Students Revive Extinct Squash With 800-Year-Old Seeds In It

According to Mother Nature Network, it was discovered on First Nations land during an archaeological dig.

The historic gourd has been estimated to be approximately 800 years old, and inside of it the archaeologists found preserved, ancient seeds. From these seeds, students at Canadian Mennonite University successfully grew a squash, and the plan is to save the seeds from the revived squash in order to grow more. “This squash is representative of a tribe of a large community and everybody in that community having a place, and food being a right of citizenship.” – Brian Etkin, Coordinator of the Garden of Learning in Winnipeg HERE is a news report (video) by APTN National News based out of Winnipeg. Today, the entire global food supply has been taken over by a handful of biotech giants, Monsanto being one of them.

They own the entire global food supply, forcing their Genetically Modified Seeds on farmers around the globe. Only recently has the pushback against GMOs gained huge ground, with 19 countries (all members of the European Union) completely banning the growth of Genetically Modified Crops on their home soil. If you want to learn more about that and see why there is such a strong resistance towards GMOs and the pesticides that go with them, click here. As a result of this takeover of our food supply, we’re not only potentially harming ourselves, we are also harming the environment and a variety of other animals and insects living within it. This ‘extinct’ squash that was recently discovered is a reminder of what things should be like. Do completely natural, unmodified seeds even exist anymore? I’m sure they do, but it seems to be a rare thing, which is unfortunate. In my opinion, world hunger and poverty are a justification for GMOs just as 9/11 was a justification for the invasion of Iraq. Various scientists from all over the world have emphasized this, and if true, what was the real intention behind the takeover of our food supply? Money? The amount of money we spend in one day alone on war and defence could feed the entire planet for an entire year, so to say we don’t have the resources and money to feed the world is ridiculous.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reminds us that GM crops are not guaranteed, as promised by company advertising.

They still fail to produce promised yields, and farmers are not permitted to save seeds due to the company’s patent. As a result, entire communities can be pushed to the brink of starvation. Every person on the planet can feed themselves with just 100 square feet of well managed land. In 2008, the UN Conference of Trade and development supported organics, saying that organic agriculture can be more conducive to food security in Africa than most conventional production systems, and is more likely to be sustainable in the long term. You can read that full report HERE. Below, international activist and scientist Dr. Vandana Shiva explains in two minutes how GMOs are a threat to biodiversity and farmers’ livelihoods. We have forgotten how to live on the planet, and we’ve forgot how sacred our food, water, and home truly are. Our connection to our planet has waned, but things are looking up; more people around the globe are desperately trying to restore it. How we grow and share food is an integral part of our relationship with the earth and our shared connection with each other. Our food does not belong in the hands of a handful of corporations who have done, and continue to do, many harmful things to the planet. .

Read the full article at the original website

References:

• http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/blogs/students-revive-extinct-squash-800-year-old-seeds
• http://aptn.ca/news/2015/09/28/winnipeg-students-grow-rare-squash-from-seeds-800-years-old/
• http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/genetic-engineering/
• http://unctad.org/en/docs/ditcted200715_en.pdf