Hello, my name is Marc Cool and I’m the Seed Director at Seeds of Change. I’ve worked for 20 years in the seed industry and came to Seeds of Change a year ago. It’s exciting to join such a well-known, established company that’s at the forefront of sustainability and the promotion of healthy, organic products. I’m proud to be able to add my specific seed knowledge to the team.
Because of this link in the food production chain between seed and food, we decided it was a logical choice for us to work in both. Moreover, we wanted to take the principles that our long-term organic gardening customers have used -- the same principles we’ve used on our own farm in
By using our seeds -- which have been collected over many years and which represent significant biodiversity -- we are able to begin breaking away from the monoculture of food. Because of that monoculture, a lot of processed food tastes the same. But we’re working to deliver superior taste and quality by starting with a greater diversity of superior seed varieties.
An important element in this, as was mentioned in the previous blog by Karen Castiello, is the fact that we believe in delivering this superior taste and quality without adding large amounts of salt, oil and sugars. These external “taste additives” are easier to use in food processing than relying on internal variety characteristics to deliver the taste. But since we’re also a seed company, we have the resources and knowledge to develop “Goodness from the ground up” built right into our own seed varieties. When we have such a seed variety to include in our food products, we call it a Signature Ingredient. Some examples include a few of the herbs we use, as well as varieties of carrots, broccoli, onions and tomatoes coming in the near future.
We’re also looking at the entire food production chain, from breeding to crop production to food processing -- including transport, storage, etc. -- to ensure we’re using the best sustainable practices that we can. As this road is a journey, not a destination, we are constantly learning, improving, and figuring out new stuff along the way. There are very few companies going the depth and distance that we are in this sense, and this makes us especially proud as we feel we are truly contributing something important to society.
It’s exciting work, and I’m having a great time as a part of the team developing such superior food products -- starting all the way back in a seed field and ending up on your plate.
5 comments:
For the past 4 years, I've been volunteering in a local public demonstration garden (thegarden.org) designed to teach low water use principals of residential landscape design in the dry Southern California climate. I work in the small vegetable garden, where I have been experimenting with different seeds from different sources. I've also been on a quest to rediscover a tomato that tastes as sweet as those my mom used to grow in our backyard.
After being disappointed with results from other seed sources, we've stopped experimenting with sources that have lovely pictures but poor germination rates, and we now buy seeds exclusively from SSE.
The seed to food program SSE is exactly what we've been looking for, and in particular, hard data that organic food not only tastes better but that it's better for us all. I congratulate you on your accomplishments and look forward to hearing more about your efforts.
I have been very excited about the mission and accomplishments of Seeds of Change seeds. To me the idea of preserving biodiversity and flavorful produce is highly appealing.
However, I would suggest that marketing ready-made foods made from ingredients of unclear provenance, and packaged in glass jars from overseas does not actually support a thriving local farm economy.
I will continue to use your seeds, but I am afraid your convenience foods will continue to be a secondary food source for my family.
I applaud your efforts to quantify quality. The hard data you develop may be just what the proponent of heirloom varieties needs, a way to prove that not only are heirloom varieties grown to organic standards safer, but they are also more nutritious.
We recently started a small farm. We are producing livestock for sale and this year hope to market some quality produce directly, albeit small scale and we learn what works for us. Being able to share nutrition data on the superiority of these varieties compared to "store bought" produce will really help us show the discriminating consumer why our product is a better choice, and truly a better value.
I'd like to offer a thought-that the data from the project has another application. Due to the lack of locally available organic feed to purchase for our livestock, we are planning to grow much of our own. Our acreage isnt large enough to devote to small grains, so we are beginning this project with corn and other produce selected to be valuable additions to feed cattle, swine, goats and poultry.
The nutrition data you collect would be of great benefit to this project. I can incorporate it with the other traits I am looking for - such as high production, storage ability and ease of harvest, to ensure we choose varieties that maximize the feed value for our animals from the land we have available.
I will be following the project with great interest!
It is more important now than ever for us to be in control of our food supply -- to have our own organic gardens, and use the wonderful
heirloom seeds such as Seeds of Exchange offers.
Watch the video at www.WhatIsTheEndGame.com --
When word of THIS gets around, there will be an organic home farm revolution!!!
Okay, question. If you had influence over all the smaller farms in the country, what would be the recommended mix of diversified vegetables and fruits, etc. which would extricate us, as a nation, from this monocultural nose dive we have taken, since corporate farming has pervaded our agricultural practices?
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