Seeds may be small, but they're at the center of a global power struggle that affects what we eat and who profits from our food system.
Seed sovereignty is the right of farmers and communities to save, grow, exchange, and control their own seeds. It's a critical component of food sovereignty that's increasingly under threat.
"Diverse, localized, farmer-managed seed systems are the cornerstone of a biodiverse, climate-resilient, equitable food system—and essential to achieving zero hunger," notes the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Yet these systems are being eroded by corporate consolidation and restrictive laws.
Today, just four agrochemical companies control almost 70% of the global seed market. This concentration has dramatic consequences: declining crop diversity, rising costs for farmers, and increased vulnerability to climate shocks.
The traditional practice of saving seeds—something farmers have done for thousands of years—has even been criminalized in some regions. Many modern commercial seeds are patented, forcing farmers to repurchase them annually and creating cycles of debt.
Indigenous communities are at the forefront of resistance. In the United States, SeedChange notes that "keeping seeds in farmers' hands and maintaining a high diversity of seeds is critical for building resilient food systems in the face of climate change."
This principle is evident in initiatives like the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network, which creates "a collaborative framework for ethical Indigenous seed stewardship so that tribal communities can protect their seeds from patenting and bio-piracy," according to Resilience.org.
Battles over seeds are playing out globally. In Kenya, activists successfully fought to temporarily reinstate a GMO ban. In the Philippines, courts halted the distribution of GM Golden Rice. In Mexico, Indigenous communities are defending native maize varieties against potential contamination from imported GMOs.
These struggles remind us that seeds aren't just agricultural inputs—they're living embodiments of cultural heritage, ecological knowledge, and community resilience. As climate change intensifies, preserving diverse, locally-adapted seed varieties becomes not just a matter of justice, but of survival.
This is the second installment in our food sovereignty series. Watch for our upcoming piece on agroecology.
Watch the Thriving Communities documentary film about Spirit Farm in New Mexico - a regenerative farm using Indigenous wisdom to thrive in the high desert.