rye
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Secale
Type species: Secale cereale
Since the Middle Ages, rye has been widely cultivated in Central and Eastern Europe and has been the main bread grain in most areas east of the French-German border and north of Hungary. Its cultivation remains important in Eastern Europe today but has become marginal elsewhere.
In Estonia, there is a very well known and ancient rye: the Sangaste rye, after the name of the city (Sangaste) where a German count developed a robust winter variety, with a very large grain and a strong straw. (fig. 1 - fig. 2)
The Sangaste Rye led me to address the topic of “improving” plants and to talk about natural and artificial hybridization.
NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL HYBRIDIZATION
Cross-breeding can be done naturally, by the pollination, or artificially, in laboratories.
In order to combine the disease tolerance, soil adaptability and cold hardiness of rye with the yield potential and grain quality of wheat, researchers began to perform artificial hybridizations in laboratories. (fig. 3)
They succeeded by manually fertilizing female wheat flowers with male rye pollen, thus creating the very first man-made hybrid: The Triticale (from Triticum, wheat and Secale, rye).
The Triticale is mainly used as fodder. In my parents farm for instance, after the harvest, the grains were taken to my grandfather's mill where they were ground into flour to feed the animals.The straw produced is used as supplementary fodder and as bedding for cows.This cereal, often combined with leguminous, is used in both industrial and peasant agriculture.
FAMILY - GENUS - SPECIES
Rye, buckwheat, and kamut are very different plants. They are commonly called cereals but this category does not exist in botany.
Plants are grouped into Botanical Family, Genus, Species and have a Common Name. (fig. 4)
Buckwheat is also called blé noir in French (black wheat). But it is not a wheat at all, it does not belong to the genus Triticum and is not even part of the Poaceae family.
THE PATENT OF LIFE
When it comes to improving plants (for better acclimatization, resistance to diseases, more yields) we quickly come across the issues of Patent of Life organisms and intellectual property.
There is a story that struck me. It is the one of this Canadian farmer who was attacked by Monsanto* at the end of the 90's. The company found their patenting seeds into his field without him buying the rights to use them. I don't remember if these accusations were justified, if the presence of these copyrighted seeds was due to natural pollination because of the neighboring fields or by a fraudulent use of the farmer. In any case, this procedure lasted quite a few years and looks like a David vs. Goliath fight, between a farmer and secular agricultural practices and a company abrogating the right of patenting plants because they improved their genes.
* Monsanto is an American agrochemical and biotechnological multinational, which developed, among other things, the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup and a special patented line of Genetically Modified crop (GMO) seeds that are resistant to it. The group was acquired in 2018 by Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical group. (fig. 5)
Biopiracy, also known as scientific colonialism, describes an unfair appropriation of (traditional) knowledge and resources of farming by individuals or institutions (as e.g. Monsanto). Through patenting they seek monopoly control over shared knowledge and resources. This is what happened, for example, in India with the neem tree. Thanks to environmental activists such as the Indian physicist and eco-feminist Vandana Shiva some of those attempts for patenting avoided. (fig. 6)
PEASANT SEEDS AS A COUNTER–POWER TOOL
Contrary to the hybrid F1 or GMO seeds (Genetically Modified Organisms), the farmers who select peasant seeds obtain a heterogeneous population. It is composed of individuals with similar characteristics but different genetic heritages: this characteristic gives them an evolutionary power.
Those seeds are reproducible and derived from farmer-managed plant populations that are selected, sorted, and saved before being sown. The farmers don’t have to buy seeds from other companies. They developed their own selections but it’s a really long process with a lot of experimentations and observations. They are not necessarily local and can be the result of exchanges between farmers who are more or less geographically distant. (fig. 7)
In France, the Réseau Semences Paysannes brings together and networks the actors of cultivated biodiversity to promote the dissemination of farmers' seeds and associated know-how. The association fights for a social and ecological agriculture anchored in the territories. They gather many members such as national and local organic farming groups, associations for the preservation of cultivated biodiversity and seed producers.
