1
00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:04,298
Subtitles by explosiveskull

2
00:00:04,300 --> 00:00:08,238
(calm and earthly strings music)

3
00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,156
(seeds shake and rattle)

4
00:02:15,698 --> 00:02:19,402
(soft and chill strings music)

5
00:02:21,336 --> 00:02:23,169
When I first came here,

6
00:02:23,171 --> 00:02:26,840
we are a hippy, back to
nature, self-sufficient thing.

7
00:02:26,842 --> 00:02:27,973
We were watching too
many David Crockett,

8
00:02:27,975 --> 00:02:29,842
Daniel Boone movies

9
00:02:29,844 --> 00:02:32,080
and reading too much Thoreau.

10
00:02:32,914 --> 00:02:35,816
(man sings song in
foreign language)

11
00:02:35,818 --> 00:02:39,122
We were trying to seek
a different vision.

12
00:02:40,955 --> 00:02:44,124
The first time I saw bean
collections and so on,

13
00:02:44,126 --> 00:02:46,893
it was like woo, a
jewelry store, lit up,

14
00:02:46,895 --> 00:02:50,800
and I've always just been
dazzled by diversity.

15
00:02:55,104 --> 00:02:56,970
I don't like people that
are all straight, all gay,

16
00:02:56,972 --> 00:02:58,405
all communist, all Christian,

17
00:02:58,407 --> 00:03:00,273
let them all be there

18
00:03:00,275 --> 00:03:03,945
and absolutely the
different kinds of seeds.

19
00:03:10,318 --> 00:03:13,754
My great grandfather
was a farmer.

20
00:03:13,756 --> 00:03:15,454
Looking through our
family photo album,

21
00:03:15,456 --> 00:03:18,191
I just wish that I could like
somehow step into that photo,

22
00:03:18,193 --> 00:03:20,260
say "Hi great grandma.
It's me, Billy,

23
00:03:20,262 --> 00:03:22,028
"can I have some of these?"

24
00:03:22,030 --> 00:03:23,829
because I know for a fact

25
00:03:23,831 --> 00:03:28,003
that 90 something percent of
the things are now extinct.

26
00:03:28,836 --> 00:03:31,840
They're my family,
and they're gone.

27
00:03:36,912 --> 00:03:39,245
I have this horrible
vision someday

28
00:03:39,247 --> 00:03:40,846
that the creator would look down

29
00:03:40,848 --> 00:03:42,181
and he'd come look
around and say,

30
00:03:42,183 --> 00:03:44,084
"Well, where is this,
well where did that go?

31
00:03:44,086 --> 00:03:45,552
"I created this,
where did it go?

32
00:03:45,554 --> 00:03:47,856
"How come it's not here?"

33
00:03:49,525 --> 00:03:52,028
I see myself as Noah, not God.

34
00:03:56,397 --> 00:03:57,864
Noah didn't get to decide

35
00:03:57,866 --> 00:04:00,132
whether the crocodiles
came on the Ark or not,

36
00:04:00,134 --> 00:04:01,034
or the black flies.

37
00:04:01,036 --> 00:04:02,803
His job was to load 'em on,

38
00:04:02,805 --> 00:04:04,106
ok, that's my job.

39
00:04:06,508 --> 00:04:09,842
I have thousands of varieties
that I am maintaining,

40
00:04:09,844 --> 00:04:11,578
People of the future, plant
breeders, and gardeners,

41
00:04:11,580 --> 00:04:12,478
they will decide.

42
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,751
What the heck did
Will save that for?

43
00:04:17,085 --> 00:04:18,317
I don't get to
make that decision.

44
00:04:18,319 --> 00:04:20,853
My job is to keep
these all on the Ark,

45
00:04:20,855 --> 00:04:23,856
keep them alive for
40 days and 40 nights

46
00:04:23,858 --> 00:04:25,762
until the flood's over.

47
00:04:27,995 --> 00:04:29,228
I may discover 10 years from now

48
00:04:29,230 --> 00:04:31,197
that that seed will
be in huge demand

49
00:04:31,199 --> 00:04:32,531
because it has in its genes

50
00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:34,401
some resistance to some disease

51
00:04:34,403 --> 00:04:36,838
which is only now evolving.

52
00:04:39,540 --> 00:04:40,507
In many many cases,

53
00:04:40,509 --> 00:04:44,480
what I've got is not
available anywhere else.

54
00:04:46,380 --> 00:04:48,348
She's my sweetheart.

55
00:04:48,350 --> 00:04:49,916
The year that I fail
to grow a variety

56
00:04:49,918 --> 00:04:51,885
is the year it is lost to me.

57
00:04:51,887 --> 00:04:53,586
And in some cases perhaps
lost to the planet,

58
00:04:53,588 --> 00:04:57,959
some of these things are right
on the edge of extinction.

59
00:05:01,262 --> 00:05:02,896
(calm and relaxing
strings music)

60
00:05:02,898 --> 00:05:05,899
We have this collection
of several hundred

61
00:05:05,901 --> 00:05:08,635
potatoes that are
purple or black skinned

62
00:05:08,637 --> 00:05:09,635
and with yellow flesh,

63
00:05:09,637 --> 00:05:14,042
some with a purple skin
hot pink flecks in them.

64
00:05:15,476 --> 00:05:18,178
We have in the collection
a variety of lumpers.

65
00:05:18,180 --> 00:05:22,350
Most of the Irish in the 1830s
and 40s were growing lumpers,

66
00:05:23,017 --> 00:05:23,983
big yielder,

67
00:05:23,985 --> 00:05:25,185
and none of those varieties

68
00:05:25,187 --> 00:05:28,024
had any resistance
to late blight.

69
00:05:29,891 --> 00:05:32,892
This is the potato that
killed a million Irishmen.

70
00:05:32,894 --> 00:05:33,894
Because of the fact that
they were the one or two

71
00:05:33,896 --> 00:05:37,964
or three varieties that
were totally vulnerable.

72
00:05:37,966 --> 00:05:40,901
This is the variety
that explains why O

73
00:05:40,903 --> 00:05:45,074
is the biggest section of the
South Boston phone directory.

74
00:05:45,574 --> 00:05:50,010
Genetic diversity is the hedge
between us and global famine.

75
00:05:50,012 --> 00:05:53,949
(soft, somber strings music)

76
00:07:02,216 --> 00:07:06,389
The diversity in our seed
stocks is as endangered

77
00:07:06,588 --> 00:07:10,960
as a panda or a golden eagle
or a polar bear right now.

78
00:07:15,197 --> 00:07:19,367
We have the largest
seed shortage

79
00:07:19,701 --> 00:07:20,603
in history.

80
00:07:23,038 --> 00:07:27,043
(moves into calm ambient music)

81
00:07:32,047 --> 00:07:33,312
It's this beautiful dance

82
00:07:33,314 --> 00:07:35,248
between the plant
and the humans,

83
00:07:35,250 --> 00:07:36,718
that find each other

84
00:07:38,019 --> 00:07:40,156
and make a culture possible.

85
00:07:41,622 --> 00:07:44,591
In Mesoamerica over
10,000 years ago,

86
00:07:44,593 --> 00:07:48,228
corn found humans,
and humans found corn.

87
00:07:48,230 --> 00:07:50,697
Corn really is this
beautiful co-creation

88
00:07:50,699 --> 00:07:52,699
between plants and humans.

89
00:07:52,701 --> 00:07:54,567
The domestication of corn

90
00:07:54,569 --> 00:07:58,307
was centered in the
Oaxacan Valley of Mexico.

91
00:08:02,043 --> 00:08:06,014
The incredible evolutionary
leaps that we took with corn

92
00:08:07,415 --> 00:08:08,483
is a miracle.

93
00:08:15,389 --> 00:08:19,562
It ignited this
sacred connection that

94
00:08:20,394 --> 00:08:24,567
Corn seeds moved along the
entire spine of the Americas.

95
00:08:24,833 --> 00:08:26,468
It became this revolution,

96
00:08:27,499 --> 00:08:30,769
it became this new way of
being able to feed ourselves.

97
00:08:30,771 --> 00:08:35,144
It's what fueled you from
a small tribe to an empire.

98
00:08:36,211 --> 00:08:40,213
Spies and traders and
anyone who was around

99
00:08:40,215 --> 00:08:43,816
and saw what it was doing
grabbed a handful and took off.

100
00:08:43,818 --> 00:08:48,189
It took 4,700 years to
get it to the U.S. border.

101
00:08:48,623 --> 00:08:51,458
Then about a thousand years ago,

102
00:08:51,460 --> 00:08:55,631
corn is everywhere in what we
now call the United States.

103
00:09:01,403 --> 00:09:05,574
(moves into soft
and melodic music)

104
00:09:10,511 --> 00:09:14,315
[Rowen] Corn becomes
so elastic and adaptive

105
00:09:16,851 --> 00:09:20,822
that now we see corn being
grown on every continent.

106
00:09:26,227 --> 00:09:28,427
As keepers of the corn,

107
00:09:28,429 --> 00:09:32,600
the corn has come up with
us though our migrations,

108
00:09:34,168 --> 00:09:35,435
sustaining us.

109
00:09:35,437 --> 00:09:39,204
(man speaks in a Native
American language)

110
00:09:39,206 --> 00:09:42,842
Our first mothers
were the Blue Corn

111
00:09:42,844 --> 00:09:44,780
and White Corn women.

112
00:09:45,746 --> 00:09:47,847
This is my grandmother,
my grandfather,

113
00:09:47,849 --> 00:09:51,818
my mom, my dad, my
brother, my sister,

114
00:09:51,820 --> 00:09:54,557
my kids, my
grandkids and myself.

115
00:09:56,825 --> 00:09:57,860
We all are one.

116
00:10:07,869 --> 00:10:09,705
My father said "Son,

117
00:10:10,572 --> 00:10:13,341
"never, never let
go of the corn.

118
00:10:16,945 --> 00:10:18,480
"When I pass on,

119
00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,850
"carry on the way of the corn."

120
00:10:28,889 --> 00:10:32,791
I've always been a
farmer all my life.

121
00:10:32,793 --> 00:10:35,862
From the day that
I can remember,

122
00:10:35,864 --> 00:10:37,729
I was out there with
my grandparents,

123
00:10:37,731 --> 00:10:39,735
my uncles and my father.

124
00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,611
The spiritual people
gave us the corn.

125
00:10:53,248 --> 00:10:55,614
They say when the
corn hears you,

126
00:10:55,616 --> 00:10:59,788
then they start dancing with
you with the leaves fluttering.

127
00:11:01,456 --> 00:11:04,927
Crow, crow damage, but
we still bring it in.

128
00:11:06,595 --> 00:11:08,663
Everything is brought in.

129
00:11:13,335 --> 00:11:16,868
People are too attracted
to the big and beautiful.

130
00:11:16,870 --> 00:11:19,973
But the Hopi woman
and man say that

131
00:11:19,975 --> 00:11:23,743
even this little
one here is special,

132
00:11:23,745 --> 00:11:26,682
because every corn
seed has life.

133
00:11:27,615 --> 00:11:29,415
Everything is special.

134
00:11:29,417 --> 00:11:32,785
And I'll plant these,
I'll plant this.

135
00:11:32,787 --> 00:11:34,454
We don't throw them away.

136
00:11:34,456 --> 00:11:36,789
We take care of them.

137
00:11:36,791 --> 00:11:39,795
In the womb, human
people are seeds.

138
00:11:41,562 --> 00:11:43,429
We see the seeds,

139
00:11:43,431 --> 00:11:47,436
being planted into the
womb of the mother earth.

140
00:11:48,669 --> 00:11:50,770
They may be calling me daddy

141
00:11:50,772 --> 00:11:53,573
and say "Daddy, I'm glad I'm
here with you," you know,

142
00:11:53,575 --> 00:11:54,840
'cause these are my children.

143
00:11:54,842 --> 00:11:58,813
(seeds rattle softly in jar)

144
00:12:04,318 --> 00:12:07,755
Indian people, we
talk in one language,

145
00:12:09,490 --> 00:12:11,659
the language of the seeds.

146
00:12:14,562 --> 00:12:16,929
The most important
thing in my heart

147
00:12:16,931 --> 00:12:20,900
it's taking seeds
anywhere I can go.

148
00:12:20,902 --> 00:12:23,368
My grandfather tell me one time,

149
00:12:23,370 --> 00:12:25,938
"This is very
important for life,"

150
00:12:25,940 --> 00:12:28,576
and he put me before he died,

151
00:12:35,750 --> 00:12:36,916
before he died he put me,

152
00:12:36,918 --> 00:12:41,490
full of the seeds in my hand
and he said this is life.

153
00:12:44,024 --> 00:12:45,958
And put always in your pocket.

154
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,462
Because if you have
seeds in your pocket,

155
00:12:49,464 --> 00:12:52,699
you can walk and eat the seeds

156
00:12:52,701 --> 00:12:57,036
and if you have money,
you cannot eat the money.

157
00:12:57,038 --> 00:13:01,473
This is gold! Seeds, they
are our own medicine.

158
00:13:01,475 --> 00:13:05,648
When we have to eat, we give
a little bit to the earth.

159
00:13:11,753 --> 00:13:15,924
I am working now for seven
years in Tesuque Pueblo.

160
00:13:17,591 --> 00:13:20,026
We lost our seeds,

161
00:13:20,028 --> 00:13:21,663
we lost our food.

162
00:13:24,099 --> 00:13:26,031
Pero, when you losing the seeds,

163
00:13:26,033 --> 00:13:30,405
you losing completely your
traditional ways of eating.

164
00:13:31,940 --> 00:13:34,806
I bring some of the crops

165
00:13:34,808 --> 00:13:36,745
to these Pueblo people.

166
00:13:38,046 --> 00:13:39,648
Quinoa, Amaranth.

167
00:13:41,014 --> 00:13:43,815
The lost crops of the Incas.

168
00:13:43,817 --> 00:13:48,087
It's part of this prophecy,
the condor and the eagle.

169
00:13:48,089 --> 00:13:51,560
Exchanging seeds,
exchanging knowledge.

170
00:14:00,499 --> 00:14:01,834
In all these bags you see,

171
00:14:01,836 --> 00:14:03,504
we have different
type of the seeds.

172
00:14:03,971 --> 00:14:06,638
This trailer there
was not one seed.

173
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:07,873
Seven years

174
00:14:07,875 --> 00:14:10,846
we fill up with our
work, with our sweat,

175
00:14:12,013 --> 00:14:14,583
and this is food for the future.

176
00:14:19,421 --> 00:14:20,387
These seeds,

177
00:14:20,389 --> 00:14:22,054
they're not very happy
because they're one

178
00:14:22,056 --> 00:14:24,593
on the top of the other one.

179
00:14:26,561 --> 00:14:30,762
They are beginning to tell
us "We need a new house."

180
00:14:30,764 --> 00:14:34,467
A place where they
can have a home,

181
00:14:34,469 --> 00:14:35,104
like us.

182
00:14:36,770 --> 00:14:40,442
(soft and calm flute music)

183
00:14:46,847 --> 00:14:49,482
Native Seeds/SEARCH
is a seed bank.

