Planting the Seeds of Sovereignty: The Democratizing and Liberatory Potential of Seed Libraries

• In Event: Securing Food Futures

Abstract

Food scarcity and shortages during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the issues and fragility that come with an extremely globalized and centralized food system based on the logics of empire and neoliberalism. Because of this scarcity, many were forced to consider how current food systems are designed to perpetuate cycles of dependency and insecurity, especially between the Global North and the Global South, despite the illusion of choice. During this time, topics of self-sufficiency and self-reliance came to the forefront of local and national conversations.

This increased interest in urban gardening at the time gave rise to an unprecedented demand for seeds that left many seed companies struggling to keep up. Consequently, nationwide seed shortages caused people to seek out alternatives to source their seeds, with seed libraries and local seed swaps becoming popular solutions. Seed libraries, which are often housed in community centers or public libraries, are spaces where users can lend and share seeds. Seeds are often “checked out” like one would check out a book, and can be “returned” by donating the offspring of the seed that was “checked out” back to the seed library. However, unlike traditional library items, users do not incur a fine or penalty if the seeds are not returned. Seed libraries are intended to be an experiential tool for learning as well as to teach members how to become more self-sufficient. Seed libraries often encourage people to share seeds in an attempt to circulate locally grown and viable seeds within communities and neighborhoods. In these ways, seed libraries have the potential to speak to concerns around food insecurity, poor eating habits encouraged by a corporatized food system, community disconnection, and offer broad visions of hope.

In this paper, I argue that seed libraries can cultivate strong connections between communities and the resources needed to grow their own food. In this way, seed libraries and the institutions that house them are effective, accessible, and strong entry points for creating more sustainable and just food systems around the world. Taking as case studies the seed libraries that exist in the Greater Binghamton area in the Southern Tier of New York State, this paper lays out the mechanisms by which seed libraries act as sites of resistance against the modern industrialized food and agricultural system and how they serve as liberatory spaces that have the potential to support food sovereignty and justice initiatives. Using largely ethnographic methods, I address questions of seed library’s efficacy in ameliorating food insecurity an increasing autonomy, including how the libraries they are housed in can build the moral and knowledge-based frameworks needed for resilient local foodways. Although the height of the Covid-19 pandemic has passed, our reliance on a fragile and complex set of food chains is unfortunately still a looming problem. This research therefore brings to light the importance of reconnecting with our food and understanding where it comes from, who grows it, and placing agricultural power back into the hands of everyday people.

Authors

• Belinda C Ramírez, Binghamton University, SUNY

• Tiffany Chen, SUNY at Binghamton

• Neko A Collins, SUNY at Binghamton