This year was hard. It was also humbling, illuminating, and a constant exercise in centering our values and persevering.
2020 revealed a fundamental principle that our alliance has long known: that seed is essential. As COVID-19 numbers skyrocketed, so too did demand for seeds due to growing concerns over food supply disruptions and food security. Seed also provided us daily reminders that adaptation is essential — from the devastating derecho that ravaged Midwest crops to the fires burning along the West Coast, we are called to adapt alongside our seeds.
We want to remind you that YOUR SUPPORT is essential, too.
With help from you and our greater seed community, Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) is creating opportunities for positive change in response to the many challenges of this uncertain moment:
A global pandemic that has turned lives and economies upside down. Many of us are holding loss, grief, and fear while we seize the opportunity to re-focus our priorities. OSA is connecting and growing our community by training the next generation of organic seed growers through an interactive national Seed Internship Program and expanding our online Organic Seed Producers Directory to connect those who need organic seed with those who grow it as demand soars.
Racial injustice in agriculture and all institutions demands action. OSA believes that ethical seed systems must be socially and racially just, which is why we are listening to communities of color and working to center their voices in the organic seed movement. We’re facilitating conversations on social justice in our community, including a Seed Ethics Intensive at our 2020 Organic Seed Growers Conference, and institutionalizing anti-racism work in our operations so we can be true allies for seed communities who have been historically underserved.
Climate change is a burning issue that agriculture can help solve. At the time of this writing, unprecedented wildfires are blazing across the West, threatening seed growers and destroying communities. Organic seed can grow a future that reverses our dire climate trajectory and helps agriculture adapt to change. Our participatory plant breeding collaborations with farmers, universities and seed companies are yielding more resilient varieties for farmers, including two new organic releases planned for 2021. OSA and our coalition partners continue to push for policies that promote organic farming as a key strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Every gift to OSA will deliver critical research, education and advocacy to help farmers face today’s challenges and build an alliance that promotes equity in agriculture and more nutritious organic food in every community. OSA will meet farmer and community needs during this pandemic, but we, too, feel its effects as long-time funding partners have fewer or no grants to give due to COVID.
Your donation is profoundly appreciated and will make an impact. As California farmer Blake Richard attests: “I believe that OSA is the single greatest resource available to organic farmers.” With your support, we will mobilize an organic seed movement that delivers transformative change.
We cannot meet this moment any other way. Will you seed a healthy and equitable future by donating today?
