What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds

An insightful, personal, and timely exploration into the wonderful world of seeds.

In What We Sow, Jennifer Jewell brings readers an insightful, year-long journey exploring the extraordinary impact of one of nature's smallest manifestations: the simple seed. She examines our skewed notions of where "organic" seeds are grown and sourced, reveals how giant multinational agribusiness has refined and patented the genomes of the seeds we rely on for staples like corn and soybeans, and highlights the efforts of activists working to regain legal access to heirloom seeds that were stolen from Indigenous peoples and people of color. Throughout the process, readers are invited to share Jewell's personal observations as she marvels at the glory of nature in her Northern California hometown. She admires the wild seeds she encounters on her short daily walks and is awestruck by the range of seed forms, from cups and saucers to vases, candelabras, ocean-going ships, and airliners.

What We Sow is a story of what we choose to see and what we have not learned to see, of what we choose to sow and what we choose not to sow. It urgently proves that we must work hard to preserve and protect the great natural diversity of seeds.