The existence of a Doomsday Seed Vault run by Agribiz seems a fitting post in conjunction with Wirzba's reflections through what might be rightly described as a Christian agrarian socialist perspective (he wrote the intro for Wendell Berry's booked collection of essays entitled The Art of the Commonplace [...] Each day I become more convinced by the aggregation of evidence that a food-praxis mode of resistance must be thrown into the middle of the political mix. In the Food and Finance pamphlet we have over at IA, we've attempted to unpack finance as a dominator practice, but the important point is that this domination is exercised over and through food... so this relation of money as a dominator-medium to our most recurrent dependency is there for any of us who want to drop down from the theoretical clouds and put the living human body back into our politics. From the underground food movements described in Sandor Katz' excellent book (The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved), to the feminist food praxis of Susan Bordo and Penny Van Esterik, to the issues related to climate change that have now captured the attention (if not the clarity) of the general American public... this is an issue that goes both broad and deep. And it is deeply, disruptively political, whether you are challenging a homeowners association on the right to grow a vegetable garden to asking elected officials why they ocntinue to subsidize Archer-Daniels-Midland, Monsanto, and Cargill.
Each day I become more convinced by the aggregation of evidence that a food-praxis mode of resistance must be thrown into the middle of the political mix. In the Food and Finance pamphlet we have over at IA, we've attempted to unpack finance as a dominator practice, but the important point is that this domination is exercised over and through food... so this relation of money as a dominator-medium to our most recurrent dependency is there for any of us who want to drop down from the theoretical clouds and put the living human body back into our politics.
From the underground food movements described in Sandor Katz' excellent book (The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved), to the feminist food praxis of Susan Bordo and Penny Van Esterik, to the issues related to climate change that have now captured the attention (if not the clarity) of the general American public... this is an issue that goes both broad and deep. And it is deeply, disruptively political, whether you are challenging a homeowners association on the right to grow a vegetable garden to asking elected officials why they ocntinue to subsidize Archer-Daniels-Midland, Monsanto, and Cargill.
This is a project started and sustained by the government of Norway. I doubt that short-sighted profit-maximizers in agribusiness are looking at post-doomsday profits from their contributions. The views in the article you cite are out of line. The goddamn vault is built for to last for generations, to survive a nuclear war and the melting of Antarctica. That isn't about corporations hording seeds for themselves. It have something to do with people who feel a little bit as I do. The purpose of the project hits me in the gut with a feeling that is deep and hard to describe, but somehow central to who I am. Words and ideas I offer here may be used freely and without attribution.
me too. but not, I think, the same feeling.
to know that those who are busiest burning down the house are investing in a fireproof safe does not make me feel anything other than... hmmm... a kind of futile, smouldering rage. Monsanto has made it their business and deliverate policy to pollute the genomes of cultivars worldwide, and they have the insufferable chutzpah to claim a do-gooder prize for investing in a last-ditch seed vault... no, somehow it just makes me want to heat up some tar and pluck a few chickens. The difference between theory and practise in practise ...
The Arctic Doomsday Seed Vault
I hate to be the one to spoil a good rumor, and just when it was just taking off....but, there are several factual errors in the report that started this thread. Let me just cite the one that has gained the most traction on this board: Monsanto is NOT involved in funding the Seed Vault, directly or indirectly. Not a penny. The Vault is being built by Norway and paid for by the government, 100%. The operating costs will be paid by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and Norway, 100%. (at a MUCH lower cost than reported in some media) How do I know all of this? I am the Executive Director of the Trust. We receive NO funding from Monsanto, neither does the Norwegian government! Monsanto has had no involvement in the planning, implementation or funding of the facility. None.
Since you should not trust everyone who claims to be the Executive Director of the Trust, there homepage is a good place to start.
The Global Crop Diversity Trust
The Global Crop Diversity Trust was founded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Bioversity International, acting on behalf of the foremost international research organizations in this field (CGIAR). The Trust is currently jointly hosted in Rome by FAO and Bioversity International.
Australia (AusAID) Brazil (EMBRAPA) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/UN Foundation Canada (CIDA) CGIAR Centres Colombia (Ministry of Agriculture) DuPont/Pioneer Hi-Bred Egypt (Ministry of Agriculture) Ethiopia Gatsby Charitable Foundation Germany Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grains Research and Development Corporation India (Ministry of Agriculture) International Seed Federation Ireland (Irish Aid) Italy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) New Zealand (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) Norway (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Rockefeller Foundation Sweden (Sida) Switzerland (SDC) Syngenta AG Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Systemwide Genetic Resources Programme United Kingdom United Nations Foundation United States of America (USAID) World Bank - CGIAR Please download this document on funds pledged and raised to date
The pdf shows that the only corporate money making it into the top ten are the Gates foundation. Otherwise it is governments, Sweden and Norway being the largest donors. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
I will allow the tar pot to cool down, and the chickens can stop eying me anxiously. The difference between theory and practise in practise ...
Rechecking the list, I realise that I checked the wrong column when comparing the amounts in my last comment. I checked the one with different currency nominations. Rechecking I would change my statement to: The pdf shows that the only corporate money making it into the top nine are the Gates foundation. Otherwise it is governments, Great Britain and Norway being the largest donors after the Gates foundation.
Grains Research & Development Corporation is number ten with 5 millions, Sygenta (including their foundation) eleven and Dupont Pioneer Hi-breed on position twelve. I would place it in despiccable attempts to buy forgiveness for their sins (with money coming from the same sins), but it is not close to control over it.
Their board looks pretty solid too, including The Global Crop Diversity Trust
Vice-Chair: Wangari Maathai (Kenya) Professor Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.
And they have their board agendas online, which is good for transparency.
So I think they are the real deal. But there are many other good targets for the tar... A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
