The Dangerous Myth of Purity: From Seeds to Society From an interview with Emmanual Antoine, by Éloïse Doğuştan. Edited for length and clarity.
My name is Emmanuel, and I want to share the story of why we at Graines de Liberté shifted our focus from preserving heirloom seed varieties to promoting diverse and evolving landraces and varieties. It all started with a photograph published in a Brittany [northwestern France] newspaper showing a mixed-race child holding the Breton flag. It sparked a massive controversy.
People claimed that the child wasn’t a "true Breton," which brought out this underlying tension about identity. We’ve encountered a similar sentiment in our work with seeds—people often asked if we had “real Brittany varieties,” as if the authenticity of a seed could somehow be tied to its regional origin.
This led us to a critical realization: there’s a deep misunderstanding about the relevance of heirloom seeds. Many equate them with older varieties, thinking that preserving these seeds is the key to solving our agricultural problems. But in reality, nostalgically clinging to old varieties can blind us to the real challenges we face today. At Graines de Liberté, our mission isn’t to preserve ancient seeds as museum artifacts. Instead, we believe in embracing diversity and innovation to meet the pressing food security challenges of the present. For example, industrial farms, reliant on homogeneous seed varieties, become incredibly vulnerable to disease. These crops are so genetically uniform that a single infection can devastate an entire harvest. This is why diversity is crucial—it provides resilience in the face of environmental stresses. Our journey as an organization has been shaped by our desire to move beyond the old, romanticized images of agriculture, and foster a contemporary identity for “peasant seeds”*, one that is rooted in diversity and interconnection, not nationalism or nostalgia. The Bayer-Monsanto merger catalyzed our initial work with chefs who were concerned that the corporate control of seeds would threaten food security. This led us to collaborate with farmers to build a shared movement that addresses both the political and professional aspects of seed production. As a result, we’ve come to understand that promoting diversity is not just about ideology—it’s a pragmatic necessity for food security. Looking ahead, our hope is that the profession of "artisan seed producer" will be recognized and valued. We’re aiming for a future where the logistics of agriculture adapt to the needs of living organisms rather than the other way around. We must shift how we think about food production, moving away from centralized, industrial systems to more localized, resilient approaches. Ultimately, our work is about building a future where communities control their food systems—where seeds are a common good, not a commodity controlled by a few corporations. We’re not advocating for a return to the past; we’re fighting for a future where food sovereignty and genetic diversity can thrive in the face of climate change and other global challenges. I truly believe that through collaboration and innovation, we can create a food system that is resilient, just and equitable for all. Visit https://www.grainesdeliberte.coop/ to learn more *”Peasant seeds” (semences paysannes) are not necessarily heirloom, because they can be genetically diverse like landraces. They are seeds saved by the farmer and are not controlled by corporations.
From Graines De Liberté: