In this interview with US-based Hobby Farm, Gaia’s Seed Sovereignty Programme Coordinator, Sinéad Fortune discusses seed and food sovereignty in a post-Brexit United Kingdom and Ireland.
Listen in as Sinéad explains how Brexit—Great Britain’s exit from the European Union—has left farmers in the United Kingdom in a precarious place. Imagine not being able to purchase French cheese and Spanish olives or, more importantly, the seeds and supplies you need to keep farming, because of this shift in political borders.
Sinéad talks about her work in training farmers and community gardeners to produce and save their own seeds, reviving and spreading traditional seed knowledge held by community elders, and network building among groups doing seed sovereignty work.
You’ll also learn what, exactly, is meant by ‘seed sovereignty’ and how that differs in the UK and Ireland from efforts in the US, including the painful and healing conversations this work involves.
Hear, too, about what it’s like to live and farm 16 miles from the North Sea, and get advice for growing herbs on your own farm.
This podcast was originally produced by Hobby Farms and is also available on their website here.