73 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
73 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
This Article is taken from The Herbalist, newsletter of the Botanic
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Medicine Society. COPYRIGHT Dec 1988.
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Membership in the Society is $25.00 Canadian per year. You receive
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four copies of the Journal each year and help to promote herbalism
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and botanic medicine throughout Canada.
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THE SOCIETY HAS NO PAID OFFICIALS and is run entirely by volunteers
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from among the membership.
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If you would like more info please write:
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Botanic Medicine Society.
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P.O. Box 82. Stn. A.
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Willowdale, Ont. CANADA.
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M2N 5S7.
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The Heritage Seed Program Heather Apple
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At the turn of the century, a scientist compiled a list of 8,000
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apple varieties available in the United States. When a new list was
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prepared in 1981, only 1,000 of those varieties could be found.
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This story can be repeated with the rest of our food crops. How is
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it that we have lost so much of the rich agricultural heritage
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bequeathed to us by our ancestors?
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A serious situation is occurring around the world because people
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are no longer growing the old varieties of crops that have been
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grown for generations. Instead, they are growing the new hybrids
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offered by the seed companies. When the old varieties are no longer
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grown they become extinct and we suffer a loss in the genetic
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diversity of our food crops.
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The safety of our future food supply depends on maintaining this
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genetic diversity. If we have problems with disease or climate
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changes, we must have on hand varieties that carry a resistance to
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these problems and which can be used to breed resistance into our
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commercial varieties. Already, scientists are looking for varieties
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which show tolerance to acid rain and high ozone levels, as these
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conditions are causing billions of dollars worth of damage to crops
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in North America each year.
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The Heritage Seed Program was started by the Canadian Organic
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Growers to help preserve our agricultural heritage. The Program
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consists of a network of growers dedicated to growing and
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exchanging the seeds of endangered varieties of vegetables, fruits,
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grains, herbs, and flowers. It is different from a seed company
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because when members adopt a variety, they take responsibility for
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growing, maintaining, multiplying it and saving seed to share with
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others. In this way, the survival of these endangered varieties is
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assured.
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Fortunately, herbs have fared better than vegetables, fruits and
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flowers. I would still like to make them an important part of our
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Program. Over the years we have the potential for building up a
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rich collection of different species and varieties of herbs. We can
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share information on their properties and the best conditions for
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their growth. We can seek out rare and unusual varieties, and try
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to obtain seeds and cuttings of some of the old strains from long
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established herb gardens in North America and possibly Europe. If
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you are interested in helping this come about, I would invite you
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to become involved.
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To become a part of the Program, people pay a yearly membership
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fee and can become members even if they do not want to be growers.
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Our December publication will contain a list of the varieties being
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offered by our members, as well as information on seed saving
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techniques and the efforts being made by various people and
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organizations to preserve our genetic heritage.
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Membership rates are: regular $10, fixed income $7, supporting $20,
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U.S. and foreign $15. Make cheques payable to the Heritage Seed
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Program. Send to Heather Apple, RR3, Uxbridge, Ontario. L0C 1K0.
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