"Another farmworker, Gabriel, who came out to speak, brought a backpack full of yellow envelopes containing all his tax documents over the decades.

“These are my taxes. I have been paying my taxes for 19 years, without rights,” he said, as he pulled out each envelope and threw them on the ground in front of the podium. “I’ve been doing this year, after year, after year. For a promise that I would get my citizenship, this is my testimony that I am not a criminal. We are not criminals.”"
#farmworkers #food #farming #immigration #workers #labor #California #HumanRights
lamag.com/news-and-politics/fa…

Just three plant species, wheat, maize and rice, account for 60% of all food eaten globally. Crop science expert, Prof Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, argues that many of Africa’s 30,000 edible plants must be revived.
#Food #Farming #Agriculture #Crops #Africa #Wheat #Rice #Maize #PlantScience

60% of Africa's food is based on wheat, rice and maize – the continent's crop treasure trove is being neglected
theconversation.com/60-of-afri…

60% of Africa's food is based on wheat, rice and maize – the continent's crop treasure trove is being neglected

Just three plant species – wheat, maize and rice – account for 60% of all food eaten globally. A crop science expert argues that many of Africa’s 30,000 edible plants must be revived.

^{The Conversation}

"A handful of companies own the #patents on virtually every #seed planted in the US. Now, a new crop of unowned seeds is bringing #biodiversity back to #farming."
worldsensorium.com/open-source…

#agriculture #food #monopoly #ossi (Open Source Seed Initiative)

FYI, I link to two earlier reports on this problem (2017 and 2019) in a tweet from 2020.
twitter.com/petersuber/status/…

“Open Source” Seeds Loosen Big Ag’s Grip on Farmers

Alexander Klepnev CC BY 4.0 “Open Source” Seeds Loosen Big Ag’s Grip on Farmers A handful of companies own the patents on virtually every seed planted in the US. Now, a new crop of unowned seeds is...

^{World Sensorium / Conservancy}

I'm supporting @opensourceseeds in their crowdfunding campaign to develop an #OpenSource rye variety.

Why do we need open source seeds?

Over the last few decades seed variety has decreased dramatically due to commercial pressure and most are owned by only a handful of companies.

In many countries (including the EU) small farmers are unable to sell or even pass on heritage seeds without obtaining prohibitively expensive paperwork.

A 🧵 1/n

#sustainability #farming #OpenSourceSeeds @plants