184
00:14:49,484 --> 00:14:52,888
(seeds crackle off husk)

185
00:14:55,155 --> 00:14:59,090
Most of the seeds came to
us through Native Americans.

186
00:14:59,092 --> 00:15:01,761
As modern creatures,
we're in debt to that.

187
00:15:01,763 --> 00:15:03,863
They are the last
expression of these stewards

188
00:15:03,865 --> 00:15:04,863
going back thousands of years

189
00:15:04,865 --> 00:15:06,031
that took care of these things

190
00:15:06,033 --> 00:15:08,803
and made sure that we got them.

191
00:15:16,878 --> 00:15:20,613
I had somebody the other day
call this Fort Knox. (laughs)

192
00:15:20,615 --> 00:15:23,616
There's just so
much wealth in here.

193
00:15:23,618 --> 00:15:26,185
There's about two thousand
different varieties

194
00:15:26,187 --> 00:15:28,923
of invaluable
agricultural crops.

195
00:15:30,057 --> 00:15:31,023
All 38 generations,

196
00:15:31,025 --> 00:15:33,593
all this energy comes
down into the seed,

197
00:15:33,595 --> 00:15:36,728
you get to hold it and
then all the future

198
00:15:36,730 --> 00:15:38,930
and the millions more that
can come out goes out.

199
00:15:38,932 --> 00:15:41,066
And you are at that point
when you hold those seeds

200
00:15:41,068 --> 00:15:42,868
in your hands.

201
00:15:42,870 --> 00:15:46,705
Right here is the mother corn.

202
00:15:46,707 --> 00:15:50,879
This is the ancient ancestor
from which all corn came.

203
00:15:53,147 --> 00:15:55,714
And that's what we're losing.

204
00:15:55,716 --> 00:15:57,650
I mean we just don't
have the time left again

205
00:15:57,652 --> 00:16:01,186
on this small planet to
recreate all this stuff.

206
00:16:01,188 --> 00:16:02,622
That's why it's so invaluable.

207
00:16:02,624 --> 00:16:05,690
Once it's gone, it's gone.

208
00:16:05,692 --> 00:16:09,862
Seeds are living embryos.
They do have a life span.

209
00:16:09,864 --> 00:16:13,535
(calm but melancholy music)

210
00:16:17,938 --> 00:16:21,840
We try to grow everything
out every 10 years,

211
00:16:21,842 --> 00:16:25,546
that's why we have
the 60 acre farm here.

212
00:16:40,928 --> 00:16:44,863
We are hugely vulnerable

213
00:16:44,865 --> 00:16:46,869
with all of those seeds.

214
00:16:49,102 --> 00:16:51,570
You think about crimes
against humanity,

215
00:16:51,572 --> 00:16:53,272
blow up a seed bank in war.

216
00:16:53,274 --> 00:16:55,974
(loud explosions)

217
00:16:55,976 --> 00:16:58,810
It becomes an immediate
target to weaken a country.

218
00:16:58,812 --> 00:17:01,647
(loud explosions)

219
00:17:01,649 --> 00:17:02,882
When we invaded Iraq,

220
00:17:02,884 --> 00:17:07,188
we destroyed that seed bank
and we destroyed that garden.

221
00:17:07,588 --> 00:17:11,790
And we destroyed that repository
of the great ancient seeds

222
00:17:11,792 --> 00:17:13,825
that had been collected
by that government

223
00:17:13,827 --> 00:17:15,961
for the benefit of mankind.

224
00:17:15,963 --> 00:17:17,596
(machine gun clanks and fires)

225
00:17:17,598 --> 00:17:18,229
(bomb explodes)

226
00:17:18,231 --> 00:17:19,364
(cannons explode)

227
00:17:19,366 --> 00:17:21,033
(metal creaks)

228
00:17:21,035 --> 00:17:22,200
During World War II,

229
00:17:22,202 --> 00:17:25,103
Hitler was aiming to conquer

230
00:17:25,105 --> 00:17:29,278
Nikolai Vavilov's seed
bank in Saint Petersburg.

231
00:17:29,743 --> 00:17:32,143
And the people associated
with that seed bank

232
00:17:32,145 --> 00:17:35,082
holed themselves
up in the building

233
00:17:35,983 --> 00:17:38,784
and kept those seeds protected,

234
00:17:38,786 --> 00:17:41,187
even though they were
starving to death

235
00:17:41,189 --> 00:17:45,561
and missiles and bombs were
landing all around them.

236
00:17:49,130 --> 00:17:53,302
(moves into soft and
relaxing strings music)

237
00:18:04,011 --> 00:18:07,915
I remember gardening
with these little hands.

238
00:18:09,651 --> 00:18:11,283
Now they have
gardens of their own

239
00:18:11,285 --> 00:18:13,654
and children of their own.

240
00:18:14,821 --> 00:18:17,055
If there's no one to
pass that seed onto,

241
00:18:17,057 --> 00:18:20,895
that living link and
that living seed is lost.

242
00:18:22,396 --> 00:18:25,030
These are grandpa's
Morning Glories,

243
00:18:25,032 --> 00:18:28,636
the seed that started
the whole movement.

244
00:18:29,936 --> 00:18:33,274
When we started Seed
Savers in the 70's,

245
00:18:34,275 --> 00:18:35,940
we didn't have anything,

246
00:18:35,942 --> 00:18:38,344
we just had an idea and a dream

247
00:18:38,346 --> 00:18:42,284
so we had thousands of
beans in my living room.

248
00:18:45,952 --> 00:18:48,153
It was now our responsibility

249
00:18:48,155 --> 00:18:51,326
to keep all those
bean varieties alive

250
00:18:53,428 --> 00:18:57,830
what we've saved over those
years is irreplaceable

251
00:18:57,832 --> 00:19:02,004
and if we hadn't started then,
we would've lost a lot more.

252
00:19:03,971 --> 00:19:05,837
It's always amazing to me

253
00:19:05,839 --> 00:19:08,873
when I started out with
two varieties of seed

254
00:19:08,875 --> 00:19:12,944
and now I'm here looking at
over 24,000 accessions of seed

255
00:19:12,946 --> 00:19:16,917
that we're permanently
maintaining at the seed vault.

256
00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,853
All of our seeds are in
air tight foil packs,

257
00:19:21,855 --> 00:19:24,992
so they're not
maintaining any moisture.

258
00:19:26,027 --> 00:19:30,261
We also store a backup
collection at the seed vault

259
00:19:30,263 --> 00:19:33,367
off the coast of
Norway, at Svalbard.

260
00:19:34,836 --> 00:19:38,403
Svalbard has been called
the doomsday seed vault.

261
00:19:38,405 --> 00:19:41,841
The idea is that if one
of these asteroids hits,

262
00:19:41,843 --> 00:19:45,076
and causes a tsunami that
wipes out part of the world

263
00:19:45,078 --> 00:19:49,014
or there's catastrophic
cultural and economic collapse.

264
00:19:49,016 --> 00:19:51,049
You know, we see all the seed
banks in the world looted,

265
00:19:51,051 --> 00:19:52,219
just for food.

266
00:19:54,255 --> 00:19:57,021
The idea was to have a backup,

267
00:19:57,023 --> 00:19:59,424
like the ultimate
backup just in case

268
00:19:59,426 --> 00:20:03,962
the seed bank is destroyed and
they need their seeds back.

269
00:20:03,964 --> 00:20:05,064
But the problem with it is that

270
00:20:05,066 --> 00:20:08,133
we think that we don't have
to worry about this now.

271
00:20:08,135 --> 00:20:11,038
It gives a false
sense of security.

272
00:20:12,839 --> 00:20:15,007
All the gene banks,
they're all arks.

273
00:20:15,009 --> 00:20:18,844
Ultimately, life does
not go on in an ark.

274
00:20:18,846 --> 00:20:20,179
I'm not confident
that any of us.

275
00:20:20,181 --> 00:20:22,081
Have got something
long term in place

276
00:20:22,083 --> 00:20:25,551
that can weather the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune

277
00:20:25,553 --> 00:20:27,489
that might come our way

278
00:20:32,993 --> 00:20:36,862
(rain pours intensely)

279
00:20:36,864 --> 00:20:40,865
We're now facing
severity of climate change,

280
00:20:40,867 --> 00:20:44,839
the most radical we've had
since the last ice age.

281
00:20:46,973 --> 00:20:51,177
This is happening at
an unprecedented rate

282
00:20:51,179 --> 00:20:55,046
and it's putting pressure on
the diversity of life forms.

283
00:20:55,048 --> 00:20:57,882
You know this is the
driest they have seen

284
00:20:57,884 --> 00:20:59,221
since 119 years.

285
00:21:00,454 --> 00:21:04,291
The Golden state's drought
the worst in over 1000 years.

286
00:21:09,931 --> 00:21:11,963
In northern New Mexico,

287
00:21:11,965 --> 00:21:15,269
we have a series of
drier and drier years.

288
00:21:16,537 --> 00:21:18,336
Normally, this time of the year,

289
00:21:18,338 --> 00:21:20,104
we're going to get
ready for planting,

290
00:21:20,106 --> 00:21:22,908
but there's not any moisture.

291
00:21:22,910 --> 00:21:25,480
Usually, you'll hit a wet spot.

292
00:21:28,215 --> 00:21:32,386
Lot of the animals begin to
feel the effects of the drought.

293
00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:37,488
They consumed probably
a third of our corn

294
00:21:37,490 --> 00:21:39,190
and all of our beans.

295
00:21:39,192 --> 00:21:41,559
It's tough for everybody.

296
00:21:41,561 --> 00:21:45,933
(calm but somber
woodwinds music)

297
00:21:56,042 --> 00:21:58,978
Our corn is among
the few places

298
00:21:58,980 --> 00:22:02,584
that is environmentally
adapted to drought.

299
00:22:05,385 --> 00:22:08,557
The Hopi grow corn
with no irrigation.

300
00:22:15,496 --> 00:22:17,896
All of our ceremonies
are for rain.

301
00:22:17,898 --> 00:22:21,633
(drums beat in unison)

302
00:22:21,635 --> 00:22:25,472
You petition the clouds
to come and bless us.

303
00:22:27,674 --> 00:22:31,911
We say in our prayers,
may the cloud people come.

304
00:22:31,913 --> 00:22:35,346
(thunder claps)

305
00:22:35,348 --> 00:22:39,520
May the Cachina people come
and visit us and bring us rain.

306
00:22:41,923 --> 00:22:45,894
May the corn grow up and
produce their young ones.

307
00:22:46,626 --> 00:22:50,065
You never lose faith
in the cloud people.

308
00:22:53,366 --> 00:22:57,438
This is a way that my
prayers have been answered.

309
00:22:58,338 --> 00:22:59,572
One day,

310
00:22:59,574 --> 00:23:03,912
our corn will become very, very
valuable to human survival.

311
00:23:17,090 --> 00:23:21,096
I was very, very fortunate
when I was a child,

312
00:23:22,063 --> 00:23:24,332
there was a fantastic tree.

313
00:23:25,732 --> 00:23:29,003
My tree began from
a tiny little seed

314
00:23:30,971 --> 00:23:34,942
and I spent hours and hours up
in the branches of that tree.

315
00:23:42,450 --> 00:23:45,985
And how magic that it could
actually grow into a big tree.

316
00:23:45,987 --> 00:23:48,053
That tree is still
in the garden today.

317
00:23:48,055 --> 00:23:52,060
(moves into calm, upbeat music)

318
00:23:53,527 --> 00:23:55,196
Seeds are so crafty.

319
00:23:57,565 --> 00:24:00,399
There is a power, it's a magic.

320
00:24:00,401 --> 00:24:01,767
To me it's magic.

321
00:24:01,769 --> 00:24:04,338
It's a life force is so strong.

322
00:24:09,743 --> 00:24:12,680
There are seeds
that rely on fire

323
00:24:15,016 --> 00:24:19,117
There are seeds that tangle
up in the hair of an animal

324
00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,288
They get carried for miles

325
00:24:25,358 --> 00:24:28,594
There are seeds
that can't germinate

326
00:24:28,596 --> 00:24:32,433
unless they pass through
the gut of an animal.

327
00:24:35,135 --> 00:24:38,636
Darwin was amazed
that a seed grew

328
00:24:38,638 --> 00:24:43,010
after it had been 21 hours
in the stomach of an owl.

329
00:24:47,647 --> 00:24:50,048
A seed is a doorway

330
00:24:50,050 --> 00:24:52,987
between the life
of the old plant

331
00:24:54,721 --> 00:24:57,424
and its gift to the new plant.

332
00:25:11,739 --> 00:25:14,706
Our teachers are the plants.

333
00:25:14,708 --> 00:25:15,606
And they're teaching us

334
00:25:15,608 --> 00:25:19,344
that they have to
sacrifice themselves

335
00:25:19,346 --> 00:25:21,513
in order to be able
to give something

336
00:25:21,515 --> 00:25:23,418
to the next generation.

337
00:25:24,617 --> 00:25:27,021
It's a form of reincarnation.

338
00:25:44,704 --> 00:25:49,076
(moves into serene
and calm violin music)

339
00:25:56,450 --> 00:25:58,417
[Patrick] Come on in.

340
00:25:58,419 --> 00:25:59,852
Come on in.

341
00:25:59,854 --> 00:26:00,686
Hello Hello.

342
00:26:00,688 --> 00:26:01,719
Come on in, welcome.

343
00:26:01,721 --> 00:26:02,824
Oh my gosh.

344
00:26:03,891 --> 00:26:05,190
Oh my gosh this is amazing!

345
00:26:05,192 --> 00:26:06,792
Check it out, Check it out.

346
00:26:06,794 --> 00:26:07,825
This is how we roll.

347
00:26:07,827 --> 00:26:09,460
That's why they
call me the corn,

348
00:26:09,462 --> 00:26:11,896
they call me the corn hippie.

349
00:26:11,898 --> 00:26:13,532
Guys, This is unbelievable.

350
00:26:13,534 --> 00:26:14,766
There's so much corn here,

351
00:26:14,768 --> 00:26:17,902
I mean, right here in
these bags right here.

352
00:26:17,904 --> 00:26:22,306
This one has 87
different kinds of corn

353
00:26:22,308 --> 00:26:23,842
- from Urubama Vale.
- Oh my God.

354
00:26:23,844 --> 00:26:25,776
This is from
the sacred valley.

355
00:26:25,778 --> 00:26:27,746
It has to get certified
with the phytosanitary

356
00:26:27,748 --> 00:26:29,213
with the Peruvian government.

357
00:26:29,215 --> 00:26:30,748
And once we get it certified,

358
00:26:30,750 --> 00:26:33,619
then we're ready to ship it
wherever we want to send it.

359
00:26:33,621 --> 00:26:35,219
That's astounding.

360
00:26:35,221 --> 00:26:36,723
Look at that fava.

361
00:26:37,790 --> 00:26:39,892
For all the crazy people like
me who sit there at night

362
00:26:39,894 --> 00:26:41,860
and look at bags of beans,

363
00:26:41,862 --> 00:26:43,528
it leaves us a mystery.