In Estonian there is an association who has been promoting the preservation of genetic diversity in native plants and breeds and thus peasant seeds for more than 10 years: the NGO MAADJAS. They are dedicated to the protection of indigenous heritage and culture. The association also has its own seed bank, through their members. They manage to maintain this way more than 100 open-pollinated seed varieties, and new varieties are found regularly. (fig. 8)
Against the Grain, 2022 -
In-situ installation, EKKM, Tallinn
Surface approx. 60 m2, 35 tons of topsoil
Field sown with twelve types of bread cereals from wheat, rye, oats, barley, lentil, chickpea, certified and farmer (heirloom) seeds from Estonia, Lithuania and France
Project by Gisèle Gonon
Graphic Design by Robin Siimann
Go to the next seed to get more infos :)
Grains of rye, digital drawings, Gisèle Gonon, 2022
Ears of rye, digital drawings, Gisèle Gonon, 2022
(fig. 1) Sangaste Rye, Estonian Crop Research Institute - ETKI
(fig. 2) Sangaste rye harvest at Marys's Farm, 30.07.2022, Hiiumaa
(fig. 3) Explanation scheme about Hybridization, from this website.
(fig. 4) taxonomic rank, digital drawing, Gisèle Gonon, 2022
(fig. 5) Gisèle Gonon, Biopiracy is Galer, 2021
Plate of drawing for tattoo on the themes of biopiracy* and peasant' seeds.
Collaboration with @dvr.tattoo, Factotary - Roger Tator Gallery, Lyon, 2021.
(fig. 6) Biopiracy is Galer, or how to engrave on the DNA of the skin the DNA of the seeds.
Open Studio, Factotary - Roger Tator Gallery, Lyon, 2021. Collaboration with @dvr.tattoo
(fig. 7) Visit to an organic farm organized by Ardear Aura Rhône-Alpes, “Tournée des blés 2021”. Peasant seeds of bread wheat, Gisèle Gonon, France, 2021
(fig. 8) Screenshot of the Maadjas website, Open guide.
rye
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Secale
Type species: Secale cereale
Since the Middle Ages, rye has been widely cultivated in Central and Eastern Europe and has been the main bread grain in most areas east of the French-German border and north of Hungary. Its cultivation remains important in Eastern Europe today but has become marginal elsewhere.
1st image of the page and above: Grains and Ears of rye, digital drawings, Gisèle Gonon, 2022
In Estonia, there is a very well known and ancient rye: the Sangaste rye, after the name of the city (Sangaste) where a German count developed a robust winter variety, with a very large grain and a strong straw.
Sangaste Rye, Estonian Crop Research Institute - ETKI
Sangaste rye harvest at Marys's Farm, 30.07.2022, Hiiumaa
The Sangaste Rye led me to address the topic of “improving” plants and to talk about natural and artificial hybridization.
NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL HYBRIDIZATION
Cross-breeding can be done naturally, by the pollination, or artificially, in laboratories.
Explanation scheme about Hybridization, from this website.
In order to combine the disease tolerance, soil adaptability and cold hardiness of rye with the yield potential and grain quality of wheat, researchers began to perform artificial hybridizations in laboratories.
They succeeded by manually fertilizing female wheat flowers with male rye pollen, thus creating the very first man-made hybrid: The Triticale (from Triticum, wheat and Secale, rye).
The Triticale is mainly used as fodder. In my parents farm for instance, after the harvest, the grains were taken to my grandfather's mill where they were ground into flour to feed the animals.The straw produced is used as supplementary fodder and as bedding for cows.This cereal, often combined with leguminous, is used in both industrial and peasant agriculture.
FAMILY - GENUS - SPECIES
Rye, buckwheat, and kamut are very different plants. They are commonly called cereals but this category does not exist in botany.
