annieb123's Review of What We Sow

by Jennifer Jewell

An insightful, personal, and timely exploration into the wonderful world of seeds.

In What We Sow, Jennifer Jewell brings readers on an insightful, year-long journey exploring the outsize impact one of nature's smallest manifestations-the simple seed. She examines our skewed notions where "organic" seeds are grown and sourced, reveals how giant multinational agribusiness has refined and patented the genomes of seeds we rely on for staples like corn and soy, and highlights the efforts of activists working to regain legal access to heirloom seeds that were stolen from Indigenous peoples and people of colour.

Throughout, readers are invited to share Jewell's personal observations as she marvels at the glory of nature in her Northern California hometown. She admires at the wild seeds she encounters on her short daily walks and is amazed at the range of seed forms, from cups and saucers to vases, candelabras, ocean-going vessels, and airliners.

What We Sow is a tale of what we choose to see and what we haven't been taught to see, what we choose to seed and what we choose not to seed. It urgently proves that we must work hard to preserve and protect the great natural diversity of seed.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

What We Sow is an engaging and well written memoir on the cultural and ecological significance of seeds written by Jennifer Jewell. Released 19th Sept 2023 by Hachette on their Timber Press imprint, it's a substantial 392 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is an often profound rumination on the impact of agribusiness, food security, heirloom seeds and reclaiming the culturally significant traditional plant varieties, and the author's personal engagement with the species around her. She does a good job of knitting the threads together into an often sobering and cohesive whole.

It's set up in chapters around a calendar year, from autumn's seed setting and dormancy, through summer's production and harvest. The author also takes a look at the potentially bleak future for inhabitants of planet earth without a paradigm shift of epic proportions.

There's a lot of information in this volume, and it's well grounded and presented. The book also contains a bibliography and resources list for further reading.

Four stars. This would make a good selection for public or school library acquisition, home use, as well as for gardening groups and community garden/allotment reference collections.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

1 October, 2023: Started reading

1 October, 2023: Finished reading

1 October, 2023: Reviewed