364
00:26:43,530 --> 00:26:44,630
This is so precious.

365
00:26:44,632 --> 00:26:46,498
No one even has an idea

366
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:48,232
how much they look like jewels.

367
00:26:48,234 --> 00:26:51,335
They look like polished
agates, look at this one.

368
00:26:51,337 --> 00:26:53,872
It must be artistic
genius of nature

369
00:26:53,874 --> 00:26:55,274
that allows this to happen.

370
00:26:55,276 --> 00:26:59,478
(soft, relaxing strings music)

371
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,849
I've gotta sleep with this one!

372
00:27:06,653 --> 00:27:08,253
When I was six years old,

373
00:27:08,255 --> 00:27:10,822
my parents asked me what
I wanted for my birthday,

374
00:27:10,824 --> 00:27:12,490
and I said, "Well
I want squash."

375
00:27:12,492 --> 00:27:13,624
I didn't want a G.I. Joe

376
00:27:13,626 --> 00:27:14,892
and I didn't want
a baseball bat,

377
00:27:14,894 --> 00:27:16,827
I wanted squash.

378
00:27:16,829 --> 00:27:18,863
And I wanted those because
I wanted to save the seeds

379
00:27:18,865 --> 00:27:19,733
and grow 'em.

380
00:27:22,836 --> 00:27:24,870
My seeds are my kitchen table.

381
00:27:24,872 --> 00:27:27,471
My seeds are my
way of sharing food

382
00:27:27,473 --> 00:27:29,843
with people all over the world.

383
00:27:31,211 --> 00:27:33,478
I've been to over a
hundred countries,

384
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,382
collecting thousands
and thousands of seeds

385
00:27:37,384 --> 00:27:40,518
Here from Bolivia, looking
like a speckled Robin's egg

386
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,755
This bean here from Tanzania.

387
00:27:43,757 --> 00:27:45,790
One that's coming from Zimbabwe.

388
00:27:45,792 --> 00:27:49,827
A variety raised by the
West Virginia hillbillies.

389
00:27:49,829 --> 00:27:51,563
It's exquisitely sculptured seed

390
00:27:51,565 --> 00:27:54,736
of a trichosanthes
gourd from Vietnam,

391
00:27:55,702 --> 00:27:57,768
The seed is a time capsule.

392
00:27:57,770 --> 00:27:59,904
It's preserving
things from the past

393
00:27:59,906 --> 00:28:03,644
but it's also bringing
things for the future.

394
00:28:05,011 --> 00:28:06,812
And this is, uh.

395
00:28:06,814 --> 00:28:10,681
I feel I have an
obligation to the world,

396
00:28:10,683 --> 00:28:12,918
whether that's
unbalanced or not,

397
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,420
to bring this appreciation

398
00:28:15,422 --> 00:28:18,590
to as big a swath of
humanity as possible.

399
00:28:18,592 --> 00:28:22,393
This tiny little skinny tree
with really large leaves

400
00:28:22,395 --> 00:28:23,728
is in the cacao family,

401
00:28:23,730 --> 00:28:26,430
same plants that
produce chocolate.

402
00:28:26,432 --> 00:28:30,568
And this is just a
distant relative of cacao

403
00:28:30,570 --> 00:28:33,740
that still hasn't
been commercialized.

404
00:28:35,843 --> 00:28:40,215
What if there's all kinds
of other seeds in nature

405
00:28:40,446 --> 00:28:43,748
that have the potential
for food production?

406
00:28:43,750 --> 00:28:44,850
Way down there.

407
00:28:44,852 --> 00:28:45,917
Feel the end of it?

408
00:28:45,919 --> 00:28:46,754
Yeah.

409
00:28:48,721 --> 00:28:49,520
[Man With Scarf]
Can you hold him?

410
00:28:49,522 --> 00:28:51,856
This is what we
just harvested.

411
00:28:51,858 --> 00:28:54,293
(soft, relaxing strings music)

412
00:28:54,295 --> 00:28:56,394
[Patrick] You know that these,

413
00:28:56,396 --> 00:28:59,430
these have been known to
make grown men scream.

414
00:28:59,432 --> 00:29:01,699
They say that you can have
a fever for several days

415
00:29:01,701 --> 00:29:02,804
if they bite.

416
00:29:08,642 --> 00:29:10,909
[Jason] 'Kay, this
is called Pietrina.

417
00:29:10,911 --> 00:29:13,312
And it's for being
used on cuts and sores

418
00:29:13,314 --> 00:29:15,814
and almost has the
look of iodine.

419
00:29:15,816 --> 00:29:19,787
There's about 300,000 species
of plants on the planet.

420
00:29:27,894 --> 00:29:31,563
We come down to 30,000
different edible plants,

421
00:29:31,565 --> 00:29:35,737
You put 'em in your mouth
and just kinda suck on them.

422
00:29:53,354 --> 00:29:56,691
120 are used on a
really regular basis

423
00:30:04,865 --> 00:30:08,836
and most of humanity
subsists on a mere 10.

424
00:30:09,769 --> 00:30:13,138
Beans, corn,

425
00:30:13,140 --> 00:30:17,345
wheat, barley and rice.

426
00:30:18,778 --> 00:30:22,847
Virtually nothing compared
to the bigger picture.

427
00:30:22,849 --> 00:30:24,949
We should put
particular attention

428
00:30:24,951 --> 00:30:27,017
to the seeds of wild plants

429
00:30:27,019 --> 00:30:30,421
and figure out how we can
get those into cultivation

430
00:30:30,423 --> 00:30:32,990
because they're part of
the biodiversity heritage

431
00:30:32,992 --> 00:30:34,526
that will feed the world.

432
00:30:34,528 --> 00:30:35,360
Pick 'em out of
there, Patrick.

433
00:30:35,362 --> 00:30:36,594
[Cameraman]
There's a good one?

434
00:30:36,596 --> 00:30:39,765
So we're getting a meal on
a wild plant here, dali dali,

435
00:30:39,767 --> 00:30:42,667
which is one of the finest
roots in the world to eat.

436
00:30:42,669 --> 00:30:45,804
Top chefs would go
crazy over dali dali,

437
00:30:45,806 --> 00:30:46,505
absolutely crazy over it.

438
00:30:46,507 --> 00:30:49,009
So why don't we grow it more?

439
00:30:49,876 --> 00:30:52,009
[Jason] Back in 1700s,

440
00:30:52,011 --> 00:30:56,384
Thomas Jefferson wanted to
get seeds of risotto rice,

441
00:30:56,916 --> 00:30:58,150
And it was thanks to slyness

442
00:30:58,152 --> 00:31:02,356
that he was able to carry out
some of this contraband seed

443
00:31:02,655 --> 00:31:06,056
and raise it near
Monticello in the new world.

444
00:31:06,058 --> 00:31:08,160
To feed this
expanding continent

445
00:31:08,162 --> 00:31:10,694
that immigrants
were streaming into,

446
00:31:10,696 --> 00:31:14,467
we needed a diversification
of food crops.

447
00:31:15,499 --> 00:31:15,699
In the 1890s,

448
00:31:15,701 --> 00:31:19,603
over a billion packets of
seed were distributed for free

449
00:31:19,605 --> 00:31:21,909
to farmers around the country.

450
00:31:25,045 --> 00:31:26,878
The American Seed
Trade Association

451
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:28,979
hired the very first lobbyist

452
00:31:28,981 --> 00:31:33,153
to stop the federal "seed
giveaway" as they called it.

453
00:31:33,854 --> 00:31:36,654
They saw seed as a commodity,

454
00:31:36,656 --> 00:31:39,458
something that could be
quantified, measured,

455
00:31:39,460 --> 00:31:42,193
bought, sold, and
traded on stock markets,

456
00:31:42,195 --> 00:31:45,197
just a number on a spreadsheet.

457
00:31:45,199 --> 00:31:49,570
By 1924, the federal government
seed program would cease.

458
00:31:49,769 --> 00:31:51,202
These great
industrialists said

459
00:31:51,204 --> 00:31:52,871
"The only way we can
really make profit

460
00:31:52,873 --> 00:31:56,106
"on American agriculture
is to invent a seed

461
00:31:56,108 --> 00:31:58,910
"that they can't save."

462
00:31:58,912 --> 00:32:01,912
And that gave birth to
the hybrid seed industry.

463
00:32:01,914 --> 00:32:06,086
Hybrids were bigger and
better and produces more.

464
00:32:06,519 --> 00:32:07,922
Success is yield.

465
00:32:09,088 --> 00:32:12,224
Hybrid companies
fueled that fever

466
00:32:12,226 --> 00:32:14,825
to get the biggest and the best.

467
00:32:14,827 --> 00:32:18,763
Corn contests was rampant
throughout the midwest.

468
00:32:18,765 --> 00:32:21,900
You were measured not by how
many times you went to church,

469
00:32:21,902 --> 00:32:24,669
it was how good
of corn you grew.

470
00:32:24,671 --> 00:32:28,940
Everybody was winning
that had hybrid corn!

471
00:32:28,942 --> 00:32:31,876
If you save the seeds from
a hybrid and plant it again,

472
00:32:31,878 --> 00:32:36,014
you get what I call
"Mr. Toad's Wild Ride".

473
00:32:36,016 --> 00:32:38,616
Recessive genes that were
hidden in the parents

474
00:32:38,618 --> 00:32:40,251
express themselves again.

475
00:32:40,253 --> 00:32:41,553
This is like the grandparents,

476
00:32:41,555 --> 00:32:42,786
the grandkids start coming out

477
00:32:42,788 --> 00:32:45,055
with all sorts of weird traits.

478
00:32:45,057 --> 00:32:47,057
A little more like the mom,
a little more like the dad,

479
00:32:47,059 --> 00:32:48,829
like old uncle Harry.

480
00:32:50,063 --> 00:32:51,129
Farmers took it for granted

481
00:32:51,131 --> 00:32:54,599
that we go to a shelf in
a store to buy our seeds.

482
00:32:54,601 --> 00:32:57,969
A profound change 'cause seed
is the beginning of all of it.

483
00:32:57,971 --> 00:32:58,969
If you're relying on
someone else for your seed,

484
00:32:58,971 --> 00:33:00,705
then it's like you're
relying for someone else

485
00:33:00,707 --> 00:33:01,640
on your soul or something.

486
00:33:01,642 --> 00:33:03,741
This is like this is
where it all starts.

487
00:33:03,743 --> 00:33:05,110
To not control that part of it

488
00:33:05,112 --> 00:33:08,779
is a major abdication of
control and responsibility,

489
00:33:08,781 --> 00:33:10,782
and yet we did it wholesale.

490
00:33:10,784 --> 00:33:12,784
It destroyed the
natural seed banks

491
00:33:12,786 --> 00:33:14,885
and the seed practices
of the farmers.

492
00:33:14,887 --> 00:33:18,088
(exhilarating but
melancholy music)

493
00:33:18,090 --> 00:33:20,124
Hybrid corn was the atom
bomb of agriculture.

494
00:33:20,126 --> 00:33:23,798
(bomb rumbles and explodes)

495
00:33:28,067 --> 00:33:30,634
Right after the
Second World War,

496
00:33:30,636 --> 00:33:33,939
the Green Revolution
starts in Mexico.

497
00:33:33,941 --> 00:33:35,907
When you hear about
the Green Revolution,

498
00:33:35,909 --> 00:33:36,740
people sometimes think,

499
00:33:36,742 --> 00:33:38,176
well you know that's
about windmills

500
00:33:38,178 --> 00:33:40,844
and tofu powered sandals
or whatever it is.

501
00:33:40,846 --> 00:33:42,814
The Green in the
Green Revolution

502
00:33:42,816 --> 00:33:45,883
was never about
environmental consciousness.

503
00:33:45,885 --> 00:33:50,057
The Green was meant to be the
opposite of a red revolution.

504
00:33:50,891 --> 00:33:52,690
The visions of the
Rockefeller Foundation

505
00:33:52,692 --> 00:33:55,660
kicked off the Green Revolution.

506
00:33:55,662 --> 00:33:57,094
To provide cheap food,

507
00:33:57,096 --> 00:33:59,296
so that people would
remain capitalism

508
00:33:59,298 --> 00:34:02,836
and would not riot
and become communist.

509
00:34:03,836 --> 00:34:06,304
This is about developing
kinds of seed that matter

510
00:34:06,306 --> 00:34:10,240
for large scale commercial
farmers wherever they are.

511
00:34:10,242 --> 00:34:11,142
The Green Revolution was taking

512
00:34:11,144 --> 00:34:13,311
this rich knowledge
of peasant farming

513
00:34:13,313 --> 00:34:15,682
that evolve over millennia

514
00:34:16,717 --> 00:34:19,016
and tossing into the
dustbin of history,

515
00:34:19,018 --> 00:34:23,253
replacing it with modern
industrial agriculture.

516
00:34:23,255 --> 00:34:24,155
All of sudden,

517
00:34:24,157 --> 00:34:26,825
men in white coats
become the champions

518
00:34:26,827 --> 00:34:30,998
and the sole arbiters of
knowledge about seeds globally.

519
00:34:33,233 --> 00:34:34,766
Seeds of the green revolution,

520
00:34:34,768 --> 00:34:37,101
what are called the
miracles varieties.

521
00:34:37,103 --> 00:34:41,271
They were bred for
taking up more chemicals.

522
00:34:41,273 --> 00:34:44,242
The hungry industry
of war chemicals

523
00:34:44,244 --> 00:34:47,412
wanted to deploy these
chemicals as agrochemicals,

524
00:34:47,414 --> 00:34:51,316
trying to push chemicals
into agriculture.

525
00:34:51,318 --> 00:34:55,690
90% of the seed that
we use to grow our food,

526
00:34:55,922 --> 00:34:57,322
is owned by chemical companies,

527
00:34:57,324 --> 00:35:00,925
by pesticide and by
pharmaceutical companies.

528
00:35:00,927 --> 00:35:03,728
Now there's a huge
conflict of interest.

529
00:35:03,730 --> 00:35:06,363
When the chemical
companies own the seeds,

530
00:35:06,365 --> 00:35:08,900
they not only want you dependent
on the seed as a farmer,

531
00:35:08,902 --> 00:35:11,970
but they also want you
dependent on their chemicals.

532
00:35:11,972 --> 00:35:14,438
We use 80 million pounds
a year of Atrazine,

533
00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:16,307
just in the U.S.

534
00:35:16,309 --> 00:35:18,909
Atrazine's demasculinizing
frogs and fish,

535
00:35:18,911 --> 00:35:22,882
it can completely cause males
to develop into females.

536
00:35:24,217 --> 00:35:27,385
Atrazine leads to
promoting breast cancer.

537
00:35:27,387 --> 00:35:31,923
It's associated with
miscarriages and birth defects.

538
00:35:31,925 --> 00:35:35,896
We should've learned this
lesson way back with DDT.

539
00:35:37,230 --> 00:35:38,463
And we're just learning
it over and over

540
00:35:38,465 --> 00:35:41,202
and over and over
and over again.

