Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Significance of Heritage Seeds and Questions about Genetically Modified Food

This is a cross-post from my food blog with some added thoughts. My friend Cherry has been giving me plants for my yard and garden for many years. In the past three years I've been thrilled to receive vegetables she has started from heirloom seeds. Heirloom or heritage plants bring back variety to our gardens in flavor and appearance.

Cherry has been gifting me with such cult tomato favorites as the Paul Robison and a plant from one of my favorite chile sources, Chimayo, NM. Here's the list of plants she provided for her local museum and garden at their plant sale: "https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4XL3HNdjig6QWpGNkE2MHViaWc/edit?usp=sharing"

Chimayo Chile Plant
Chimayo Chile Plant

My additional commentary here is the recommendation to examine the implications of genetic modifications to our food sources. To ask whether the engineering affects our food quality or safety in critical ways, and to know how companies might use these techniques to control food production.