Nellie Musson, author of Mind the Onion Seed, named her book after an expression that arose during slavery times, meaning ‘take care of’’, ‘watch over’, ‘preserve’ the Bermuda onion, one of the Island’s primary exports. It is not heard today, but there was a time when vigilance was critical in protecting saved onion seeds for this important crop.Prior to the 20th century, vegetable seeds brought from travels abroad were grown to seed, multiplied, and shared. Saving seeds was not only essential for the next year’s crop, but to preserve unique traits adapted to local conditions. Seed saving and sharing is an ancient practice that is undergoing a global revival as people become more aware of the importance of preserving vegetable and fruit seed diversity and the issues that threaten it.To better understand this renewed interest, a brief history of the US agricultural seed story may help. Commercial seed companies have existed in the US for only 150 years. Prior to this, there was farmer seed sharing, a few small seed catalogues, and government seed distribution. The latter ended in 1924 due to objections raised by the private sector.Hybridisation, controlled cross-pollination to reproduce an offspring with specific characteristics, came into being in 1920. Hybrid seeds are prized because they produce uniform plants and increased yields. Farmers had to start buying seeds every year because the progeny of hybrids are unreliable. This shift brought greater profit to suppliers who began to thrive.The use of hybrids combined with chemical fertilisation ushered in the age of industrial scale agriculture. Seed breeders, focusing on varieties to hybridise, neglected many centuries old ones. Between 1903 and 1983, it is estimated that there was a loss of 93 percent of crop varieties that were once available in US seed houses.In 1980, the US Supreme Court case Diamond vs Chakrabarty paved the way for live, human-made organisms to be patented. There was little regulatory oversight and a rush ensued to buy up seed companies by primarily chemical and pharmaceutical entities with no previous interest in seeds.Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), a reputable organisation, whose mission is to advance the ethical development and stewardship of the genetic resources of agricultural seed, state on their website that the top 10 seed companies in the US now own 57 percent of the world’s Seed! The Center for Food Safety has declared that the takeover of seed companies by major chemical/biotechnology companies is the number one threat to seed biodiversity.The seed source of choice for Bermudian farmers is Seminis, a vegetable and fruit seed company with an estimated 40 percent control of the US seed market and 20 percent of the world’s seed. Local farmers depend on certain Seminis-bred varieties for their livelihood. In 2005, Seminis was purchased by Monsanto, a leading multinational that had no previous seed company ownership. It is speculated that Monsanto’s intent is to identify beneficial traits in Seminis seeds to alter genetically, for their benefit. Since Monsanto is primarily interested in large acreage markets and little interested in small acreage, the immediate concern is that the varieties suitable for the smaller acreages are likely to be discontinued.Genetic engineering (GE) is the technology of transferring genetic material between unrelated organisms. Local farmers say they don’t want GE seeds, but fear they may eventually have no choice. GE seed offers a promise of lower production costs, fewer pest problems, reduced pesticides, and better yields. Many of these claims are failing to produce results and there is alarming evidence of soil nutrient deficiencies, animal infertility, and other human health and environmental concerns, linked particularly with Round-up-ready seeds.OSA offers collected advice from professionals, some of whom recommend that farmers continue to buy seeds from Seminis because to abandon them would hasten the demise of the varieties farmers need. Others promote seed decentralisation and independent breeding (a long process), and a list of safe seed sources. OSA facilitates a Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) programme in which farmers work with universities to breed crops adapted to their farms.Home gardeners worldwide are doing their part to stem the global threat to seeds by saving and sharing locally grown non-hybrid seeds. Bermudian gardeners are joining in by hosting a Seed Sharing event on Saturday September 15.It is hoped that it will become an annual event and a resource for a local seed bank. For more information e-mail franceseddy@logic.bm