculture operation in Embudo Cañon. I am delighted that Ms. Sandoval has agreed to will share old and new posts with followers and readers of this blog as a featured guest contributor. The work that Ms. Sandoval has engaged in over the past two decades focuses on unifying scientific methodologies with local knowledge and practices followed by acequia farmers, plant breeders, and seed savers. Her work is thus a vital part of the indomitable seed sovereignty movement, which works from the grassroots up to protect, defend, and preserve farmer control over our heritage se...

Campaign for Seed Sovereignty , La Via Campesina Moderator’s Note: Continuing a series related to the movement for seed sovereignty, we are presenting an insightful and timely analysis of U.S. seed law and its implications for the organization and exercise of the right of citizens and residents to participate in seed saving and exchange networks. The Sustainable Economies Law Center ( SELC ) in California prepared the analysis and the primary conclusion they arrive at is that we need to … change laws to create a clear legal space for seed libraries, we should perhaps also do so for small-scale seed enterprises….[D]uring times of food insecurity, climate disruption, and genetic consolidation of the sources of our food (seeds!), the benefit of seed libraries is enormous as compared to the potential harm of a seed packet gifted within a community. Let’s make sure our laws get with the times! This is a timely analysis given the recent actions that we reported on last week involving seemin...