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International Development and Studies

Coming to a Relational Understanding of Seeds; A Discourse Analysis of Seed Sovereignty Daniel Yuhasz*, Daniel Yuhasz,

What is the meaning of seeds? And what is meant by seed sovereignty? The barriers to achieving a sustainable, resilient, or transformed food system are very likely onto-epistemological rather than operational. In that case, our attention should be drawn to the more fundamental questions regarding what exists. This sort of radical change in thinking opens our collective mind to a multiplicity of yet unrealized possibilities. Since Heldke’s (2018) consideration of a relational ontology of food, very little research has been carried out that challenges the materiality of food, seeds, and soil. A discourse analysis of the online seed sovereignty dialogue, using both a critical and positive approach, explores diverging meanings of seeds and sovereignty that breach the ontological divide. Applying Bartlett’s (2012) concept of voice, three discernible meanings reveal the power imbalance between dominant and marginalized peoples, along with a liminal “hybrid” position. The result is one coherent set of meanings from an Indigenous relational lens whereby seeds exist in and through kin-based relationships and not exclusively as objects or commodities. This same lens could broaden our understanding of food systems and relationships more generally and put us on firmer ground for pursuing new and improved means for people to feed themselves.