541
00:35:46,873 --> 00:35:49,273
The big concerns are Cancers

542
00:35:49,275 --> 00:35:52,278
that pesticides are
associated with.

543
00:35:58,784 --> 00:36:01,452
My whole entry into this
area was because of Atrazine.

544
00:36:01,454 --> 00:36:05,826
The actual manufacturer
hired me to look at Atrazine.

545
00:36:07,126 --> 00:36:08,726
Novartis told me

546
00:36:08,728 --> 00:36:10,095
I couldn't talk to
people about my research.

547
00:36:10,097 --> 00:36:11,929
I couldn't publish it
and I couldn't write it

548
00:36:11,931 --> 00:36:15,166
and I thought, what do you mean?

549
00:36:15,168 --> 00:36:18,769
Then they started trying
to manipulate data.

550
00:36:18,771 --> 00:36:19,871
And that's when I realized,

551
00:36:19,873 --> 00:36:21,805
I've helped the
chemical industry

552
00:36:21,807 --> 00:36:25,110
keep this chemical in the
market that I know is bad.

553
00:36:25,112 --> 00:36:27,045
And go home to my wife and kids

554
00:36:27,047 --> 00:36:28,912
and go "Oh, guess
what I did today."

555
00:36:28,914 --> 00:36:32,450
I did a study that
confused all the sciences

556
00:36:32,452 --> 00:36:35,385
and now people don't know
that this chemical's bad.

557
00:36:35,387 --> 00:36:38,456
Novartis and Syngenta
spent millions fighting me.

558
00:36:38,458 --> 00:36:41,126
And when you look Novartis
and Syngenta's strategy,

559
00:36:41,128 --> 00:36:44,195
the first thing that they
say is discredit Hayes.

560
00:36:44,197 --> 00:36:45,329
They couldn't prove
my science was bad.

561
00:36:45,331 --> 00:36:47,898
They wrote down a
checklist of things

562
00:36:47,900 --> 00:36:49,434
they were going to do to me,

563
00:36:49,436 --> 00:36:53,106
to hurt my students,
to investigate my wife.

564
00:36:54,173 --> 00:36:56,840
They actually wrote it down!

565
00:36:56,842 --> 00:36:58,909
The first page in the
secret spy evil handbook

566
00:36:58,911 --> 00:37:00,244
is don't write it down

567
00:37:00,246 --> 00:37:03,850
or you eat it or it
self destruct, right?

568
00:37:06,952 --> 00:37:09,854
I do everything I can in
a position that I'm in.

569
00:37:09,856 --> 00:37:12,222
But you know what some
of the dangers are,

570
00:37:12,224 --> 00:37:16,360
being an academic and
speaking out for what's right.

571
00:37:16,362 --> 00:37:18,131
We all have to do it.

572
00:37:20,500 --> 00:37:24,038
(waves crashing calmly)

573
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,111
(soft, relaxing music)

574
00:37:34,014 --> 00:37:37,148
We live in the most self
sustainable place on earth.

575
00:37:37,150 --> 00:37:41,485
We can grow any plant
from Kakela to Hanalei.

576
00:37:41,487 --> 00:37:43,954
It's such a cycle
of life around here

577
00:37:43,956 --> 00:37:46,092
with the ocean and the land.

578
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:52,030
Hawaiians knew from
the beginning of time.

579
00:37:52,032 --> 00:37:55,166
Our whole world revolves
around Aloha A'ina,

580
00:37:55,168 --> 00:37:59,340
giving back to the land
because the land gives to us.

581
00:38:01,842 --> 00:38:06,010
Native Hawaiians have this
incredible agricultural system

582
00:38:06,012 --> 00:38:09,917
able to sustain three
times today's population.

583
00:38:12,085 --> 00:38:16,257
In the 1800s, plantation
agriculture happened in Hawaii,

584
00:38:17,324 --> 00:38:20,157
and what you see is
private land ownership

585
00:38:20,159 --> 00:38:21,626
happening in Hawaii.

586
00:38:21,628 --> 00:38:24,128
(moves into calm
and serene music)

587
00:38:24,130 --> 00:38:26,030
The original missionary families

588
00:38:26,032 --> 00:38:29,236
are still the primary
private landowners.

589
00:38:32,438 --> 00:38:35,606
The descendants of the
original missionaries

590
00:38:35,608 --> 00:38:39,045
open up the first
sugar cane plantations.

591
00:38:42,148 --> 00:38:45,950
The last sugar cane mill
on this island closed down

592
00:38:45,952 --> 00:38:47,584
eight years ago.

593
00:38:47,586 --> 00:38:52,090
And in its place biotech
chemical seed companies came in

594
00:38:52,092 --> 00:38:54,260
and took over agriculture.

595
00:38:56,195 --> 00:38:59,898
They say sugar ruled
Hawaii, sugar was king.

596
00:38:59,900 --> 00:39:03,269
Well, now I would say
the biotech industry,

597
00:39:04,237 --> 00:39:07,905
these chemical companies
are king in Hawaii.

598
00:39:07,907 --> 00:39:10,911
(sings in Hawaiian)

599
00:39:12,913 --> 00:39:15,313
I live in a community
that consists of

600
00:39:15,315 --> 00:39:18,418
pure Native Hawaiian
native speakers.

601
00:39:22,655 --> 00:39:27,090
I have waited for an
opportunity to own my own home.

602
00:39:27,092 --> 00:39:29,159
And not just own my own home,

603
00:39:29,161 --> 00:39:33,333
but a space as a single
mother to raise my children.

604
00:39:36,536 --> 00:39:40,106
Many Hawaiians die waiting

605
00:39:41,307 --> 00:39:42,606
for their opportunity

606
00:39:42,608 --> 00:39:44,911
at an Hawaiian homestead.

607
00:39:45,711 --> 00:39:49,713
I moved out here and at the
time sugar was just moving out

608
00:39:49,715 --> 00:39:53,184
and the fields around
us were fallow.

609
00:39:53,186 --> 00:39:56,523
I started to see
different fields pop up

610
00:39:57,657 --> 00:39:59,994
that I've never seen before.

611
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:01,927
It alarmed me.

612
00:40:01,929 --> 00:40:05,063
I had no idea what was,
what was happening,

613
00:40:05,065 --> 00:40:08,066
what was taking
the place of sugar.

614
00:40:08,068 --> 00:40:12,039
Then I started to experience
very bad allergies,

615
00:40:12,271 --> 00:40:14,639
migraines and illnesses,

616
00:40:14,641 --> 00:40:18,275
just not being able
to get over colds.

617
00:40:18,277 --> 00:40:22,448
My doctor said, "Oh you have
full blown adult asthma."

618
00:40:23,115 --> 00:40:25,052
What I started to see

619
00:40:25,751 --> 00:40:29,720
that the farmers were
spraying pesticides.

620
00:40:29,722 --> 00:40:32,389
(moves into calm
but somber music)

621
00:40:32,391 --> 00:40:36,562
They are spraying things at
night while we are sleeping.

622
00:40:38,431 --> 00:40:41,068
My two daughters wake up with

623
00:40:42,469 --> 00:40:44,204
blood-soaked pillows.

624
00:40:51,610 --> 00:40:54,778
There's hundreds and
hundreds of acres

625
00:40:54,780 --> 00:40:58,952
where these chemical
corporations test their seed.

626
00:41:00,552 --> 00:41:04,391
18 tons of restricted
pesticides being dumped,

627
00:41:06,059 --> 00:41:09,396
right next to schools
and neighborhoods.

628
00:41:16,036 --> 00:41:17,769
I'm a teacher at Waimea
Canyon Middle School

629
00:41:17,771 --> 00:41:20,570
for the past 18 years.

630
00:41:20,572 --> 00:41:23,740
There's ag lands
adjacent to our campus.

631
00:41:23,742 --> 00:41:27,744
It is literally 100 yards
up wind from our school.

632
00:41:27,746 --> 00:41:29,213
That's the field that
they were spraying

633
00:41:29,215 --> 00:41:32,152
and we can actually
feel the mists.

634
00:41:32,786 --> 00:41:35,686
I contacted Syngenta and said

635
00:41:35,688 --> 00:41:38,592
we believe that
drift is occurring.

636
00:41:40,492 --> 00:41:41,626
During PE,

637
00:41:41,628 --> 00:41:45,063
a cloud of gases came over them

638
00:41:45,065 --> 00:41:48,066
and kids just started dropping.

639
00:41:48,068 --> 00:41:49,266
(car horn honks)

640
00:41:49,268 --> 00:41:51,735
There was chaos on
campus, it was horrific.

641
00:41:51,737 --> 00:41:54,171
(emergency vehicle
sirens blare out)

642
00:41:54,173 --> 00:41:58,242
There wasn't enough
room in the health room.

643
00:41:58,244 --> 00:42:02,016
About 140 children were
seeking assistance.

644
00:42:03,083 --> 00:42:07,253
There was this effort by
administrators and politicians

645
00:42:08,353 --> 00:42:10,123
to whitewash it over,

646
00:42:10,824 --> 00:42:13,624
and immediately
in the newspaper,

647
00:42:13,626 --> 00:42:15,793
you know, school evacuated
because of stink weed,

648
00:42:15,795 --> 00:42:19,664
and that became the
specious explanation,

649
00:42:19,666 --> 00:42:21,501
that became the story.

650
00:42:22,835 --> 00:42:26,704
Teachers came
together and stood up.

651
00:42:26,706 --> 00:42:29,209
"Stop poisoning our children".

652
00:42:30,275 --> 00:42:32,709
Monsanto, Dow, Dupont,
and Hawaii and elsewhere,

653
00:42:32,711 --> 00:42:34,244
they've got a blank
check to experiment

654
00:42:34,246 --> 00:42:38,251
with any chemical they
want on these test plots.

655
00:42:39,219 --> 00:42:41,885
You've got the most
toxic insecticides

656
00:42:41,887 --> 00:42:43,854
by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.

657
00:42:43,856 --> 00:42:46,523
(calm but serious strings music)

658
00:42:46,525 --> 00:42:49,392
The seed companies,
the chemical companies,

659
00:42:49,394 --> 00:42:50,628
especially Monsanto,

660
00:42:50,630 --> 00:42:54,132
use every means of control

661
00:42:54,134 --> 00:42:57,635
to manipulate our government
and other governments.

662
00:42:57,637 --> 00:43:01,809
They pour huge amounts of
money into political campaigns.

663
00:43:02,809 --> 00:43:05,309
They pour huge amounts
of money into lobbying.

664
00:43:05,311 --> 00:43:07,744
They have many of their
own people embedded

665
00:43:07,746 --> 00:43:12,249
in the key decision making
roles in the U.S. Government.

666
00:43:12,251 --> 00:43:13,086
In 1992,

667
00:43:14,054 --> 00:43:15,853
the approval of genetically
engineered crops

668
00:43:15,855 --> 00:43:17,688
was done by Michael Taylor,

669
00:43:17,690 --> 00:43:19,590
who was a lawyer for Monsanto

670
00:43:19,592 --> 00:43:23,764
and went right from Monsanto
to working for the government.

671
00:43:25,764 --> 00:43:26,764
Tom Vilsack was named

672
00:43:26,766 --> 00:43:28,566
the Biotechnology
Industrial Organization's

673
00:43:28,568 --> 00:43:30,501
governor of the year.

674
00:43:30,503 --> 00:43:34,675
His law firm defended
Monsanto in the Supreme Court

675
00:43:35,942 --> 00:43:39,177
and he became the
Secretary of Agriculture.

676
00:43:39,179 --> 00:43:40,311
Here you have somebody
who's in control

677
00:43:40,313 --> 00:43:42,179
of agricultural policy,

678
00:43:42,181 --> 00:43:44,548
absolutely linked to the hip
to the biotechnology industry

679
00:43:44,550 --> 00:43:46,816
and to Monsanto's interests

680
00:43:46,818 --> 00:43:48,286
The revolving door between
Monsanto and government

681
00:43:48,288 --> 00:43:51,557
is going to fast,
it's almost dizzying.

682
00:43:54,726 --> 00:43:55,659
The corporations,

683
00:43:55,661 --> 00:43:57,728
they said we wanna
really own these seeds.

684
00:43:57,730 --> 00:43:59,900
We want patents on life.

685
00:44:00,967 --> 00:44:03,534
It was fast tracked
to the Supreme Court.

686
00:44:03,536 --> 00:44:06,237
It was a five-four decision
with Clarence Thomas,

687
00:44:06,239 --> 00:44:07,438
in the lead of the five,

688
00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:11,512
saying "Yes, you can patent
seeds, you can patent life."

689
00:44:11,744 --> 00:44:12,709
Very few people know,

690
00:44:12,711 --> 00:44:15,746
but Clarence Thomas
was a Monsanto lawyer.

691
00:44:15,748 --> 00:44:19,849
When I first heard about
the idea of patenting a seed,

692
00:44:19,851 --> 00:44:21,851
or any kind of plant,

693
00:44:21,853 --> 00:44:24,322
I was absolutely
horrified and I thought,

694
00:44:24,324 --> 00:44:25,822
surely that'll never be allowed.

695
00:44:25,824 --> 00:44:28,291
You can't own nature.

696
00:44:28,293 --> 00:44:31,831
(soft and calm violin music)

697
00:44:44,943 --> 00:44:46,844
Under section 101
of the Patent Act,

698
00:44:46,846 --> 00:44:50,880
which defines what can be
patented in the United States,

699
00:44:50,882 --> 00:44:54,418
you can only patent a
machine, a manufacture,

700
00:44:54,420 --> 00:44:56,987
or an inventor's
composition of matter.

701
00:44:56,989 --> 00:45:01,360
And I fail to see how a
seed can be either of those.

702
00:45:02,829 --> 00:45:06,463
Monsanto takes one gene out
of tens of thousands of genes,

703
00:45:06,465 --> 00:45:09,967
changes that, and says "No, no,
now we own the whole plant."

704
00:45:09,969 --> 00:45:12,269
It's one of the most
extraordinary giveaways,

705
00:45:12,271 --> 00:45:14,905
giving corporations the
natural reproduction

706
00:45:14,907 --> 00:45:15,572
of all life forms,

707
00:45:15,574 --> 00:45:16,907
saying you can make a profit

708
00:45:16,909 --> 00:45:19,909
on every one of
those reproductions.

709
00:45:19,911 --> 00:45:21,679
So they don't just
own the seeds,

710
00:45:21,681 --> 00:45:24,782
they own all of the
offspring of those seeds,

711
00:45:24,784 --> 00:45:26,787
and patent them forever.

712
00:45:28,554 --> 00:45:31,892
(calm and somber music)

713
00:45:33,826 --> 00:45:37,798
The threat is there
by conglomerates to

714
00:45:43,670 --> 00:45:45,469
legally saying they own it

715
00:45:45,471 --> 00:45:49,373
because they're the
first to patent it.

716
00:45:49,375 --> 00:45:53,043
We're the custodians of
this knowledge and the corn,

717
00:45:53,045 --> 00:45:55,781
and how dare others
take it away.

