I had the chance to attend a ‘screening’ of SEEDS this week.  I knew that it was a play and that it featured the ‘Dad from Corner Gas.’  I also knew it was based on a real court case which centered around Canadian farming and Monsanto and their genetically modified Seeds.  I also knew it had some innovative use of video.

What I didn’t know was how much I was going to love it and how important a piece of work this is.  If you live in Toronto and are passionate about food you owe it to yourself to go to this production.

Seeds is a play as well as it is a documentary.  I hadn’t heard of the genre or really given it much thought before going to the production.  Much of the text is taken from court transcripts and interviews that they playwright conducted with stakeholders in the case across North America over 4 or 5 years.  Writing this play must have been a mad obsession that haunted Annabel Soutar as she wrote it – there’s no other explanation on how someone could undergo the sheer amount of work to produce such a masterful story.

Before dismissing my review as a guy who is biased due to his love of Theatre I must interject; although I’d love to see myself as a theatre loving Renascence Man, the truth is that I haven’t been to a theatre production in many years – and I’ve seen less than 5 or 10 live shows in the last 15 years.  And, perhaps, that was part of the magic.  As much as I expected large bulky sets I had nothing to prepare me for the amazing use of camera work and projection screens that it was very easy to forget that I was watching a live performance at all.  Seeds blends the use of technology with masterful liver performances and makes it truly easy for the audience to leave the theatre and easily end up in a farmer’s field in Saskatchewan or the highest courts of this country.

The play follows a lawsuit between massive biotechnology firm Monsanto and farmer Percy Schmeiser.  Monstanto sued him in the 1990′s for violating patent law (effectively using their seeds without paying the proper license) and Schmeiser fought back claiming that Monsanto’s seeds were contaminating his fields.

The play has a small cast which manage to transform themselves into endless different characters across 4 continents.  The central story follows the playwright as she interviews people from all sides of the court case and shares the transcripts of those conversations they shared with her.  The story makes for compelling drama as it follows the progression of the trial through multiple stages.

The play tells the story in the words of the people who lived it.  It trys not to draw conclusions (if life were only so simple) and appears to pull no punches to either side of the story presented.

This play is more than good – it’s important.  If you are unfamiliar with the case history or the fallout and how it relates to what finds its way to your plate, I encourage you to check this out.  We are at a vital crossroads in our food history and it’s so important that we all are conscious of what’s happening and take the opportunity for our voices to be heard.

If you are interested in checking out the play, it runs through March 10th .  You can buy tickets for Seeds here (the most expensive ticket is $35).  Use the code “Food” for 25% off.  The play takes place at Young Centre for Performing Arts in the Distillery – not at their offices on Queen Street.

Note that the author was given a ticket (face value of $7.50) to watch the play – there was no promise of an article or any other promotion in exchange for the ticket.  They did provide the photos.

Many passionate preserves will know the name Sandor Kratz – if you don`t, I  think you should!

Sandor Katz (his nickname is Sandorkraut) is one of the main ambassadors of fermentation.  As we`re doing more and more fermenting these days, I figure it`s only right to give tribute to one of our main inspirations and share some of his resources with you.  He`s an eclectic and fascinating guy who shares his experiences and beliefs that fermented foods have been a significant part of his health as he is a long-term survivor of HIV/AIDS.

Sandor wrote a book named Wild Fermentation (published in 2003) that has helped bring age-old techniques back into modern focus.  His book is accessible, easy-reading and introduces you to an eclectic cast of characters that he has learned from and experimented with.  It covers everything from pickles, saurkraut, cheese, booze and other fermented foods.  The link in this paragraph has the complete list of items covered in the book – it’s rather comprehensive.

There`s a pretty good pile of YouTube videos and how-to`s with Sandor as well, including these two (he answers a question about botulism and fermentation in the first while the second shows the basics of how to ferment vegetables):

His website also has a lot of information on it – FAQs, Troubleshooting Q&As, some of the fundamentals (sour pickles, sauerkraut, bottling alcohol ferments and more).  I find the forums especially useful and chock full of passionate fermenting people trading ideas and information – it`s a fascinating place to learn from a lot of experienced people.

I hope you`ll check out Sandor (if you haven`t already) or some of the resources here!  We`ll be sharing more about our fermentation as we continue our own experiments.