Native Seeds Fight Food Shortage and Global Warming : TreeHugger

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• a solution to food production and global warming. The key ideas are:

  1. Biodiversity increases the ability of an ecosystem to capture carbon, says Brown University.
  2. There are 100’s of economically important native seeds according to Lee and Maggie Arbuckle.
  3. Native perennial grasses can be used as food, according to The Land Institute.
  4. Harvesting perennial grasses is getting easier, with the Arbuckle Native Seedster.

  Together these innovations change the framework for how we can turn sunlight and water into food. Incorporating these ideas could sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, provide economic growth, improve soil health, reduce fossil fuel use, and provide sustainable and resilient food production.

  The journal Nature had an editorial today that called for an increase in spending on agricultural research and development, particularly agricultural systems adapted to place.

• Studies, like the one completed at Brown, are emerging that show a diverse habitat captures more energy, and sequesters more carbon than a simple, less diverse habitat (like a monoculture).

  One of the great unexplored opportunities is the cultivation of native seeds for use as food. Over 80% of native North American seeds are perennial, with roots up to six feet deep. These deep roots hold moisture through a dry spell, and allow for a rich habitat that builds priceless topsoil. The Land Institute has begun cultivating varieties for human agriculture that moves us away from planting a monoculture of annuals, to a polyculture (more diverse) of perennials.