1. From little seeds big things grow THE SEED SAVERS’ NETWORK: www.seedsavers.net How a school in Byron Bay, Australia made a garden, and why. Introducing the book, Seed to Seed Food Gardens in Schools
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10. Planning school gardens THE SEED SAVERS’ NETWORK: www.seedsavers.net The site assigned by the school was too shady so some invasive trees were taken out. It had good access and water. Soil was sandy but it came good with compost and mulch.
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33. The Seed Savers’ Network THE SEED SAVERS’ NETWORK: www.seedsavers.net PO Box 975 Byron Bay NSW 2481 Australia Tel: 61 2 66 85 7560 Tel/Fax: 61 2 6685 6624 [email_address] www.seedsavers.net
Why Save Seeds? There is a need to conserve varieties of food plants that have high nutrition. An eighty page report by The Seed Savers' Networkin 2004 pointed to the decline in nutrition in modern varieties. Obesity is endemic and of extreme concern, yet if children are not shown how to grow and prepare food, it will continue to increase. A concerted effort needs to be made to encourage the establishment of food gardens in schools. They need to be planted with seed of varieties with high nutrition and children need to know how to save, store and replant those seeds.
Apple Cancer Research Project New Zealand Tree Crops Association (Central Districts Branch) November 2004 Research Co-ordinator Mark Christensen (Branch Chairman) 19 Downes Avenue Wanganui Phone: 06 347-7734 (hm) 06349-0888 (wk) Email: [email_address] In our 2003 Apple Cancer Research Project we began to redefine our understanding of the apple as a medicinal fruit. This is no chaotic expression of evolutionary development – but a tree and a fruit with a purpose, a reason for being. The medicinal qualities of this fruit are an important part of this purpose. The apple was grown and prized in Ancient Egypt – at a time when the land was green and bountiful. Climatic changes on the earth meant that the apple ceased to exist in that environment, and man has had to seek to rediscover the qualities and benefits of apples, beginning again through the cultivation of crab apples from Russia. The apples we know today have still not reached the quality of those grown at that earlier time in Egypt – to some extent we now know that this is due to modern breeding practices – of interbreeding modern varieties without testing the resulting outcome to see whether the levels of beneficial compounds in the apple have increased or have decreased. For the last 50 years at least these appear to have all decreased. Breeders’ preoccupation with commercial requirements such as consumer appeal, colour and storage qualities have meant that real flavour and nutritional and medicinal qualities have been largely disregarded. This has achieved the intended breeding aim of producing a modern apple that looks great, keeps well, sells very well, yet is deficient in flavour, nutritional and medicinal content. We discovered with our 2003 research that Heritage apples and in particular seedling heritage apples have far higher levels of flavonoids and other beneficial compounds, that may inhibit the growth of cancer cells. We tested 59 apple varieties and found two that had remarkably high levels of those beneficial compounds. Summary of Research In September 2002 Researchers at the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki Finland, reported their results of a 36 year study, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They reported that components found in apples appear to reduce the risk of many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and asthma. Their research involved 10,054 Finnish men and women. They sought to study the potential association between intake of the flavonoid class of plant-based “phytonutrients” and reduced risk of several chronic diseases. “ Of all the main flavonoid sources, apple intake was associated with [a reduced risk of] almost all of the chronic diseases considered”, the authors, led by Dr Paul Knekt, wrote( 1 ). Overwhelmingly, Finnish researchers pointed to the flavonoid quercetin – a plant-based “phytonutrient” found most abundantly in apples, onions, tea and red wine – as the flavonoid with the best potential health-promoting capabilities. Furthermore, according to analysis of an extensive body of data over many years, those study participants who ate the most apples and the flavonoid quercetin, had the lowest risk of total mortality – that is, they had the lowest risk of dying of any cause during the decades-long study. The chance of developing any type of cancer was lowest among those consuming higher quercetin levels. Breast cancer incidence tended to be lower with higher quercetin intakes and the association between reduced risk of lung cancer and increased quercetin consumption was highly significant (p<0.001). Dietary intake of another flavonoid, myricetin, was associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer (p<0.002). The Finnish study follows research done at Cornell University and published in June 2000( 2 ). The researchers used Red Delicious apples grown in New York state to provide the extracts to study the effects of phytochemicals. The researchers compared the anti-cancer and anti-oxidant activity in the apple flesh, and they also studied the fruit’s skin. Using colon cancer cells treated with apple extract, the scientists found that cell proliferation was inhibited. Colon cancer cells treated with 50 milligrams of apple extract (from the skins) were inhibited by 43 percent The apple flesh extract inhibited the colon cancer cells by 29 percent. The researchers also tested the apple extract against human liver cancer cells. At 50 milligrams, the extract derived from the apple with the skin on, inhibited those cancer cells by 57 percent, and the apple extract derived from the fruit’s fleshy part, inhibited cancer cells by 40 percent. There are a number of other studies (3-8) that corroborate the evidence emerging from the above two research projects and point to compounds within apples as being effective in fighting cancer and other conditions – sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation. In October 2004 scientists at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) announced their findings that a class of polyphenols called procyanidins found in apple skin, was shown to significantly reduce the number of precancerous lesions in the colons of laboratory animals. This study is significant, not only in reinforcing our view of the cancer fighting ability of apples, but in focusing our attention on the particular polyphenols involved. Apple varieties can vary considerably in the levels of quercetin and other flavonoids that they contain (T McGhie [Hort Research Palmerston North] Personal Communication). The Cornell research studied just Red Delicious apples (grown commercially), and found variations in the phenolic compounds in this one variety between seasons and growing regions. Hort Research in Palmerston North is comparing levels between our three major apple growing regions, but their research at this stage is predominantly limited to Pacific Rose series cultivars. Their research is dictated by commercial considerations and therefore remains focused on modern varieties. They seem convinced of the value of quercetin and other beneficial flavonoids in apples, but their approach is to breed new varieties high in phenolic compounds, that colour the flesh red or yellow. These phenolic compounds promote health in humans. Our study in 2003( 9 ), we believe, was the first in the world to look at comparing these compounds in a large number of heritage apple varieties. Our research aims to identify those apple varieties in New Zealand that already exist with high levels of phenolic compounds as well as other polyphenols that demonstrate health enhancing activity. Our prime focus is on compounds and varieties of apples that will inhibit the growth of cancer cells. However we recognise that apples can also be of benefit to people at risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as possibly diabetes. New Zealand’s Top Two apple varieties for fighting cancer (as identified by the New Zealand Tree Crops Association research in conjunction with Hort Research) are – HETLINA (HELTINER) Hetlina is a 19 th Century European apple. It has been attributed with originating in Belgium in 1854, with being a very old German variety and with coming from Czechoslovakia. It was marketed in New Zealand for a number of years by Dieter Proebst of Treedimensions. In his catalogue he described it as “second early season, medium sized, attractively coloured, flesh crisp, very firm, dessert apple, reliable cropper, good disease resistance”. Dieter probably sourced his Hetlina from Bob Crowder’s collection at Lincoln University, where it is still grown and is considered ideal for organic growing conditions. MONTY’S SURPRISE This is a chance find. A very old tree, probably a seedling. Apples tend to vary in size and can weigh as much as 400 grams. A crisp, good eating apple and an excellent cooking apple. Ready in April. An exciting find.
