b'IS OUR MODERN FOOD SYSTEM FORGETTING THE MEANING OF A MEAL?Modern agriculture treats food as a commodity, but in many cultures, its sacred.What if the seed industry could help bridge the two?IVE BEEN THINKINGa lot about what food really isand maybe more importantly, what it isnt.Were putting together our September edition of Seed World Canada, and the theme is food: the future of it, the systems that shape it, and the seed innovations driving it. But in one of the conver-sations that shaped my thinking for this issue, someone said something thats been echoing in my head ever since:Food isnt just a commodity. And treating it like one can have real consequences.That comes from Noa Lincoln, professor in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at Marc Zienkiewicz, Seedthe University of Hawaii at Mnoa. Amjad Ahmad heads up the Sustainable and Organic World Canada Editor Ive always known food is more than justAgriculture Program at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa.something to be bought and sold, but lets be honest: in our world, food is a commodity. Itsit ideal for cooking in areas where firewood is traded, its speculated on, its part of a globallimited, as it uses less fuel than traditional boiling market. The same goes for seed. I see it everymethods.daymillions invested into breeding programs,Thats a far cry from the industrial food system technology platforms, IP protections, market- most of us live in now. In that system, food is ing campaigns. And Im not saying any of thata line item. A product. And seeds? Theyre the is wrong. Its what makes modern agricultureinputs feeding the machine.possible. Obviously, the answer is not to abandon But heres the thing: if we only see food as amodern agriculture. But I do think we need to commodityjust a yield number on a spread- hold two ideas in our heads at the same time:sheet or a dollar value on a futures contractwe1. Food is a commodity. It takes capital and miss something fundamental. technology and scale to feed 8 billion I was recently remindedwhile attend- people.ing the National Association for Plant Breeding2. Food is also a public good. It carries values (NAPB) meeting in Kona, Hawaiihowbeyond its market pricecultural, envi-Hawaiian culture treats food not just as fuel, butronmental, and even spiritual ones.as part of their entire worldview. Reconciling those two truths is the hard part. I met Amjad Ahmad, who heads up theBut maybe thats exactly where our industry has a Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program atrole to play.the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, proudly dis- Maybe we can start thinking about food and playing his nua beans, often referred to as pop- seed policy as something that should be treated ping or pop beans because the seed expandsmore like clean water or clean air: a right, not rapidly when heated in oil. Its got big potentialjust a commodity. That doesnt mean taking the as a snack food, as its both crunchy and salty economics out of agriculture. It means redefining perfect while watching sports or a movie. successnot just in terms of bushels and ROI, But these beans also come with a story.but in terms of resilience, equity, and connection.Indigenous communities in the Andes MountainsI dont have all the answers. But I do know of South America have cultivated the nua beanthis: the stories we tell about foodand seedas a vital food source. Its especially valued for itsshape how we value them. And thats something unique ability to pop when roasted, which makesworth thinking about. 32 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA JULY 2025'