Page 63 - Climate Compliance
P. 63
Biodiverse gardens
63
More than ever, it can be argued that, with an ever growing human population,
biodiversity is crucial to maintaining life and the earth’s balance and temperature.
Biodiversity is the diversity of life, it’s the rich
variety of life forms on our beautiful planet.
Using and storing heirloom seeds
1
In the nineties, the ten biggest seed companies controlled less than 30% of the
market. Today, the three largest companies control more than 50% and they are
also the major pesticide producers. Seeds are becoming more expensive and with
fewer varieties.
From the beginning of this century, the variety of corn types has been reduced
from 300 to 12 and cabbage from 540 to 28. In the same time period, 97% of the
vegetable varieties that existed - around 1.900 - have become extinct and are thus
impossible to recover. Genetically modified (GMO) seeds
1 “Heirloom seeds have been passed down through many generations of growers. Heirlooms are
usually planted in small, isolated communities, and generally offer something of value to the
grower, whether that is a unique flavor, a unique capability or tendency, or special adaptation
to local growing conditions.” Source: Heirloom seeds. Retrieved from https://www.maximum-
yield.com/definition/3262/heirloom-seed

