Why Local Seeds Matter

The Need for a Local Seeds Movement

Someone recently asked me, “If money weren’t an obstacle, what would you do as a local seed organizer?” I answered, “I want Super Bowl ads convincing everyone who eats that they should care if their food comes from regionally adapted seeds!”

I don’t know if Super Bowl ads are the answer —but the lost connection to our seeds feels like an emergency for many reasons. And many of us are tired of carrying the burden of explaining why seeds matter, over and over again.

This project was born out of that shared exhaustion. Seed librarians, regional seed companies, and seed based organizations all told us the same thing: most people don’t realize how vital local seed systems are—and having to explain it, or all creating our own marketing materials, isn’t always possible, and takes energy away from the work itself. There is so much opportunity for growth if we work together.

Gardeners blame themselves when commercial, non-adapted seeds fail in their climate. Many Organic, local farmers lean almost entirely on hybrids from a single company. Customers don’t question where the genetics behind “local produce” come from. As a society, we’ve become disconnected from the source of our food at the most basic level.

This campaign is here to change that—and to lighten the load for all of us. Let’s figure out what would really move the needle, and then build it. This is about co-creating the tools, stories, and momentum we need for a future where locally adapted, community-selected seeds are thriving in every region.

- Julia Dakin

Seeds: The Living Thread of Community

The culture of agriculture is endlessly complex. One in three working adults —over one billion people—is employed through agriculture. Seeds represent the physical embodiment of this agricultural heritage, connecting us to our past while providing resilience for our future.

Seeds cannot be conserved through isolation. They require movement, exchange, adaptation, and community care. Without networks for connection and exchange, seed diversity withers. Renee Vellvé beautifully explains, "Diversity does not sit still; it must be exchanged, move about, grow and evolve. This means that people need community structures within which to work with these fantastic resources."

An effort to grow local seed awareness helps answer this call, creating the structures needed to maintain living diversity. When we save seeds, we're not just preserving genetic material—we're continuing the work of generations of farmers who carefully selected and improved varieties to meet human needs while adapting to local conditions. There are untold numbers of gardeners across the country who can be activated to engage in networks of seed saving that are decades and generations-old.

Now is the time to make those connections, both to preserve agrobiodiversity and also to capture the palpable energy of people wanting to reclaim local agency as it relates to food sovereignty and so much more.

The Power of Collective Action

While international seed banks like Svalbard Global Seed Bank provide crucial backup storage, the true vitality of crop diversity depends on active cultivation in living soil. Seeds need to continue evolving with changing climates, pests, and diseases—something that can only happen through ongoing cultivation by communities of growers.

Local seed networks offer several critical benefits:

Adaptation to local conditions: Seeds grown locally become adapted to specific microclimates, soil types, and pest pressures
Cultural preservation: Local varieties often carry cultural significance, flavors, and traditions specific to communities
Resilience against system shocks: Distributed networks of seed savers provide security against disasters that might affect centralized collections
Knowledge sharing: Seed saving techniques and plant knowledge are exchanged alongside the physical seeds
Food sovereignty: Communities regain control over their food systems rather than depending on distant corporations

Potential Outcomes of a Multi-Year Local Seed Awareness Project: