Twelve thousand years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors made a discovery that would change the course of human history: Saving and growing from seeds could improve their food security. These early farmers exchanged seeds with neighbors, and as crops adapted to local conditions, regional varieties emerged naturally within communities.
Over the next 9,000 years, humans developed thousands of varieties worldwide and domesticated every major food crop we enjoy today. It's remarkable to consider that the patient work of these early seed savers laid the agricultural foundation for all the great civilizations that followed, from ancient times to the present day.
But as the global population grew in the 20th century, agriculture began to follow a different path. The focus shifted from local diversity toward maximizing production. During World War II, when feeding the nation became essential to the war effort—and many farmers were serving on the front lines—the government and extension services worked to increase yields through standardized, high-yielding methods that could feed growing populations with fewer hands in the fields.
This transformation accelerated during the 1960s, when the Green Revolution pushed yields even higher by combining hybridized seeds, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers into integrated packages. The pursuit of maximum yields has brought enormous benefits to people worldwide, helping to feed billions. Yet it has also carried some unfortunate consequences.
Most significantly, it dramatically reduced crop diversity. An estimated 75% of plant genetic diversity was lost during this period. Today, we rely on just 15 crops for 90% of the world's calorie intake.
Modern industrialized food production and the gardening industry have quietly shaped our habits in ways we rarely pause to consider. Home gardeners purchase seeds and plants each season, often relying on hybrid or patented varieties that either won't breed true or can't be legally propagated at home. This system limits our choices and keeps us returning to garden centers and seed catalogs year after year.
Most importantly, it breaks the connection between us and the self-sustaining cycles our gardening ancestors practiced for thousands of years.
That's why the Orleans Community Seed Share has embraced the mission of cultivating community resilience and biodiversity by preserving, sharing, educating, and celebrating the heritage of seeds and plant propagation.
When you hold a seed in your hand, you're holding something extraordinary. Each one carries forward genetic wisdom refined over countless generations—solutions that worked not just once, but again and again across thousands of years. These small packages contain the resilience of ancestors who weathered droughts, adapted to changing climates, and persisted through challenges we can barely imagine.
In an uncertain world, seeds offer us something profound: They're living proof that life finds a way. Planting a seed is an act of faith, but that faith is backed by an unbroken chain of survival stretching back millennia.
We invite you to join this ancient tradition. Visit the Orleans Community Seed Share and take seeds home—completely free. Grow them in your garden. Save the seeds those plants produce. Save some for your garden, and return the rest to the seed share so others can continue the cycle. When you do, you become a steward of this living heritage and help build a more resilient future for our community.