BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN SEED ALLIANCE
We love local food! Unusual varieties catch our eyes and vibrant tastes amaze us at farmers’ markets. Stories from local farmers give us a feeling of connection to our sustenance. It’s a holistic experience not matched at supermarkets.
Now that local food is so popular, it’s time to dig deeper and discover its real potential: local seeds. Seeds are the foundation for a sustainable food system. When seeds are grown, saved and shared locally, their built-in adaptability allows us to change the food we grow to match our wants and needs. Local seeds ensure stronger, hardier crops and richer flavors. Local seeds are truly the next level for our “locavore” culture.
Saving seeds from our best plants preserves favorable characteristics for planting next season. We don’t start each season with someone else’s selections. We boost local economies and provide diversity in our markets, new marketing opportunities and tastes at our restaurants. Seeds grown locally aren’t transported thousands of miles, tied to fragile supply chains or produced by large one-size-fits-all seed companies (often based in Europe).
We can reclaim this ancient tradition and grow a new local economy rooted in seeds that sustain us.
Hungry for more? Don’t miss the Idaho premiere of “SEED: The Untold Story,” Thursday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Sun Valley Opera House. Produced by Ketchum native Taggart Siegel, this groundbreaking documentary introduces the growing global seed movement.
The film highlights the work of native son Bill McDorman and the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, your bioregional nonprofit seed organization at the center of it all. Tickets ($10) are available at the door or online at www.rockymountainseeds.org.
Come to the pre-screening reception at the Andria Friesen Gallery at 5 p.m. in Ketchum. Dig in and explore with us!
Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance is a nonprofit organization working to connect communities in the Rocky Mountain West with the seeds that sustain them.