The idea is to increase seed diversity by using traditional local varieties and by breeding better new ones that can cope with climate change.
He flits round the world, to India, Ethiopia, Albania and Wales to study indigenous communities' use of seeds. Alexander finds rare peas, brinjal (aubergine), beans and apples in places where conventional methods are poisoning the land because of high intensity farming and chemical use. He cites Oxford Real Farming Conference reports that organic India farming led to an 11% increase in productivity and a 50% increase in income.
Alexander, an old-school film and television producer, whose documentaries are about remote cultures (A Year in Tibet), food, (Return to Tuscany, The Urban Chef) and gardening (A Year at Kew, A Garden for Eden). He writes clearly and passionately on a subject that could change the world: the genetic diversity of edible crops.
He settled upon collecting and conserving rare and endangered vegetable seeds from around the world. It's all about 'holding truth to power', as in championing local and homespun over big business and monocultures.
Greater diversity, food security and human health are the "pipe dreams of a deluded old fool". That means listening to wise locals and clever scientists who, through wizened filmmakers and authors, can influence national policy. DUS stands for Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability and is the enemy, as is patenting and Intellectual Property. Seeds should be seen as public goods. Technology and financial reward for seed breeding isn't the only answer. Democratisation of seed use is.
