LoveReading Says
An avid gardener since childhood, author Adam Alexander here shares his deep passion for, and knowledge of, the history of endangered “heritage vegetables”, enthusiastically explaining why we need to keep growing them, and revealing how vegetables are inextricably bound to the political landscape. The Seed Detective resounds with the zest of personal anecdotes, and has fascinating anthropological scope.
The author’s calling as a seed detective came during a 1988 film-making project in Ukraine when he became smitten by a fruit that “literally changed my life”. The fruit in question was Capsicum annuum, a “sweet pepper with a fiery heart” that set him off growing and sharing its seeds back home.
After contextualising why we need to save seeds, and highlighting problems brought by the industrial revolution, urbanisation and globalisation, and the need for a Green Revolution, the author shares details on the global histories of particular vegetables, among them peas, broad beans, and asparagus. The chapter on the Welsh leek is particularly fascinating as it explores the leek’s connections to Wales, but also traces its history back to Egypt and Mesopotamia some 4500 years ago.
The book ends with a rousing chapter on “seeds of hope”, outlining the positive shift to “re-learning traditional ways to produce food”. At the same time, Alexander points out a need for greater food equality, observing an “increasing divergence between those who can afford to eat organic and sustainably produced healthy food and those who can only afford the very cheapest and poorest quality [food]”.
Alexander’s storytelling skills from his work as a film and television producer are on radiant display here, making The Seed Detective an engaging, rewarding must-read for gardeners, growers, food-lovers, and those fascinated by the history and politics of food.
Joanne Owen
Find This Book In
The Seed Detective Synopsis
Radio 4's The Food Programme Book of the Year, chosen by Dan Saladino
An Irish Times Best Gardening Book 2023
Shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild's Garden Book of the Year Award 2023
Longlisted for The Art of Eating Prize 2023
'If you're a vegetable growing addict or just curious about their origins, there's something for everyone in Adam's new book.' Rob Smith, TV presenter
'[This book] is a clarion call to think about our food in new ways and carefully consider where it comes from.' New Scientist
Meet the Indiana Jones of vegetables on his quest to save our heritage produce.
Have you ever wondered how everyday staples such as peas, kale, asparagus, beans, squash and sweetcorn ended up on our plates? Well, so did Adam Alexander. Adam's passion for heritage vegetables was ignited when he tasted an unusual, sweet and fiery pepper while on a filmmaking project in Ukraine. Smitten by its flavour, he began to seek out local growers of old and near-forgotten varieties in a mission to bring home seeds to grow and share - saving them from being lost forever.
In The Seed Detective, Adam tells of his far flung (and closer to home) seed-hunting adventures and reveals the stories behind many of our everyday vegetable heroes. How the common garden pea was domesticated from three wild species over 8,500 years ago, that the first carrots originated in Afghanistan (and were actually purple or red in colour), how Egyptian priests considered it a crime to look at a fava bean and that the Romans were fanatical about asparagus.
Join The Seed Detective as he takes us on a journey that began when we left the life of hunter-gatherers to become farmers. Sharing storiesof globalisation, political intrigue, colonisation and serendipity, Adam shows us the vital part vegetables have played in our food story - and how they are the key to our future.
'Informative, enlightening and entertaining but also important.' Mark Diacono
'One of the most inspirational books I have encountered.' Darina Allen
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781915294241 |
| Publication date: |
7th September 2023 |
| Author: |
Adam Alexander |
| Publisher: |
Chelsea Green Publishing an imprint of Chelsea Green Publishing UK |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
320 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Gardening
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| Other Genres: |
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