About Us

Reclaim the Seeds first began in 2010 in response to proposed adjustments to seed-related legislation by the European Union. Since then, this event has occurred once every year in different locations throughout the Netherlands. These legislative adjustments pose as threats for farmers, small-scale breeders of seeds, and biodiversity in general. Raising awareness concerning these and other developments that pose serious threats for a sustainable and socially just agricultural system has always been a primary goal. Simultaneously emphasis is put on possible alternatives to the current situation. Due to recent agricultural developments, Reclaim the Seeds now focuses on property rights and patents on seeds and crops. As new biotechnologies are released every year, industries continue to gain power over agriculture all over the world. For such few people to have so much control of the global food system is a risk not only to producers, but consumers as well. There needs to be a diversified, and locally based food system with genetic material that is available to anybody who needs access to it.

Resistance against the European seed legislation

The demand for sustainable agricultural products is increasing. Therefore, multinational corporations are in a rush to protect their markets by lobbying for legislation which promotes industrial agriculture above alternative, more sustainable methods. Sustainable seeds (as defined by us) are the seeds of peasants; constantly evolving, genetically diverse, freely accessible, requiring low-inputs, low costs, healthy and traditional. These tiny sources of life are history lessons for they are the result of centuries of traditional plant breeding and selection by a multitude of unique communities and societies. Their diversity is the key for a future of sustainable agriculture that is both preventative and resistant to climate change. Already, too much bio-cultural heritage has been lost thanks to the genetic bottleneck which has occurred thanks to conventional agriculture.

The fight to protect biodiversity and seed sovereignty is never ending. One such fight, for example, was the DUS seed criteria proposed to the European Union. This proposed rule called for all commercial crops introduced in the market have to meet a set of criteria called DUS, which is an abbreviation for distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability. This regulation excluded many regional crops which are adjusted to local conditions, and thus require less input to grow. The legislative proposal to the European commission, which was heavily influenced by the intense lobby of the commercial seed industry, would have resulted in a decrease of seed diversity and an increased market share for the big seed monopolies. Reclaim the Seeds has always opposed and resisted these plans.

The concept of food sovereignty is often used as an overarching term for the numerous and diverse initiatives that aim to build a sustainable and social agricultural system. It is key that we as citizens are able to decide how we produce our food and what we consume. We from Reclaim the Seeds want short food chains and a real relation between the producer and consumer. If consumers would see how, where and by who their food is produced, the connection to their food is strengthened and hereby more effort would be taken to protect it. At the same time, it is motivating for producers to see where and how their products end up.

Food Sovereignty as the answer

The struggle for food sovereignty is in itself a battle against the large agro-corporations and supermarkets. Their goals of offering the lowest price and getting the highest returns is the root of many agricultural, ecological, and societal problems. Large multinationals aim to have a few crops produced everywhere, which results in millions of acres of monocultures. Agrarian biodiversity does not at all thrive under these circumstances and the farmers become dispensable suppliers. In this problematic situation the seed industry plays a primary role.