Seed Savers Exchange (SSE)
Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) is a nonprofit organization based in Decorah, Iowa, founded in 1975 by Kent and Diane Ott Whealy. It was established to preserve both the genetic and cultural heritage of plants, sparked by the couple's receipt of heirloom seeds from Diane's grandfather. SSE maintains over 25,000 varieties of vegetable, fruit, flower, and herb seeds, as well as some endangered livestock. Unlike traditional seed banks, SSE actively plants about 10% of its seed inventory each year, promoting biodiversity and combating monoculture practices commonly found in commercial agriculture.
By facilitating the saving and exchange of seeds among its members, SSE fosters community engagement and works to ensure the long-term survival of diverse plant species. The organization also provides educational resources on seed-saving and runs a visitor center that offers guided tours. Additionally, SSE contributes to global seed preservation initiatives, including donations to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, securing its seed stock against potential local disasters. Through its efforts, SSE supports organic farming and enhances access to a wider variety of seeds beyond what is typically available in the commercial market.
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Seed Savers Exchange (SSE)
- DATE: Established 1975
Since its founding, the Seed Savers Exchange has helped preserve the genetic material of more than twenty-five thousand plant species. Modern agriculture practices tend to focus narrowly on an increasingly small number of crops, resulting in the endangerment or extinction of thousands of plant species. However, the Seed Savers Exchange helps maintain genetic diversity over time, which is critical to combating the further loss of species from disease, pestilence, and other environmental factors.
Background
The Seed Savers Exchange was founded in 1975 in Decorah, Iowa, by then husband and wife Kent Whealy and Diane Ott Whealy. The couple had been given the seeds of two garden plants that Diane’s grandfather had brought to the United States from Bavaria in the 1870s, a gift that made them recognize the value of preserving not only the genetic but also the cultural and historical heritage of plants. Over time, the nonprofit organization has grown to several full-time employees and occupies 360 hectares, where it maintains more than twenty-five thousand varieties of vegetable, fruit, flower, and herb seeds as well as a small number of endangered cows and poultry.
In 2022, the Seed Savers Exchange was accused by several former employees of union busting. According to the allegations, the organization dismissed former employees after they attempted to organize a union. The dismissed employees continued to organize others are Seed Savers Exchange, petitioning to form the Seed Savers Union later that year.
Impact on Resource Use
The Seed Savers Exchange is a permanent repository of thousands of seeds, including those of many plant species that have otherwise virtually disappeared. Unlike many seed banks, the Seed Savers Exchange not only stores seeds but also actively plants approximately 10 percent of its inventory each year in rotation, allowing seeds to be distributed among members or sold. The wide variety of plants the Seed Savers Exchange grows each year helps combat the existence of monocultures, or the covering of hundreds or thousands of hectares with a single crop. While large commercial food growers routinely deal in monocultures in order to maximize profit, the practice risks crop annihilation if that particular strain is attacked by a disease or pest. In addition, the Seed Savers Exchange’s planting activity keeps those species in contact with the larger natural environment, and thus better equipped to survive in the future, rather than “frozen” in storage and unable to react to changing environmental conditions.
The Seed Savers Exchange also promotes the saving and exchange of seeds among members, thus creating community, spreading the impact of its work, and promoting long-term survival of plant species. It also sells seeds via print and online catalogs, which has helped promote the organic farming industry, because commercially available seeds are far more limited in variety. In addition, many commercial seeds are either hybrids that do not reproduce reliably or genetically modified, which is not permitted in the organic food trade.
The Seed Savers Exchange considers education and outreach to be important parts of its mission. In addition to providing seed-saving guidance in its newsletters and on its website, the Seed Savers Exchange houses a visitors’ center that offers guided tours to individuals and groups. The organization also participates in the global seed community, most notably by contributing almost five hundred seeds for the opening of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway in 2008. The organization has additional global donations planned. The donations help ensure that some of the Seed Savers Exchange’s seed stock will be protected in the event of local disaster in Iowa.
Bibliography
"About." Seed Savers Exchange, seedsavers.org/about/. Accessed 1 Jan. 2025.
Rivero, Nicolas. "Three in Four Crop Varieties Have Gone Extinct. You Can Save the Rest in Your Garden." The Washington Post, 20 Sept. 2024, www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/09/20/seed-savers-heirloom-crops-biodiversity/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Rivers, Amie. "Decorah Nonprofit Accused of Union Busting by Former Staff." Iowa Starting Line, 6 May 2022, iowastartingline.com/2022/05/06/decorah-nonprofit-accused-of-union-busting-by-former-staff/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.