Seeds at risk: Global struggle for control over food

The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung proudly announces a new joint publication, Seeds at Risk, which highlights the vital role of seeds as the heart of agriculture, forming the foundation of our food systems and food access. Through a collection of articles, the publication offers diverse perspectives from the Global North and South, exposing struggle of farmers in the face of increasingly oppressive seed laws and policies, and growing pressure from large corporations to adopt industrial seeds and comply with lucrative patent regimes. However, this tide of corporate dominance is met with growing resistance.

Seeds determine the variety and traits of all plants, influencing both their yield and the nutritional value of food crops, ultimately contributing to healthy diets. The seed diversity we enjoy today is a testament to thousands of years of collective effort by farmers. Yet, of the 300,000 known plant species, only about 30,000 are edible, and a mere 30 species sustain the majority of the global population.

Seeds at Risk illustrates how seed laws and policies, increasingly influenced by international trade agreements and entangled with intellectual property rights, threaten farmers’ seed systems. These systems are essential for the food security and livelihoods of billions of people around the world. Meanwhile, corporate concentration has reached alarming levels, with six multinational corporations now controlling nearly two-thirds of all commercial seeds and 99%of genetically modified crops. Farmers are losing their seed rights as restrictive certification and registration standards criminalise their traditional practices of seed selection, preservation, and exchange.

Yet, resistance continues to grow. A global social movement is challenging oppressive legal and policy frameworks, pushing back against corporate power, and championing agroecology. Agroecology goes beyond food production, offering a holistic perspective on humanity’s connection with nature. This approach emphasizes peer-to-peer knowledge exchange among farmers, locally tailored solutions, and the creation of farmer-led seed systems and seed banks, leveraging available resources to foster resilience.

Publishers:

Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung

Swissaid

AFSA – Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa

APBREBES – Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society

SEARICE – Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment

Illustration:

Marischka Lutz