718
00:45:56,949 --> 00:45:59,749
Once these corns
get contaminated,

719
00:45:59,751 --> 00:46:01,952
there's no way you
can breed it out.

720
00:46:01,954 --> 00:46:04,554
The only safe thing to do
is actually incinerate,

721
00:46:04,556 --> 00:46:06,724
y'know I wouldn't
feed it to animals,

722
00:46:06,726 --> 00:46:10,564
I wouldn't compost it
because it's in the DNA,

723
00:46:11,396 --> 00:46:15,568
it's an abuse to seeds and
to us as indigenous people

724
00:46:19,771 --> 00:46:22,940
With the GMO seeds
that are out there.

725
00:46:22,942 --> 00:46:25,008
We need to protect our seeds

726
00:46:25,010 --> 00:46:29,382
We need to save our seeds
and we need to plant them

727
00:46:30,583 --> 00:46:32,916
for the survival
of our communities

728
00:46:32,918 --> 00:46:34,820
and survival of Earthmom.

729
00:46:49,568 --> 00:46:51,702
Our people know that
where there is wild rice,

730
00:46:51,704 --> 00:46:53,373
there are Anishnabe.

731
00:46:55,675 --> 00:46:57,943
It is our most sacred food.

732
00:47:02,681 --> 00:47:06,852
We have harvested this rice
for thousands of years.

733
00:47:10,655 --> 00:47:14,827
This wild rice doesn't grow
anywhere else in the world.

734
00:47:19,898 --> 00:47:21,766
We engaged in a battle
with the corporations

735
00:47:21,768 --> 00:47:23,633
and with the University
of Minnesota.

736
00:47:23,635 --> 00:47:26,771
(moves into calm but
intense drum music)

737
00:47:26,773 --> 00:47:27,738
The University of Minnesota

738
00:47:27,740 --> 00:47:29,840
wanted to genetically
engineer wild rice.

739
00:47:29,842 --> 00:47:31,675
We were very concerned

740
00:47:31,677 --> 00:47:35,849
That would potentially
contaminate our wild rice

741
00:47:36,481 --> 00:47:37,784
so we fought them.

742
00:47:39,117 --> 00:47:40,985
The first opposition
witness out of the gate

743
00:47:40,987 --> 00:47:44,521
for three years in
a row was Monsanto.

744
00:47:44,523 --> 00:47:46,624
They came out every
time we testified.

745
00:47:46,626 --> 00:47:48,825
They said if the Ojibwe
were able to stop

746
00:47:48,827 --> 00:47:50,827
the genetic engineering
of wild rice,

747
00:47:50,829 --> 00:47:55,032
it would send a chilling
message to the biotech industry.

748
00:47:55,034 --> 00:47:59,405
When they go and take that
dignity of that food from you

749
00:48:00,106 --> 00:48:03,807
and turn it into something
else it is offensive,

750
00:48:03,809 --> 00:48:05,909
it hurts our people, it
hurts us economically,

751
00:48:05,911 --> 00:48:08,047
and it hurts us spiritually.

752
00:48:09,581 --> 00:48:12,115
Wild should mean something.

753
00:48:12,117 --> 00:48:13,650
And I would assume
that that would mean

754
00:48:13,652 --> 00:48:15,921
not genetically engineered.

755
00:48:31,536 --> 00:48:33,903
Genetically modified plants,

756
00:48:33,905 --> 00:48:37,608
it's doing something which isn't
natural in the plant world.

757
00:48:37,610 --> 00:48:41,782
(calm but exciting
strings music)

758
00:48:44,750 --> 00:48:47,987
Genes from a completely
different species

759
00:48:49,489 --> 00:48:52,759
are being introduced
into these plants.

760
00:48:54,494 --> 00:48:56,028
And the plant fights.

761
00:48:59,632 --> 00:49:03,833
The plant is not happy to
receive an alien species.

762
00:49:03,835 --> 00:49:07,206
You can put a pig in
a room with a tomato

763
00:49:09,742 --> 00:49:11,941
and you can turn
the lights down low

764
00:49:11,943 --> 00:49:14,912
and play some nice music
and you serve some wine,

765
00:49:14,914 --> 00:49:17,180
but no matter how hard you try,

766
00:49:17,182 --> 00:49:21,554
you're not going to get the
pig to mate with a tomato.

767
00:49:21,887 --> 00:49:23,887
But the genetic engineers

768
00:49:23,889 --> 00:49:27,860
can take genes from the pig
and force it into the tomato.

769
00:49:29,528 --> 00:49:31,996
They've taken genes from
spiders and put them into goats.

770
00:49:31,998 --> 00:49:35,798
They've taken human genes and
put it into rice and corn.

771
00:49:35,800 --> 00:49:39,970
They're eliminating the
natural species barriers

772
00:49:39,972 --> 00:49:42,008
and in a sense playing God.

773
00:49:43,842 --> 00:49:47,513
You shoot gold particles
laden with genes.

774
00:49:48,813 --> 00:49:49,880
But it's a very
unreliable process,

775
00:49:49,882 --> 00:49:53,316
so you have to also add
antibioresistance markers.

776
00:49:53,318 --> 00:49:55,818
You also have to
add viral promoters.

777
00:49:55,820 --> 00:49:58,255
And every genetically
engineered seed

778
00:49:58,257 --> 00:50:02,561
is a bundle of bacteria,
toxins, viral promoters.

779
00:50:03,996 --> 00:50:07,331
As we remove the
barriers between species,

780
00:50:07,333 --> 00:50:10,233
mixing these genes and viruses,

781
00:50:10,235 --> 00:50:12,570
the threshold also gets broken

782
00:50:12,572 --> 00:50:15,838
for the spread of new
infectious diseases.

783
00:50:15,840 --> 00:50:20,012
A genetically modified seed
is the sorcerer's apprentice.

784
00:50:21,047 --> 00:50:24,715
We have the capacity to
start all this stuff,

785
00:50:24,717 --> 00:50:27,684
but we don't have the
capacity to stop it,

786
00:50:27,686 --> 00:50:29,954
and when we
manipulate a species,

787
00:50:29,956 --> 00:50:33,994
that is a kind of hubris
that we will pay for.

788
00:50:36,061 --> 00:50:36,894
You can't see the difference

789
00:50:36,896 --> 00:50:38,628
between genetically
engineered corn

790
00:50:38,630 --> 00:50:41,634
and non-genetically
engineered corn.

791
00:50:43,969 --> 00:50:46,805
This is not seeable
by a consumer.

792
00:50:53,878 --> 00:50:56,880
Independent scientists were
beginning to see indications

793
00:50:56,882 --> 00:50:58,849
that consuming genetically
engineered foods

794
00:50:58,851 --> 00:51:01,318
could have kidney
and liver damage.

795
00:51:01,320 --> 00:51:03,920
We are seeing possible
reproductive issues

796
00:51:03,922 --> 00:51:05,088
in laboratory animals,

797
00:51:05,090 --> 00:51:06,190
these are peer reviewed science

798
00:51:06,192 --> 00:51:07,858
and now we're beginning
to see problems

799
00:51:07,860 --> 00:51:10,193
that could come from them.

800
00:51:10,195 --> 00:51:14,567
(moves into upbeat
and rhythmic music)

801
00:51:27,079 --> 00:51:31,251
Wheat was the holy grail
for companies like Monsanto.

802
00:51:32,150 --> 00:51:34,083
If they could have had all
the wheat in the United States

803
00:51:34,085 --> 00:51:38,257
be genetically engineered,
that was really the holy grail.

804
00:51:57,710 --> 00:51:59,976
Monsanto spent
ten years developing

805
00:51:59,978 --> 00:52:02,214
the genetic modified wheat.

806
00:52:03,815 --> 00:52:06,883
Wheat farmers decided
we did not want them

807
00:52:06,885 --> 00:52:10,023
to release a genetically
modified wheat.

808
00:52:11,791 --> 00:52:13,891
We said "No, we're
not doing that."

809
00:52:13,893 --> 00:52:16,193
We don't have to take
the chance to fool

810
00:52:16,195 --> 00:52:19,329
with the genetic
modified plants.

811
00:52:19,331 --> 00:52:23,702
We said "Nope, we don't want
it," and now we've got it.

812
00:52:26,271 --> 00:52:28,271
We thought that this
had been put to bed.

813
00:52:28,273 --> 00:52:31,075
We thought those wheat
seeds had been destroyed.

814
00:52:31,077 --> 00:52:32,345
Apparently not.

815
00:52:37,048 --> 00:52:39,849
The Department of Agriculture
had told us don't worry,

816
00:52:39,851 --> 00:52:42,853
we can keep these
seed trials confined

817
00:52:42,855 --> 00:52:44,921
and time and time again
they have failed to do so,

818
00:52:44,923 --> 00:52:46,960
and they have escaped.

819
00:52:48,793 --> 00:52:51,360
Once you take that stuff
out of the laboratory,

820
00:52:51,362 --> 00:52:53,896
there's a thousand
things that can go wrong

821
00:52:53,898 --> 00:52:56,135
that lets that seed get away.

822
00:52:57,869 --> 00:53:00,104
As far as a duck can
fly, they eat seed,

823
00:53:00,106 --> 00:53:01,804
and they excrete that seed,

824
00:53:01,806 --> 00:53:05,108
and seed grows in place
where it wasn't intended.

825
00:53:05,110 --> 00:53:06,144
You can't pull it back.

826
00:53:06,146 --> 00:53:07,278
You can't put the
toothpaste back in the tube.

827
00:53:07,280 --> 00:53:11,851
International wheat
markets shut down for months.

828
00:53:12,083 --> 00:53:15,853
That cost farmers hundreds
of millions of dollars.

829
00:53:15,855 --> 00:53:17,954
USDA opened an investigation.

830
00:53:17,956 --> 00:53:19,389
They've never been
able to discover

831
00:53:19,391 --> 00:53:21,124
how the genetically
engineered wheat

832
00:53:21,126 --> 00:53:23,295
got in the farmer's field.

833
00:53:25,764 --> 00:53:28,264
We're fooling with Mother
Nature in a way that,

834
00:53:28,266 --> 00:53:29,234
quite frankly,

835
00:53:30,869 --> 00:53:34,938
may end up not being
near as rosy of a panacea

836
00:53:34,940 --> 00:53:39,075
as these seed companies
want to point out.

837
00:53:39,077 --> 00:53:42,979
If our wheat is contaminated,
I'm out of business.

838
00:53:42,981 --> 00:53:47,052
(calm but worrying guitar music)

839
00:53:48,887 --> 00:53:49,820
In 1998,

840
00:53:49,822 --> 00:53:53,356
we were just beginning
harvesting canola

841
00:53:53,358 --> 00:53:55,360
in the middle of August.

842
00:54:00,132 --> 00:54:02,800
My neighbor had grown GMO canola

843
00:54:02,802 --> 00:54:05,371
and our fields
were contaminated.

844
00:54:06,838 --> 00:54:08,438
And a bus station phoned up

845
00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:11,141
and I thought that's unusual

846
00:54:11,143 --> 00:54:14,177
and they said there's
a parcel here for you.

847
00:54:14,179 --> 00:54:16,947
Later on that evening, open it,

848
00:54:16,949 --> 00:54:19,449
here's a lawsuit from Monsanto,

849
00:54:19,451 --> 00:54:21,385
and I didn't think much of it!

850
00:54:21,387 --> 00:54:24,854
What's this patent infringement?

851
00:54:24,856 --> 00:54:26,557
Didn't even know what that was.

852
00:54:26,559 --> 00:54:28,891
Our family lawyer looked
at me and he says,

853
00:54:28,893 --> 00:54:30,526
"Percy, I think
you're in trouble."

854
00:54:30,528 --> 00:54:32,262
I said "What for?"

855
00:54:32,264 --> 00:54:33,396
Well, he said,

856
00:54:33,398 --> 00:54:36,200
"They're charging you that
you have their GMO seeds,"

857
00:54:36,202 --> 00:54:38,938
and I said, "What
are GMO seeds?"

858
00:54:43,208 --> 00:54:45,041
The judge's stated
that it does not matter

859
00:54:45,043 --> 00:54:46,242
how you're contaminated.

860
00:54:46,244 --> 00:54:49,979
You violate the patent and
you no longer own your seeds.

861
00:54:49,981 --> 00:54:54,318
That right should never be
taken away from a farmer.

862
00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:55,952
You are taking seed
that has been there

863
00:54:55,954 --> 00:54:58,588
for thousands of years
and put a patent on it

864
00:54:58,590 --> 00:54:59,488
and say you own it.

865
00:54:59,490 --> 00:55:01,057
Basically it's robbery.

866
00:55:01,059 --> 00:55:04,894
To me, that's really a
violation of human rights.

867
00:55:04,896 --> 00:55:06,063
Henry Kissinger said

868
00:55:06,065 --> 00:55:07,998
"If you want to control the
country, control the oil,

869
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:10,499
"if you want to control the
people, control the food."

870
00:55:10,501 --> 00:55:12,436
Vandana Shiva says, "If you
want to control the food,

871
00:55:12,438 --> 00:55:13,304
"control the seed."

872
00:55:13,306 --> 00:55:17,577
(moves into soft,
foreboding music)

873
00:55:20,278 --> 00:55:23,347
When seed started to
become a patented product

874
00:55:23,349 --> 00:55:25,048
sold by corporations,

875
00:55:25,050 --> 00:55:27,153
you destroy seed freedom.

876
00:55:28,353 --> 00:55:32,655
When a company as powerful
as Monsanto enters a country,

877
00:55:32,657 --> 00:55:36,626
it starts to control that
country's decision making.

878
00:55:36,628 --> 00:55:40,130
Monsanto started to buy
up Indian seed companies.

879
00:55:40,132 --> 00:55:44,200
60 Indian companies can
only sell Monsanto seeds.

880
00:55:44,202 --> 00:55:48,373
The companies will take
video vans into the villages.

881
00:55:50,141 --> 00:55:52,675
They had every Indian epic.

882
00:55:52,677 --> 00:55:57,014
And they would, very
cleverly, sell the seeds.

883
00:55:57,016 --> 00:56:00,086
So Hanuman is carrying
white gold seeds

884
00:56:01,552 --> 00:56:03,019
of Monsanto.

885
00:56:03,021 --> 00:56:06,923
So when Hanuman comes as
a salesman of Monsanto,

886
00:56:06,925 --> 00:56:08,494
they believe in them.

887
00:56:10,396 --> 00:56:14,567
So that was the first trap
through which they took over.

888
00:56:15,934 --> 00:56:17,034
Then they also told the farmer

889
00:56:17,036 --> 00:56:20,137
"Why are you using these
old seeds? Sell them to us."

890
00:56:20,139 --> 00:56:22,472
A farmer has always had seed,

891
00:56:22,474 --> 00:56:23,472
and a farmer would say

892
00:56:23,474 --> 00:56:26,575
"Oh, they're giving me
some money for the seed.

893
00:56:26,577 --> 00:56:29,445
"I'll just get it from
my neighbor tomorrow."