Glucosinolates and Brassicas Ian Johnson, a nutritional physiologist from the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, the UK, has found that a glucosinolate called sinigrin is found in high levels in Brussels Sprouts. The presence of sinigrin causes a bitter taste and functions as a pest deterrent for the plant. Sinigrin suppresses the development of precancerous cells in humans . The more bitter a variety of Brussels Sprouts the more sinigrin it contains. Modern varieties of Brussels Sprouts have been bred to have milder and milder flavours, hence lower levels of sinigrin, suggesting that older varieties of Brussels Sprouts would have higher levels of sinigrin and have greater health benefits. Gary Williamson, a colleague of Johnson's at the Institute of Food Research, has found that another glucosinolate called glucoraphanin is present at high level in broccoli. It breaks down into a compound that also has anti-cancer effects . Broccoli has again been bred to taste less bitter at the expense of the presence of beneficial glucoraphanin. Broccoli evolved from wild cabbages, some of which have up to ten time as much glucoraphanin than typical levels of cultivated broccoli. Broccoli is also an excellent source of sulphoraphane, but the amount present varies with the particular variety. Sulphoraphane also has powerful anti-cancer effect but doesn't cause an unpleasant taste. Broccoli is derived from wild sea cabbage that tends to have higher sulphoraphane content. In 2000 a wild Sicilian Brassica species was crossed with broccoli to develop breeding lines with up to 100 times the sulphoraphane content of existing broccoli varieties, and with unchanged palatability. 'My Best Friend's a Brussels Sprout…', Gail Vines, New Scientist vol 152, issue 2061, 21 December 96, p 46.
Glucosinolates and Brassicas Ian Johnson, a nutritional physiologist from the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, the UK, has found that a glucosinolate called sinigrin is found in high levels in Brussels Sprouts. The presence of sinigrin causes a bitter taste and functions as a pest deterrent for the plant. Sinigrin suppresses the development of precancerous cells in humans . The more bitter a variety of Brussels Sprouts the more sinigrin it contains. Modern varieties of Brussels Sprouts have been bred to have milder and milder flavours, hence lower levels of sinigrin, suggesting that older varieties of Brussels Sprouts would have higher levels of sinigrin and have greater health benefits. Gary Williamson, a colleague of Johnson's at the Institute of Food Research, has found that another glucosinolate called glucoraphanin is present at high level in broccoli. It breaks down into a compound that also has anti-cancer effects . Broccoli has again been bred to taste less bitter at the expense of the presence of beneficial glucoraphanin. Broccoli evolved from wild cabbages, some of which have up to ten time as much glucoraphanin than typical levels of cultivated broccoli. Broccoli is also an excellent source of sulphoraphane, but the amount present varies with the particular variety. Sulphoraphane also has powerful anti-cancer effect but doesn't cause an unpleasant taste. Broccoli is derived from wild sea cabbage that tends to have higher sulphoraphane content. In 2000 a wild Sicilian Brassica species was crossed with broccoli to develop breeding lines with up to 100 times the sulphoraphane content of existing broccoli varieties, and with unchanged palatability. 'My Best Friend's a Brussels Sprout…', Gail Vines, New Scientist vol 152, issue 2061, 21 December 96, p 46.
Bio notes : Jude and Michel Fanton co-founded the charitable institution, The Seed Savers' Network in 1986. Seeds of useful plants have been received from all over Australia and recorded, tested and disseminated to projects, community gardens, network subscribers and local seed networks. They also co-authoured The Seed Savers' Handbook with sales of over 30 000 in its first fifteen years. An adaptation has been published in the UK. Adaptations and translations have appeared in Spanish, French, Italian, Basque, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Japanese. Jude and Michel have travelled extensively in Majority World countries to train and consult on the establishment and extension of community based seed saving systems for food plants. She trains interns who become volunteers in sustainable agriculture and Permaculture projects in those countries. They administrate The Seed Savers' Network at its base in Byron Bay, and maintain the one acre bio-diverse demonstration and trial gardens from which delicious meals are prepared. Jude has revisited a former career with a programme for schools on establishing food gardens with a seed to seed theme. Naturally she recommends using seeds that are locally adapted and high in nutrition.
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