Plants are grouped into Botanical Family, Genus, Species and have a Common Name.
taxonomic rank, digital drawing, Gisèle Gonon, 2022
Buckwheat is also called blé noir in French (black wheat). But it is not a wheat at all, it does not belong to the genus Triticum and is not even part of the Poaceae family.
THE PATENT OF LIFE
When it comes to improving plants (for better acclimatization, resistance to diseases, more yields) we quickly come across the issues of Patent of Life organisms and intellectual property.
There is a story that struck me. It is the one of this Canadian farmer who was attacked by Monsanto* at the end of the 90's. The company found their patenting seeds into his field without him buying the rights to use them. I don't remember if these accusations were justified, if the presence of these copyrighted seeds was due to natural pollination because of the neighboring fields or by a fraudulent use of the farmer. In any case, this procedure lasted quite a few years and looks like a David vs. Goliath fight, between a farmer and secular agricultural practices and a company abrogating the right of patenting plants because they improved their genes.
* Monsanto is an American agrochemical and biotechnological multinational, which developed, among other things, the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup and a special patented line of Genetically Modified crop (GMO) seeds that are resistant to it. The group was acquired in 2018 by Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical group
Gisèle Gonon, Biopiracy is Galer, 2021
Plate of drawing for tattoo on the themes of biopiracy* and peasant' seeds.
Collaboration with @dvr.tattoo, Factotary - Roger Tator Gallery, Lyon, 2021.
Biopiracy, also known as scientific colonialism, describes an unfair appropriation of (traditional) knowledge and resources of farming by individuals or institutions (as e.g. Monsanto). Through patenting they seek monopoly control over shared knowledge and resources. This is what happened, for example, in India with the neem tree. Thanks to environmental activists such as the Indian physicist and eco-feminist Vandana Shiva some of those attempts for patenting avoided.
Biopiracy is Galer, or how to engrave on the DNA of the skin the DNA of the seeds.
Open Studio, Factotary - Roger Tator Gallery, Lyon, 2021. Collaboration with @dvr.tattoo
PEASANT SEEDS AS A COUNTER–POWER TOOL
Contrary to the hybrid F1 or GMO seeds (Genetically Modified Organisms), the farmers who select peasant seeds obtain a heterogeneous population. It is composed of individuals with similar characteristics but different genetic heritages: this characteristic gives them an evolutionary power.
Those seeds are reproducible and derived from farmer-managed plant populations that are selected, sorted, and saved before being sown. The farmers don’t have to buy seeds from other companies. They developed their own selections but it’s a really long process with a lot of experimentations and observations. They are not necessarily local and can be the result of exchanges between farmers who are more or less geographically distant.
Visit to an organic farm organized by Ardear Aura Rhône-Alpes, “Tournée des blés 2021”. Peasant seeds of bread wheat, Gisèle Gonon, France, 2021
In France, the Réseau Semences Paysannes brings together and networks the actors of cultivated biodiversity to promote the dissemination of farmers' seeds and associated know-how. The association fights for a social and ecological agriculture anchored in the territories. They gather many members such as national and local organic farming groups, associations for the preservation of cultivated biodiversity and seed producers.
In Estonian there is an association who has been promoting the preservation of genetic diversity in native plants and breeds and thus peasant seeds for more than 10 years: the NGO MAADJAS. They are dedicated to the protection of indigenous heritage and culture. The association also has its own seed bank, through their members. They manage to maintain this way more than 100 open-pollinated seed varieties, and new varieties are found regularly.
Screenshot of the Maadjas website, Open guide.
Against the Grain, 2022 -
In-situ installation, EKKM, Tallinn
Surface approx. 60 m2, 35 tons of topsoil
Field sown with twelve types of bread cereals from wheat, rye, oats, barley, lentil, chickpea, certified and farmer (heirloom) seeds from Estonia, Lithuania and France
Project by Gisèle Gonon
Graphic Design by Robin Siimann
Go to the next seed and scan the corresponding code to get more infos :)