The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations tells us that biodiversity is essential for food security.
When I save seeds, choose seeds, design my gardens, share the harvest, it is never really about me or my family. Deciding to nurture heirloom crops and to call them by name is one of the many ways I live into the endurance of the earth. Recognizing the diversity of crops is as important as acknowledging the beautiful tapestry and diverse history of God’s people.
You do not have to be a farmer or gardener to do your part to protect the seed. Begin to wean yourself from non-organic and processed foods. When possible and available, purchase your foodstuffs from a local farmers’ market or indirectly from farms and urban gardens. Learn the stories, the journey of the food on your plate, and the seeds they come from.
Hear the warning and hope: “As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).
This message is excerpted from “The story of the seed” by Venice R. Williams in the June 2017 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, c. 202.
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