894
00:56:29,447 --> 00:56:31,280
Not realizing the neighbor
has also been approached

895
00:56:31,282 --> 00:56:32,548
in the same way,

896
00:56:32,550 --> 00:56:34,650
and the next village,
and the next village.

897
00:56:34,652 --> 00:56:36,286
In one season,

898
00:56:36,288 --> 00:56:38,487
this thing they called
seed replacement

899
00:56:38,489 --> 00:56:42,160
has destroyed the entire
native seed supply.

900
00:56:43,728 --> 00:56:47,132
You have a seed
dictatorship established,

901
00:56:48,132 --> 00:56:50,636
then the farmer can't get out.

902
00:56:53,237 --> 00:56:57,340
Farmers will be forced to come
back to buy seed every year.

903
00:56:57,342 --> 00:57:01,411
We could have very,
very large scale famine.

904
00:57:01,413 --> 00:57:05,315
But unlike all famines of
the past, no resurrection,

905
00:57:05,317 --> 00:57:09,489
because every famine of the
past, seed was always there.

906
00:57:12,690 --> 00:57:17,062
This time's famine will
be based on a seed famine.

907
00:57:19,565 --> 00:57:23,599
What this free-trade
system has given us is

908
00:57:23,601 --> 00:57:25,769
instead of seed being "Of
the farmers, by the farmers,

909
00:57:25,771 --> 00:57:29,005
"for the farmers
and all citizens,"

910
00:57:29,007 --> 00:57:31,508
it is now seed "For
the corporations,

911
00:57:31,510 --> 00:57:33,642
"of the corporations".

912
00:57:33,644 --> 00:57:37,014
NAFTA will create the
world's largest trade zone,

913
00:57:37,016 --> 00:57:39,782
and create 200,00
jobs in this country.

914
00:57:39,784 --> 00:57:42,052
When NAFTA was introduced

915
00:57:42,054 --> 00:57:44,521
between United
States and Mexico,

916
00:57:44,523 --> 00:57:47,590
all of the sudden
the US was selling

917
00:57:47,592 --> 00:57:50,394
subsidized corn into Mexico

918
00:57:50,396 --> 00:57:54,063
that was below the cost
of production in Mexico,

919
00:57:54,065 --> 00:57:56,733
forcing a couple million
farmers off their land.

920
00:57:56,735 --> 00:57:59,036
(soft, somber strings music)

921
00:57:59,038 --> 00:58:02,541
We planted the seeds
of that migration.

922
00:58:06,478 --> 00:58:09,514
A lot of that corn is
contaminated with transgenics.

923
00:58:14,253 --> 00:58:18,423
We are destroying the basis
of the world's agriculture.

924
00:58:25,264 --> 00:58:29,298
(moves into simple
and peaceful music)

925
00:58:29,300 --> 00:58:31,434
Oaxaca is the region of Mexico

926
00:58:31,436 --> 00:58:34,706
where subsistence
agriculture holds on.

927
00:58:36,340 --> 00:58:40,512
The subsistence agriculture
is slowly being phased out.

928
00:58:43,815 --> 00:58:46,483
But if that agriculture is gone,

929
00:58:46,485 --> 00:58:48,721
we have lost that
resources for our future.

930
00:58:51,389 --> 00:58:54,126
Our diet has been our plants,

931
00:58:54,626 --> 00:58:55,728
our seeds,

932
00:58:56,260 --> 00:58:57,463
our fruits.

933
00:58:57,695 --> 00:59:01,333
Our challenge is to
preserve native seeds

934
00:59:01,766 --> 00:59:03,766
Otherwise it will
be very difficult

935
00:59:03,768 --> 00:59:06,635
for our communities to survive.

936
00:59:06,637 --> 00:59:09,808
(women sings in Spanish)

937
00:59:23,387 --> 00:59:26,458
(church bells chime)

938
00:59:35,467 --> 00:59:38,104
(moves into soft,
festive guitar music)

939
00:59:40,172 --> 00:59:43,305
Itanoni is a
doorway to the world

940
00:59:43,307 --> 00:59:47,380
of corn that exists in
the grandpa's villages.

941
00:59:50,882 --> 00:59:53,752
(waiter speaks in Spanish)

942
00:59:57,155 --> 01:00:00,789
In Mexico the
traditional tortillerias

943
01:00:00,791 --> 01:00:02,427
are disappearing.

944
01:00:18,777 --> 01:00:23,115
I work with farmers to
create the market they need.

945
01:00:25,884 --> 01:00:27,851
When we have extra corn

946
01:00:27,853 --> 01:00:31,557
we sell to the
restaurant Itanoni.

947
01:00:33,759 --> 01:00:37,762
We're getting famous
because of the corn.

948
01:00:39,864 --> 01:00:42,898
[Amado] This treasure
can only be preserved

949
01:00:42,900 --> 01:00:44,402
by reproducing it.

950
01:00:50,474 --> 01:00:52,277
(calm and relaxing sitar music)

951
01:00:54,313 --> 01:00:56,148
My name is Suman Khulko.

952
01:00:56,949 --> 01:01:00,887
I live in a small village
of Ranchi in Eastern India.

953
01:01:07,759 --> 01:01:09,829
I am the only daughter.

954
01:01:11,963 --> 01:01:14,567
My father is handicapped.

955
01:01:18,570 --> 01:01:19,772
When I was young

956
01:01:20,806 --> 01:01:24,907
my grandparents had passed away.

957
01:01:24,909 --> 01:01:28,813
I would visit a wise
woman who was blind.

958
01:01:32,784 --> 01:01:35,721
She taught me about
traditional seeds,

959
01:01:40,324 --> 01:01:42,928
so I started collecting seeds.

960
01:01:45,731 --> 01:01:49,468
My mother had no
interest in saving seeds,

961
01:01:52,304 --> 01:01:56,474
so I would hide the
seeds from my mother.

962
01:01:59,978 --> 01:02:03,412
We were told if
we used chemicals

963
01:02:03,414 --> 01:02:06,451
our farming would be better.

964
01:02:08,719 --> 01:02:12,655
My brother saw farmers
using chemicals

965
01:02:12,657 --> 01:02:15,293
and making more money.

966
01:02:17,429 --> 01:02:20,833
He said to me, "We will
do chemical farming."

967
01:02:24,568 --> 01:02:27,806
I said, "Don't use chemicals."

968
01:02:29,875 --> 01:02:33,846
But he didn't listen.

969
01:02:35,713 --> 01:02:37,983
Our family will drown in debt.

970
01:02:42,554 --> 01:02:46,726
It hurt to the core of my heart.

971
01:02:51,429 --> 01:02:53,896
My uncle took a
loan from the bank,

972
01:02:53,898 --> 01:02:55,898
bought seeds,

973
01:02:55,900 --> 01:02:57,802
and planted them.

974
01:03:04,809 --> 01:03:07,846
The rains did not come.

975
01:03:13,018 --> 01:03:15,751
His mind stopped working.

976
01:03:15,753 --> 01:03:17,789
He went completely mad.

977
01:03:22,927 --> 01:03:25,762
He committed suicide

978
01:03:25,764 --> 01:03:29,934
by drinking the
chemical pesticide.

979
01:03:33,003 --> 01:03:36,541
When I heard what my uncle did,

980
01:03:37,842 --> 01:03:41,780
I started thinking
of my brother.

981
01:03:46,851 --> 01:03:49,621
[Brother] We are
short on money.

982
01:03:50,755 --> 01:03:53,458
How will we arrange
for this money?

983
01:03:53,657 --> 01:03:57,829
Our hybrid seeds got
a fungus disease.

984
01:04:00,164 --> 01:04:03,469
These hybrid seeds are
not useful for next year.

985
01:04:07,505 --> 01:04:11,676
[Vandana] We have lost
270,000 farmers to suicide.

986
01:04:31,797 --> 01:04:34,800
(somber orchestra music)

987
01:04:38,869 --> 01:04:41,737
Pioneer Dupont
and DOW chemical,

988
01:04:41,739 --> 01:04:44,409
they have all the acreage leased

989
01:04:47,846 --> 01:04:50,512
all the way up
from the mountains,

990
01:04:50,514 --> 01:04:52,817
all the way down to the ocean,

991
01:04:54,853 --> 01:04:59,023
and this is where all the
experimentation goes on.

992
01:05:02,561 --> 01:05:03,896
This is the dust

993
01:05:05,496 --> 01:05:09,033
that's blowing in the fields.

994
01:05:12,204 --> 01:05:15,975
It blows over the cliffs
and into our homes

995
01:05:23,547 --> 01:05:25,717
and we breathe this stuff.

996
01:05:42,967 --> 01:05:46,769
The neighborhood is filled with
people who have passed away

997
01:05:46,771 --> 01:05:48,673
of some form of cancer.

998
01:05:49,940 --> 01:05:52,877
So many people back
here have died.

999
01:05:54,945 --> 01:05:58,951
My wife, she got breast
cancer. She almost died.

1000
01:06:01,186 --> 01:06:05,591
We just could not gamble with
her life. She had to leave.

1001
01:06:09,027 --> 01:06:12,498
Then I started getting
worse and worse.

1002
01:06:15,300 --> 01:06:17,036
I would gasp for air.

1003
01:06:21,672 --> 01:06:24,809
If I stay here much
longer, I might die.

1004
01:06:30,782 --> 01:06:31,817
I have to move.

1005
01:06:36,788 --> 01:06:39,923
I'm getting weaker and
weaker and I can feel it,

1006
01:06:39,925 --> 01:06:42,695
that's the warning sign for me.

1007
01:06:44,262 --> 01:06:46,762
These chemical
corporations occupy lands

1008
01:06:46,764 --> 01:06:50,935
that are considered very
sacred to native Hawaiians.

1009
01:06:53,938 --> 01:06:58,109
Our land, our aina, and
everything that comes from it,

1010
01:07:00,344 --> 01:07:02,080
that is our ancestor.

1011
01:07:03,782 --> 01:07:05,815
As a native
Hawaiian, it's, well,

1012
01:07:05,817 --> 01:07:08,985
it's a disgrace to our culture.

1013
01:07:08,987 --> 01:07:11,820
There really will be nothing
left for our children

1014
01:07:11,822 --> 01:07:14,792
if no one is
willing to speak up.

1015
01:07:22,132 --> 01:07:25,300
The future of Hawaii
is all at stake.

1016
01:07:25,302 --> 01:07:28,706
Everything I love
is being threatened.

1017
01:07:30,875 --> 01:07:34,780
(protesters speak in Hawaiian)

1018
01:07:36,246 --> 01:07:39,083
I'm fighting for
the whole island.

1019
01:07:42,920 --> 01:07:44,756
Say something, or die.

1020
01:07:47,391 --> 01:07:50,061
(festive music)

1021
01:07:53,264 --> 01:07:57,635
Six thousand people, there out
of the love in their heart.

1022
01:07:57,902 --> 01:08:01,941
For our children, for
our land, for our ocean.

1023
01:08:06,811 --> 01:08:09,045
I met with the
chemical companies.

1024
01:08:09,047 --> 01:08:10,112
They would say

1025
01:08:10,114 --> 01:08:12,115
"No, we are not experimenting
with pesticides."

1026
01:08:12,117 --> 01:08:13,749
And they would tell
me, "This is safe,

1027
01:08:13,751 --> 01:08:15,684
"there's nothing wrong
with this stuff."

1028
01:08:15,686 --> 01:08:17,653
Could you tell me
what you are spraying?

1029
01:08:17,655 --> 01:08:19,992
And they refused to tell me.

1030
01:08:20,958 --> 01:08:23,259
The more these companies
would lie to me,

1031
01:08:23,261 --> 01:08:24,861
I had to do something.

1032
01:08:24,863 --> 01:08:27,996
And that's when we started
piecing Bill 2491 together.

1033
01:08:27,998 --> 01:08:29,801
To get disclosure.

1034
01:08:30,969 --> 01:08:32,300
Could any of you disclose to me

1035
01:08:32,302 --> 01:08:35,004
the amount of general used
pesticide that you use

1036
01:08:35,006 --> 01:08:36,775
on an annual basis?

1037
01:08:38,976 --> 01:08:41,811
With all due respect, I
asked you an hour ago,

1038
01:08:41,813 --> 01:08:44,013
if you would tell me today

1039
01:08:44,015 --> 01:08:46,982
how much general use
pesticide you are using

1040
01:08:46,984 --> 01:08:49,822
and you said no
with your silence.

1041
01:08:50,954 --> 01:08:54,924
I would say that I don't
think I would want to comply

1042
01:08:54,926 --> 01:08:56,395
with the bill as is.

1043
01:08:57,929 --> 01:08:59,728
My second son
here, Pa' akatanao,

1044
01:08:59,730 --> 01:09:02,898
was born with an extremely
rare heart defect.

1045
01:09:02,900 --> 01:09:04,800
Because our son was dying,

1046
01:09:04,802 --> 01:09:07,303
his heart unable to pump his
own blood through his body

1047
01:09:07,305 --> 01:09:09,906
and endured nine surgeries
during those months.

1048
01:09:09,908 --> 01:09:11,907
All I know is that
while pregnant,

1049
01:09:11,909 --> 01:09:16,081
I took every precaution to grow
a healthy baby inside of me.

1050
01:09:17,114 --> 01:09:18,313
By not passing this bill,

1051
01:09:18,315 --> 01:09:20,982
you are telling me that I
don't have the right to know.

1052
01:09:20,984 --> 01:09:22,050
If I had known,

1053
01:09:22,052 --> 01:09:24,320
I would have chosen to
not expose my unborn child

1054
01:09:24,322 --> 01:09:28,391
as I innocently worked day
in and day out in Kai'kaha.

1055
01:09:28,393 --> 01:09:29,491
If I seem a little emotional,

1056
01:09:29,493 --> 01:09:33,865
it's because it
really hits home to me

1057
01:09:34,733 --> 01:09:37,302
speaking on behalf
of unborn son.

1058
01:09:39,136 --> 01:09:42,004
My son has a condition
called gastroschisis,

1059
01:09:42,006 --> 01:09:45,144
basically the stomach
is on the outside.

1060
01:09:46,043 --> 01:09:49,978
I don't blame anybody but I
just want to stop the poisoning!

1061
01:09:49,980 --> 01:09:50,812
I have a baby in the world

1062
01:09:50,814 --> 01:09:53,014
that has to get cut
open right away.

1063
01:09:53,016 --> 01:09:54,116
Consider this,

1064
01:09:54,118 --> 01:09:57,320
that something might be
wrong on this island, 'kay?

1065
01:09:57,322 --> 01:10:01,694
Something might be wrong 'cause
children don't deserve this.

1066
01:10:01,893 --> 01:10:04,997
(speaks in Hawaiian)

1067
01:10:06,296 --> 01:10:09,298
The trust is gone
for these companies.

1068
01:10:09,300 --> 01:10:11,003
The trust is gone.

