This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Seeds/Biodiversity Conference

I hope you all don't interpret this as spam. But if you do and think it
was out of place for me to post this let me know and I'll never pass on
another thing. thanks, Joseph



AGSCINEWS-L is a free, electronic distribution of news and feature
articles
about research, faculty, staff, students and events in Penn State's
College
of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Cooperative Extension.  It is
distributed by Agricultural Information Services, News and Publications,

106 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802.
Contact us by telephone at (814) 863-2701, by FAX at (814) 865-1068, or
by
electronic mail at agisnewspubs@psu.edu.  Direct questions or comments
about this list to tmb11@psu.edu.

For other releases from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences,
point your World Wide Web browser at http://aginfo.psu.edu/news/

---------------------------




---------------------------

October 24, 1997
CONFERENCE ADDRESSES CROP BIODIVERSITY AND SEED SAVING
     UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It may not be pure nostalgia to think
certain
fruits and vegetables tasted better in the old days. Since the 1960s,
the
range of crop varieties available and grown by farmers has steadily
decreased, says an expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural
Sciences.
     "Not only are we losing flavors and qualities," says Carolyn Sachs,

associate professor of rural sociology, "but our crops are becoming more

susceptible to pests and diseases as well, increasing the vulnerability
of
our food supply.  In response to these concerns, numerous people and
organizations are engaging in efforts to save seeds and preserve crop
diversity."
     To address this issue, a two-day conference, "Preserving Crop
Biodiversity and Saving Seeds in the Northeast," organized by Penn
State's
College of Agricultural Sciences and The Pennsylvania Association of
Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), will be held Nov. 14-15 at the Toftrees
Resort and Conference Center, State College.
     "We hope to generate an exciting dialogue between people who don't
usually come together, but who are all involved in preserving crop
diversity and saving seeds," Sachs says. "This is a chance for an
exchange
of ideas among such varied groups as scientists and chefs, plant
breeders
and gardeners, government people who helped establish national gene
banks,
teachers, seed companies, and grassroots 'seed saving' organizations."
     The conference begins at 9 a.m, Friday, Nov. 14, with an opening
keynote address by Hope Shand, research director of the Rural
Advancement
Foundation International (RAFI), on the patenting of life forms and
potential impacts on biodiversity and society. Shand has written
extensively on these topics, including Harvesting Nature's Diversity,
the
official document on agricultural biodiversity published by the U.N.
Food
and Agriculture Organization for the 1993 World Food Day.
     Friday's sessions cover seed networks and exchanges; declining crop

diversity issues for farmers; hybrids, heirlooms and open-pollinated
varieties; teaching others about seed saving; seed companies in the
Northeast; native seeds and plants; preserving crop biodiversity in
urban,
community and backyard gardens; seed saving techniques; chefs and
farmers
collaborating to save farms and varieties; and a discussion on who
controls
seeds/plant patenting/biotechnology.
     At Friday evening's "Seed Fair," participants can talk with seed
savers, exchange unique seed varieties, and meet producers who are
seeking
interested individuals to grow out seeds.
     To complement the discussions, a chef at the conference site will
prepare meals from unique vegetable varieties donated for the
conference,
such as two traditional Native American soups made from heirloom beans
and
fire-roasted Tuscarora white corn.
     At 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, the conference will resume with a
panel discussion on whose responsibility it is to preserve crop
biodiversity, followed by sessions on Native American seeds, old and new

fruit varieties, government and international gene banks, and small
group
discussions on future directions.
     At 2:15 p.m., Kent Whealy, executive director of the Seed Savers
Exchange (SSE), a grassroots network of 7,000 people who maintain and
distribute heirloom vegetable and fruit varieties, will give the final
keynote address, discussing the network's efforts to collect and
maintain
traditional food crops. He also will discuss the Seed Savers
International,
a network of professional plant collectors in Eastern Europe and the
former
Soviet Union.
     To request registration materials, call (814) 865-8301. For more
information on conference content, contact Carolyn Sachs by telephone at

(814) 863-8641 or by e-mail at csachs@psu.edu, or visit the conference's

World Wide Web site at http://www.aers.psu.edu/seedconf/seedconf.htm.
Registration will be accepted by mail or fax through Nov. 7. Walk-in
registration will be accepted as space permits.
     The registration fee is $45, or $30 for students. The two lunches
cost
$10 each. The Friday night dinner is $25. Blocks of rooms are being
reserved at the Toftrees Resort and Conference Center (814-234-8000),
the
Penn State Conference Center and Hotel (814-863-5000), and the Ramada
Inn
(814-238-3001).
     Funding for the conference was provided through Northeast
Sustainable
Agriculture Research Education (SARE).

###

EDITORS: To contact Carolyn Sachs, please call (814) 863-8641.

Kim Dionis     office (814) 863-2703
KDionis@psu.edu
#256

***************************************************************************
To unsubscribe, send to: listserv@umslvma.umsl.edu
the body message: unsubscribe sqft
See http://www.umsl.edu/~silvest/garden/sqft.html for archive, FAQ and more.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index