Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
Informal seed saving continues even in the context of an increasingly industrialized and globalized agricultural system. While some scholarship has focused on informal seed saving practices that continue to thrive in the global South, few studies have examined the dynamics of these practices in the global North, particularly in the American West. This thesis utilizes a resilience framework to assess a seed saving network and its impacts in western Montana, specifically the Bitterroot and Missoula Valleys. Two questions guide the inquiry: 1) How do significant actors connect within the seed saving network of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys, and 2) How does the seed saving network contribute to the social-ecological resilience of the local agroecosystem? The primary methods used to collect data were semi-structured interviews and participant observation, resulting in qualitative data that were coded to develop themes. The results of the data analysis are presented in two parts. Chapter 4 addresses the first question by describing the rich and varied actor connections and their local effects. The primary actors identified are seed, people, and the environment, which all connect and interact to develop a complex rooted network. Chapter 5 addresses the second question, first by exploring “resilience effects,” or the effects of actor interactions that may result in added resilience to the agroecosystem. Then, a pre-established indicator framework of resilience in an agroecosystem is applied to determine how the seed saving network contributes resilience. The discussion explores the impacts this research may have on studying resilience and agroecosystems in the global North, highlighting the role of resilience as a process, the importance of situated knowledge, and the agency of seed. The thesis concludes by suggesting that seed and seed saving networks could play vital roles in fostering resilience of local agroecosystems.
Mentor Name
Sarah Halvorson
Personal Statement
I have been immersed in the field of sustainable agriculture for the past decade, from school gardens, large organic operations, and the Peace Corps. Writing a master's thesis was an opportunity to step back from the hard labor of this work and think critically about the goals and accomplishments of the agricultural movement so far. I have always been fascinated with seed. The more I worked in the agricultural field, though, I was struck by how little people seemed to consider the original source of their food, or at least take it for granted. Thus, this thesis was an attempt to connect the importance of the seed to pressing needs of our time, but also a way to bring my own personal relationship closer to the seed.
Seeding Resilience: An Examination of the Impacts of a Seed Saving Network in Western Montana
UC 327
Informal seed saving continues even in the context of an increasingly industrialized and globalized agricultural system. While some scholarship has focused on informal seed saving practices that continue to thrive in the global South, few studies have examined the dynamics of these practices in the global North, particularly in the American West. This thesis utilizes a resilience framework to assess a seed saving network and its impacts in western Montana, specifically the Bitterroot and Missoula Valleys. Two questions guide the inquiry: 1) How do significant actors connect within the seed saving network of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys, and 2) How does the seed saving network contribute to the social-ecological resilience of the local agroecosystem? The primary methods used to collect data were semi-structured interviews and participant observation, resulting in qualitative data that were coded to develop themes. The results of the data analysis are presented in two parts. Chapter 4 addresses the first question by describing the rich and varied actor connections and their local effects. The primary actors identified are seed, people, and the environment, which all connect and interact to develop a complex rooted network. Chapter 5 addresses the second question, first by exploring “resilience effects,” or the effects of actor interactions that may result in added resilience to the agroecosystem. Then, a pre-established indicator framework of resilience in an agroecosystem is applied to determine how the seed saving network contributes resilience. The discussion explores the impacts this research may have on studying resilience and agroecosystems in the global North, highlighting the role of resilience as a process, the importance of situated knowledge, and the agency of seed. The thesis concludes by suggesting that seed and seed saving networks could play vital roles in fostering resilience of local agroecosystems.