1069
01:10:12,470 --> 01:10:14,402
And I don't know how they are
going to gain the trust back,

1070
01:10:14,404 --> 01:10:15,838
other than backing this bill

1071
01:10:15,840 --> 01:10:19,375
and working with
the communities, you

1072
01:10:19,377 --> 01:10:22,245
And you know, like
I said before,

1073
01:10:22,247 --> 01:10:26,418
It's time to put human
health over corporate wealth.

1074
01:10:36,226 --> 01:10:38,527
They are suing
the county of Kauai

1075
01:10:38,529 --> 01:10:41,296
for the right to spray
poisons next to schools,

1076
01:10:41,298 --> 01:10:45,470
and these are the largest
companies in the world.

1077
01:10:45,869 --> 01:10:48,506
So we're gonna
have a huge battle.

1078
01:10:49,873 --> 01:10:54,045
[Protesters] OMG, GMO,
people have the right to know!

1079
01:10:54,244 --> 01:10:57,750
OMG, GMO, people have
the right to know!

1080
01:10:58,515 --> 01:11:00,883
OMG, GMO, people have
the right to know!

1081
01:11:00,885 --> 01:11:03,018
This is a historic battle.

1082
01:11:03,020 --> 01:11:06,991
They're fighting for a profit,
we're fighting for our lives,

1083
01:11:07,391 --> 01:11:09,892
(audience applauds)

1084
01:11:09,894 --> 01:11:13,865
and those who fight for
their lives do not give up,

1085
01:11:14,431 --> 01:11:16,965
do not let down, never say no.

1086
01:11:16,967 --> 01:11:18,201
[Protestors] GMO has got to go

1087
01:11:18,203 --> 01:11:20,169
because we need to know!

1088
01:11:20,171 --> 01:11:21,603
GMO has got to go!

1089
01:11:21,605 --> 01:11:25,141
No one said give
me GM food, anywhere.

1090
01:11:25,143 --> 01:11:27,943
This has never been voted
for by any community

1091
01:11:27,945 --> 01:11:29,946
anywhere in the world.

1092
01:11:29,948 --> 01:11:32,848
The reason Americans are
being condemned to eat GM food

1093
01:11:32,850 --> 01:11:34,217
is they've been denied
the right to know.

1094
01:11:34,219 --> 01:11:37,989
(exciting and festive music)

1095
01:11:44,895 --> 01:11:47,996
64 countries around the world
have some form of labeling

1096
01:11:47,998 --> 01:11:50,066
of genetically engineered foods.

1097
01:11:50,068 --> 01:11:52,401
The United States does not.

1098
01:11:52,403 --> 01:11:53,969
Monsanto and the other companies

1099
01:11:53,971 --> 01:11:55,504
are so frightened of labeling

1100
01:11:55,506 --> 01:11:57,373
because once people
have a choice,

1101
01:11:57,375 --> 01:11:58,374
why would they choose a product

1102
01:11:58,376 --> 01:12:00,977
that only offers them
risks and no benefits?

1103
01:12:00,979 --> 01:12:04,550
(calm but suspenseful music)

1104
01:12:12,556 --> 01:12:14,960
I started Navdanya in 1987.

1105
01:12:16,360 --> 01:12:19,928
I named it Navdanya
which means nine seeds,

1106
01:12:19,930 --> 01:12:22,999
but also means the new gift.

1107
01:12:23,001 --> 01:12:26,238
Oh look at the birds.
Going above you.

1108
01:12:33,344 --> 01:12:35,948
I took inspiration from Gandhi.

1109
01:12:37,047 --> 01:12:39,682
Gandhi had dealt with
a smaller imperialism

1110
01:12:39,684 --> 01:12:43,018
of the British by taking
out the spinning wheel.

1111
01:12:43,020 --> 01:12:46,656
He said "We will be free,
we will spin our own cloth."

1112
01:12:46,658 --> 01:12:49,962
And I said we will
save our own seed.

1113
01:12:51,061 --> 01:12:55,166
The seed will be the
spinning wheel of our times.

1114
01:12:58,036 --> 01:13:02,207
When I heard these companies
talk about patenting seed.

1115
01:13:02,439 --> 01:13:04,876
We will refuse to obey laws

1116
01:13:05,643 --> 01:13:09,577
that force us to accept
GMOs and patents.

1117
01:13:09,579 --> 01:13:12,113
We have launched a
campaign this year

1118
01:13:12,115 --> 01:13:14,683
for a global alliance
for seed freedom.

1119
01:13:14,685 --> 01:13:17,954
We need to protect the
diversity, integrity,

1120
01:13:17,956 --> 01:13:19,423
and freedom of life.

1121
01:13:20,324 --> 01:13:22,223
Give seed its own freedom

1122
01:13:22,225 --> 01:13:25,294
so that we as humans
can have our freedom

1123
01:13:25,296 --> 01:13:27,629
and the work we do for Navdanya

1124
01:13:27,631 --> 01:13:30,665
is to encourage farmers to
grow enough for themselves,

1125
01:13:30,667 --> 01:13:32,434
to bring respect back
for their own seed,

1126
01:13:32,436 --> 01:13:33,736
for their own farming.

1127
01:13:33,738 --> 01:13:36,504
O Mother Earth,
my respects for you.

1128
01:13:36,506 --> 01:13:39,377
You have provided us
food. Hail Mother Earth.

1129
01:13:40,478 --> 01:13:42,178
Our community seed banks

1130
01:13:42,180 --> 01:13:46,048
are both the networks
of the farmers

1131
01:13:46,050 --> 01:13:49,317
as well as the
distribution network

1132
01:13:49,319 --> 01:13:52,390
for moving seed
wherever it's needed.

1133
01:13:54,458 --> 01:13:58,626
More than 110 community
seed banks have started.

1134
01:13:58,628 --> 01:14:02,630
If there's a drought, getting
drought-resistant seed.

1135
01:14:02,632 --> 01:14:07,003
If there's a flood, getting
flood-resistant seed.

1136
01:14:07,005 --> 01:14:09,604
So these are seeds of hope.

1137
01:14:09,606 --> 01:14:13,545
These are seeds that do
not lock you into debt.

1138
01:14:15,078 --> 01:14:19,014
And we are training the young
people to spread seed saving.

1139
01:14:19,016 --> 01:14:23,251
Because that freedom is tied-up
to our duty to the planet

1140
01:14:23,253 --> 01:14:25,524
and our duty to the future.

1141
01:14:26,591 --> 01:14:29,594
I found out about Navdanya
on the way to school.

1142
01:14:31,295 --> 01:14:34,699
Vandana Shiva was talking
about organic farming.

1143
01:14:35,666 --> 01:14:38,203
I then came to Navdanya,

1144
01:14:40,203 --> 01:14:43,708
I learned how I can
make our farming better.

1145
01:14:44,675 --> 01:14:47,643
So it will be beneficial for us

1146
01:14:47,645 --> 01:14:50,215
and be healthy for us.

1147
01:14:51,716 --> 01:14:52,882
[Vandana] For the farmer,

1148
01:14:52,884 --> 01:14:56,751
they're going to honor the
land and make it beautiful,

1149
01:14:56,753 --> 01:15:00,423
and you can only make it
beautiful through biodiversity,

1150
01:15:00,425 --> 01:15:03,224
and only when we have
the seeds of biodiversity

1151
01:15:03,226 --> 01:15:04,826
will the landscape be beautiful.

1152
01:15:04,828 --> 01:15:08,399
(people applaud and laugh)

1153
01:15:20,811 --> 01:15:23,812
Y'know, there's that Garth
Brook's song "The Rodeo".

1154
01:15:23,814 --> 01:15:24,781
Well for me,

1155
01:15:24,783 --> 01:15:26,449
the rodeo is going out
into the wilderness

1156
01:15:26,451 --> 01:15:28,284
and finding things to eat.

1157
01:15:28,286 --> 01:15:31,387
It's like an obsession
that never ends.

1158
01:15:31,389 --> 01:15:33,089
Big, huge treasure hunt.

1159
01:15:33,091 --> 01:15:35,424
(calm and soft strings music)

1160
01:15:35,426 --> 01:15:37,860
When people say "How do
we feed a hungry world?"

1161
01:15:37,862 --> 01:15:40,396
What about the wild things?

1162
01:15:40,398 --> 01:15:42,197
The devil's claw.

1163
01:15:42,199 --> 01:15:44,603
We don't wanna get the sap.

1164
01:15:49,273 --> 01:15:51,743
Holy Moly! This is a male plant!

1165
01:15:52,810 --> 01:15:55,811
So this baby is
pollinating somebody else,

1166
01:15:55,813 --> 01:15:58,848
let's see who it's pollinating!

1167
01:15:58,850 --> 01:16:02,218
Look at the little nara melons!

1168
01:16:02,220 --> 01:16:05,724
Look at them! I've
never seen them before!

1169
01:16:06,657 --> 01:16:08,757
I've been waiting
to get these seeds

1170
01:16:08,759 --> 01:16:10,796
for probably 15 years.

1171
01:16:11,796 --> 01:16:13,795
And you would not imagine
that this would grow out

1172
01:16:13,797 --> 01:16:14,765
in the desert.

1173
01:16:16,333 --> 01:16:18,901
We get just a few of these
growing in a few places,

1174
01:16:18,903 --> 01:16:21,870
it won't be but a couple of
years and the people themselves

1175
01:16:21,872 --> 01:16:23,772
will be able to start
growing their own.

1176
01:16:23,774 --> 01:16:26,541
So a seed in this case
is extremely precious.

1177
01:16:26,543 --> 01:16:29,178
And what does that mean,
it's worth as much as gold.

1178
01:16:29,180 --> 01:16:31,246
You get up there and rub and
I am going to hold this tight.

1179
01:16:31,248 --> 01:16:32,751
Get up and rub it.

1180
01:16:35,418 --> 01:16:36,818
You let the wind catch it.

1181
01:16:36,820 --> 01:16:38,786
We're getting them out though.

1182
01:16:38,788 --> 01:16:39,791
We did good.

1183
01:16:43,426 --> 01:16:47,598
Acanthosicyos naudinianus, it's
called the gemsbok cucumber,

1184
01:16:47,832 --> 01:16:50,866
and these are one of the
treasures of the desert.

1185
01:16:50,868 --> 01:16:51,700
It should be edible.

1186
01:16:51,702 --> 01:16:52,735
Now if they are green,

1187
01:16:52,737 --> 01:16:55,737
what I've heard is they're
gonna burn the crap

1188
01:16:55,739 --> 01:16:57,339
out of your mouth.

1189
01:16:57,341 --> 01:17:01,445
You gonna try the first
one? Do we have a spoon?

1190
01:17:03,247 --> 01:17:05,481
- Oh look at that.
- Okay.

1191
01:17:05,483 --> 01:17:06,182
Sweet?

1192
01:17:06,184 --> 01:17:07,215
[Friend] What's it taste like?

1193
01:17:07,217 --> 01:17:08,483
Tastes terrible.

1194
01:17:08,485 --> 01:17:09,317
Does it taste bad?

1195
01:17:09,319 --> 01:17:12,521
Yeah. (laughs)

1196
01:17:12,523 --> 01:17:16,694
(woman speaks in
foreign language)

1197
01:17:20,765 --> 01:17:22,897
So, they're cooking them.

1198
01:17:22,899 --> 01:17:25,901
That gets rid of
the hotness in it.

1199
01:17:25,903 --> 01:17:28,437
You gotta poke a hole in
them so they don't explode.

1200
01:17:28,439 --> 01:17:29,508
Look at that!

1201
01:17:31,408 --> 01:17:35,479
(soft and relaxed strings music)

1202
01:17:37,448 --> 01:17:39,481
They're the original
botanists, aren't they?

1203
01:17:39,483 --> 01:17:40,315
I'm nothing,

1204
01:17:40,317 --> 01:17:41,683
all I'm doing is
learning it in books

1205
01:17:41,685 --> 01:17:42,884
and wanting to find out about it

1206
01:17:42,886 --> 01:17:46,423
but they're knowing
everything about it.

1207
01:17:54,564 --> 01:17:57,833
It's bigger than
he said probably

1208
01:17:57,835 --> 01:18:01,769
It's a group effort
digging up this monster.

1209
01:18:01,771 --> 01:18:03,705
- Unbelievable.
- It's incredible.

1210
01:18:03,707 --> 01:18:06,277
(group cheers)

1211
01:18:07,778 --> 01:18:09,844
This is the
incredible marama bean,

1212
01:18:09,846 --> 01:18:12,615
Produces tubers
up to 500 pounds.

1213
01:18:12,617 --> 01:18:13,749
About ten pounds?

1214
01:18:13,751 --> 01:18:16,652
It is a future potential crop

1215
01:18:16,654 --> 01:18:19,821
unlike any other on the planet.

1216
01:18:19,823 --> 01:18:21,924
And how many other beans
do you know produce

1217
01:18:21,926 --> 01:18:24,492
a giant, giant sweet potato?

1218
01:18:24,494 --> 01:18:27,896
How many others
produce a giant cashew,

1219
01:18:27,898 --> 01:18:29,932
macadamia sized nut?

1220
01:18:29,934 --> 01:18:31,799
This is an amazing plant.

1221
01:18:31,801 --> 01:18:33,000
(group cheers and claps)

1222
01:18:33,002 --> 01:18:36,907
The people in the Kalahari
depend upon this for survival.

1223
01:18:38,743 --> 01:18:42,713
It doesn't need water for 3
years and it can still survive.

1224
01:18:46,783 --> 01:18:49,718
You can go back eons and be
like a hunter walking out here

1225
01:18:49,720 --> 01:18:53,458
when he was just surviving
with the elements.

1226
01:18:58,863 --> 01:19:02,833
Strange thing to get impressed
with but I'm impressed.

1227
01:19:04,902 --> 01:19:07,369
We do have a beautiful world,

1228
01:19:07,371 --> 01:19:08,736
and something like this to me

1229
01:19:08,738 --> 01:19:12,473
is just a marvel the
planet we live on.

1230
01:19:12,475 --> 01:19:16,480
(man sings in foreign language)

1231
01:19:21,952 --> 01:19:23,785
I don't suppose anyone's
up for the Merry Dwarves

1232
01:19:23,787 --> 01:19:24,853
are they?

1233
01:19:24,855 --> 01:19:26,821
We could try I suppose.
There's enough of us!

1234
01:19:26,823 --> 01:19:28,389
I don't know, okay.

1235
01:19:28,391 --> 01:19:30,795
Hi Ho cried the Merry Dwarfs.

1236
01:19:31,761 --> 01:19:33,861
And then bump, bump.

1237
01:19:33,863 --> 01:19:35,863
The timing is all important,
just like with seed saving.

1238
01:19:35,865 --> 01:19:36,932
Time is a big deal.

1239
01:19:36,934 --> 01:19:38,400
Alright, let's hear it now.

1240
01:19:38,402 --> 01:19:39,837
[Group] High ho

1241
01:19:40,704 --> 01:19:43,375
cried the merry dwarfs, dum dum.

1242
01:19:44,041 --> 01:19:47,076
It's off to the
woods we, dum, are.

1243
01:19:47,078 --> 01:19:50,912
We like to stay but
time is, dum dum, short.

1244
01:19:50,914 --> 01:19:53,350
I hope like the merry dwarfs.

1245
01:19:58,521 --> 01:20:00,789
Magnificent,
Magnificent, that was it!

1246
01:20:00,791 --> 01:20:02,124
You did it, right off like that!

1247
01:20:02,126 --> 01:20:03,058
Woo! Okay!

1248
01:20:03,060 --> 01:20:05,893
(upbeat strings music)

1249
01:20:05,895 --> 01:20:07,731
Saving seeds is a gas.

1250
01:20:13,404 --> 01:20:15,838
Seed saving is all about sex.

1251
01:20:15,840 --> 01:20:17,805
And humans are all
obsessed with sex,

1252
01:20:17,807 --> 01:20:19,778
even if it's rutabaga sex.

1253
01:20:21,845 --> 01:20:23,879
You can hire someone to
come fix your plumbing.

1254
01:20:23,881 --> 01:20:26,147
I'm sure we know for a fact
that you can hire someone

1255
01:20:26,149 --> 01:20:27,849
to make love to your
spouse, for example,

1256
01:20:27,851 --> 01:20:30,419
and they'll sure as hell do
a better job than you will,

1257
01:20:30,421 --> 01:20:32,521
but no somehow we feel like,

1258
01:20:32,523 --> 01:20:34,089
"Nah, I really want
to do that myself."

1259
01:20:34,091 --> 01:20:37,028
Some things are
just too important.

1260
01:20:37,927 --> 01:20:42,099
This is right up there with
making love to your spouse.

1261
01:20:53,577 --> 01:20:57,912
So this is the office where
all my stuff is stored.

1262
01:20:57,914 --> 01:20:58,848
I don't know quite
how many thousands

1263
01:20:58,850 --> 01:21:01,849
of varieties and samples
of seeds are here.

1264
01:21:01,851 --> 01:21:02,817
This is a horrible mess.

1265
01:21:02,819 --> 01:21:05,053
Uh, this is about as
good as it gets here.

1266
01:21:05,055 --> 01:21:06,287
I live in chaos

1267
01:21:06,289 --> 01:21:09,124
and this room is one of the
more chaotic parts of the house.

1268
01:21:09,126 --> 01:21:13,498
All of these boxes on top
are waiting to get refiled.

1269
01:21:15,466 --> 01:21:16,632
I never can seem to get enough.

1270
01:21:16,634 --> 01:21:17,866
I've tried to level
off in recent years

1271
01:21:17,868 --> 01:21:18,834
to something that I can handle.

1272
01:21:18,836 --> 01:21:20,771
Rutabagas, over here.

1273
01:21:23,873 --> 01:21:26,541
Sometimes thought that if the
house were to catch on fire

1274
01:21:26,543 --> 01:21:29,143
and I had to do something
very, very quickly,

1275
01:21:29,145 --> 01:21:30,778
hopefully I would
first make sure

1276
01:21:30,780 --> 01:21:33,182
that all the family
were all safely out,

1277
01:21:33,184 --> 01:21:34,183
but somehow, deep inside,

1278
01:21:34,185 --> 01:21:35,951
I'm afraid that I would
probably rush in here,

1279
01:21:35,953 --> 01:21:37,085
smash out the windows and

1280
01:21:37,087 --> 01:21:40,088
start throwing boxes of
seeds out to the firefighters

1281
01:21:40,090 --> 01:21:41,790
and hope that they understood
what to do with them,

1282
01:21:41,792 --> 01:21:45,096
don't turn the hoses
on them or something.

1283
01:21:51,868 --> 01:21:55,806
I have sweat a lot over
the things that I lose.

1284
01:21:57,240 --> 01:22:01,613
No one in the future can save
them, they'll already be lost.

1285
01:22:02,912 --> 01:22:07,084
I see no end, no end in sight,
except when I am cremated.

1286
01:22:08,051 --> 01:22:12,423
That concerns me sometimes,
who will take this over.

1287
01:22:14,824 --> 01:22:18,829
(calm and serene strings music)

1288
01:22:26,936 --> 01:22:30,041
It took six years
to save seeds.

1289
01:22:31,876 --> 01:22:34,445
I have to cultivate the
entire farm organically.

1290
01:22:36,079 --> 01:22:39,117
I said to my brother,

1291
01:22:39,949 --> 01:22:42,851
we need to save our
traditional seeds.

1292
01:22:42,853 --> 01:22:45,957
I was overjoyed when
my brother agreed.

1293
01:22:53,697 --> 01:22:55,863
I felt so happy,

1294
01:22:55,865 --> 01:23:00,003
my family agreed to
do organic farming.

1295
01:23:00,570 --> 01:23:03,740
(women sing in Hindi)

1296
01:23:11,314 --> 01:23:15,018
Whatever I have learned,

1297
01:23:15,953 --> 01:23:19,257
I want to spread that
in my entire region.

1298
01:23:21,859 --> 01:23:25,797
Suman emerged as a leader.

1299
01:23:27,297 --> 01:23:30,197
She came forward for
this noble purpose

1300
01:23:30,199 --> 01:23:33,570
to serve her community.

1301
01:23:34,738 --> 01:23:36,871
If another farmer
does not have the seed

1302
01:23:36,873 --> 01:23:39,510
then I can give it to him.

1303
01:23:39,810 --> 01:23:43,044
We can help each
other with our seeds.

1304
01:23:43,046 --> 01:23:47,217
(easygoing and
festive drum music)

1305
01:24:02,032 --> 01:24:04,802
(low rumbling)

1306
01:24:06,837 --> 01:24:10,938
Jack and the beanstalk
is a true story!

1307
01:24:10,940 --> 01:24:12,007
The idea we all laughed at,

1308
01:24:12,009 --> 01:24:15,177
that he would trade his
pig or his cow or whatever

1309
01:24:15,179 --> 01:24:16,812
for a handful of beans is like,

1310
01:24:16,814 --> 01:24:18,714
what a silly thing is that.

1311
01:24:18,716 --> 01:24:21,349
But if you think
about the potential

1312
01:24:21,351 --> 01:24:23,619
of the self replicating system

1313
01:24:23,621 --> 01:24:26,821
that's in your hand and what
it can potentially produce.

1314
01:24:26,823 --> 01:24:29,391
We should all trade
in everything we have

1315
01:24:29,393 --> 01:24:31,328
for a handful of beans.

1316
01:24:33,796 --> 01:24:38,133
One of our fairytales is
actually trying to teach us

1317
01:24:38,135 --> 01:24:41,268
that's unbelievably important.

1318
01:24:41,270 --> 01:24:44,007
(giant grumbles)

1319
01:25:08,032 --> 01:25:12,203
(soft and relaxing
strings music)

1320
01:25:15,838 --> 01:25:17,973
I woke up one night about
three o'clock in the morning,

1321
01:25:17,975 --> 01:25:19,241
I sat up straight
in my bed and I went

1322
01:25:19,243 --> 01:25:22,914
"Ah seed school! We
gotta teach this stuff."

1323
01:25:24,014 --> 01:25:27,715
We got to open up a space
and teach them what we know,

1324
01:25:27,717 --> 01:25:30,887
to having this
resilient fabric again.

1325
01:25:32,189 --> 01:25:36,360
I'm going back to the 10,000
year old way of doing it.

1326
01:25:43,167 --> 01:25:45,870
To have everybody, everywhere,

1327
01:25:47,337 --> 01:25:51,205
saving and storing and
sharing their own seeds

1328
01:25:51,207 --> 01:25:54,878
regionally, the way it
always has been done.

1329
01:25:59,483 --> 01:26:01,482
When we teach about seeds,

1330
01:26:01,484 --> 01:26:04,986
we rewrite ourselves back
into that evolutionary dance

1331
01:26:04,988 --> 01:26:07,155
between plants and humans.

1332
01:26:07,157 --> 01:26:10,258
We initiate a whole new
generation of people

1333
01:26:10,260 --> 01:26:11,963
who care for life.

1334
01:26:13,096 --> 01:26:16,867
It's the seeds asking
to be spoken for again.

1335
01:26:18,268 --> 01:26:19,968
As a Mohawk woman,

1336
01:26:19,970 --> 01:26:23,905
seeds embody the sense
of hope for the future

1337
01:26:23,907 --> 01:26:27,008
that we could create
something different,

1338
01:26:27,010 --> 01:26:29,945
a new paradigm for our children.

1339
01:26:29,947 --> 01:26:33,514
We have to make that
promise to the corn,

1340
01:26:33,516 --> 01:26:36,384
that we will nourish
ourselves from it

1341
01:26:36,386 --> 01:26:38,823
but we will also give back.

1342
01:26:51,534 --> 01:26:53,067
All of these seeds,

1343
01:26:53,069 --> 01:26:55,172
they are going to
move to his new house.

1344
01:26:58,908 --> 01:27:03,245
We have the, I would say, the
blessing of the great spirit,

1345
01:27:03,247 --> 01:27:04,812
of the mother earth.

1346
01:27:04,814 --> 01:27:07,949
All the protectors and
the spirits of this land

1347
01:27:07,951 --> 01:27:10,885
and they say you guys have
to finish the seed bank.

1348
01:27:10,887 --> 01:27:14,225
(calm and serene music)

1349
01:27:16,560 --> 01:27:20,861
We beginning to make the
impact on our pueblo,

1350
01:27:20,863 --> 01:27:22,299
in our community.

1351
01:27:24,368 --> 01:27:28,740
Stone by stone, mud by
mud we have this building.

1352
01:27:35,345 --> 01:27:38,115
All these seeds
they have memory.

1353
01:27:39,149 --> 01:27:41,183
They happy in this moment.

1354
01:27:41,185 --> 01:27:44,956
(moves into joyous
strings music)

1355
01:27:46,856 --> 01:27:49,290
The seed bank, it
represents life.

1356
01:27:49,292 --> 01:27:53,463
(group sings in
foreign language)

1357
01:28:08,545 --> 01:28:11,213
Those young men and women
are carrying on a tradition

1358
01:28:11,215 --> 01:28:12,947
of our community.

1359
01:28:12,949 --> 01:28:17,121
And I see the young people
happy and the corn is happy,

1360
01:28:18,055 --> 01:28:21,993
the birds are happy,
because that's who we are.

1361
01:28:30,868 --> 01:28:34,468
We grow a really
great variety of squash.

1362
01:28:34,470 --> 01:28:37,205
Archaeologists dug down and
they came upon a clay ball

1363
01:28:37,207 --> 01:28:39,007
that was about this big.

1364
01:28:39,009 --> 01:28:39,942
And in that clay ball,

1365
01:28:39,944 --> 01:28:41,509
they shook it and
they heard something.

1366
01:28:41,511 --> 01:28:45,546
They cracked it open and
it was a squash seed.

1367
01:28:45,548 --> 01:28:48,450
They carbon dated
it 800 years old.

1368
01:28:48,452 --> 01:28:49,651
And I always laugh

1369
01:28:49,653 --> 01:28:52,987
because I say white guys get
to name things all the time.

1370
01:28:52,989 --> 01:28:56,424
So I'm gonna name this one
and I call it Gete-Okosomin,

1371
01:28:56,426 --> 01:28:59,027
which means really
cool old squash.

1372
01:28:59,029 --> 01:29:03,000
(moves into sweet and
lighthearted strings music)

1373
01:29:05,002 --> 01:29:08,372
It's time for us to
take back that manna.

1374
01:29:09,472 --> 01:29:13,845
It's so important to get
back to our food source.

1375
01:29:14,043 --> 01:29:17,978
Take back that ability
to self-sustain

1376
01:29:17,980 --> 01:29:19,951
as our ancestors once did.

1377
01:29:22,953 --> 01:29:27,124
This food forest here,
could feed hundreds of people.

1378
01:29:32,996 --> 01:29:36,964
We could be the self-sustainable
epicenter of the world

1379
01:29:36,966 --> 01:29:38,066
and there's no
reason we can't be,

1380
01:29:38,068 --> 01:29:42,206
we can grow any fruit or
vegetable on these islands.

1381
01:29:45,141 --> 01:29:47,878
We planted 21
banana trees today,

1382
01:29:50,146 --> 01:29:54,318
as a team as a family, we
can accomplish anything.

1383
01:30:00,289 --> 01:30:02,357
And we went from
this much diversity,

1384
01:30:02,359 --> 01:30:04,159
took 10,000 years to create,

1385
01:30:04,161 --> 01:30:07,027
down to this pinch with
only four percent left,

1386
01:30:07,029 --> 01:30:09,063
and we're right here.

1387
01:30:09,065 --> 01:30:09,897
Right?

1388
01:30:09,899 --> 01:30:10,999
And so we're gonna,
we're waking up.

1389
01:30:11,001 --> 01:30:12,570
We're gonna do this

1390
01:30:14,136 --> 01:30:17,237
it's knowing that in
each individual seed

1391
01:30:17,239 --> 01:30:19,074
is the potential to
change it all back.

1392
01:30:19,076 --> 01:30:21,679
(seeds rattle)

1393
01:30:52,623 --> 01:30:57,623
Subtitles by explosiveskull

1394
01:31:34,150 --> 01:31:38,322
(moves into soft
and melodic music)

1395
01:31:40,556 --> 01:31:44,728
♪ In the heart of the
seed, there's a story

1396
01:31:47,264 --> 01:31:51,368
♪ Waiting to be born

1397
01:31:53,136 --> 01:31:59,374
♪ Our grandmothers breeded,
our grandfathers breeded

1398
01:31:59,376 --> 01:32:04,047
♪ Kindered the ancient call

1399
01:32:05,649 --> 01:32:11,652
♪ In the heart of the seed,
there's a story to read

1400
01:32:11,654 --> 01:32:14,589
♪ In the heart of the seed

1401
01:32:14,591 --> 01:32:17,791
♪ There a whole tribe to feed

1402
01:32:17,793 --> 01:32:20,829
♪ Our sweet savers know it

1403
01:32:20,831 --> 01:32:24,199
♪ Our fathers, they grow it

1404
01:32:24,201 --> 01:32:29,273
♪ And from that seed we are born

1405
01:32:34,110 --> 01:32:40,818
♪ Mother nature is essential
for ascension for the land

1406
01:32:46,355 --> 01:32:54,064
♪ Granulations are essential
for ascension in our life

1407
01:32:58,768 --> 01:33:06,810
♪ Old creation from our beings
is essential for us to thrive

1408
01:33:10,846 --> 01:33:19,155
♪ Anticipation for our nations
is essential for our tribe

1409
01:33:19,588 --> 01:33:23,260
♪ For our tribe

1410
01:33:23,693 --> 01:33:31,101
♪ Mother nature is essential
for ascension for the land

1411
01:33:36,206 --> 01:33:44,114
♪ Granulations are essential
for ascension in our life

1412
01:33:48,851 --> 01:33:56,860
♪ Old creation from our beings
is essential for us to thrive

1413
01:34:00,829 --> 01:34:08,872
♪ Anticipation for our nations
is essential for our tribe

1414
01:34:09,573 --> 01:34:13,244
♪ For our tribe