Seeds Live: How Seeds Have Agency in the Socio-Cultural World of Peasants from Jalisco, Mexico

SEEDS LIVE

How Seeds Have Agency in the Socio-Cultural World of Peasants from Jalisco,

Mexico

Joelle Vetter 15 January 2021

Bachelor Thesis Arts and Culture Studies

Dr. Liedeke Plate Faculty of Arts

Arts and Culture Studies

Teacher who will receive this document: Dr. Liedeke Plate Title of document: BA Thesis_ACS_Joelle Vetter

Name of course: 2021 Bachelorwerstuk / Bachelor’s Thesis Date of submission: 15 January 2021

The work submitted here is the sole responsibility of the undersigned, who has neither committed plagiarism nor colluded in its production.

Signed

Table of Contents

Introduction ... 3

Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework ... 7

Chapter 2: Analysis ... 13

The Individual Sphere ... 14

The Natural Sphere ... 17

The Communal Sphere ... 19

Chapter 3: Interpretation and Conclusion ... 22

Bibliography ... 28 Appendix ... 31 Figures ... 31 Interview Guide ... 33 Consent Photographs ... 35 Consent Interviews ... 35

Introduction

In October 2020, more than 25 women, most of them peasants, from different communities in the South of Jalisco (Mexico) came together to reflect upon the use of seeds in their

agricultural practices. In their discussions, participants expressed strong feelings towards seeds. As one participant phrases it, “la semilla represente el origen de la vida” (“the seed represents the origin of life”). Other participants highlight that memory, family, and

knowledge are all embedded in seeds. From a theoretical perspective, material objects such as seeds are part of human narratives, conversations, interactions and identity (Woodward 28-29). Most peasants come from a long tradition of small-scale agriculture. Seeds are integrated in their family and community history, as they are passed on through kinship ties and

exchanged amongst community members. About 80-90% of peasants obtain their seeds through own selection, exchange and local markets (Quién Nos 20). Knowledge about seeds, their preservation and usage are similarly manifested in peasants’ past and present. As peasants actively engage with seeds and especially since this engagement is such a central aspect of their communal and individual history, seeds become a cultural materiality through which they “[make] sense of their own and others’ lives” (Gray 13).

Peasants make a clear distinction between industrial and non-industrial seeds. In the discourse of local, national and international NGOs such as GRAIN, Red en Defensa del Maíz or Collectivo por la Autonomía as well as in most peasants’ narratives, industrial seeds are seen in contrast to native seeds. This distinction is a direct response to the consequences of the industrialization of agriculture in Mexico. Starting in the 1940s up until the 1980s, the Green Revolution introduced hybrid seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, large-scale management tools all of which were directed at large-scale production and increasingly foreign investment

(Sonnenfeld 32). Non-industrial and especially native seeds are increasingly replaced by industrial seeds (certified and patented, oftentimes hybrid or genetically modified). This poses

a great threat to peasants’ lands, independency, and livelihoods. Within the last 40 years, Mexico has lost more than 50% of their seed varieties (Quien Nos 6). Although being declared the “origin of maize”, Mexican policies and big agrobusinesses continuously push legal margins, and facilitate the expansion of industrial agricultural practices and the exploitation of peasants, their rights, and their lands (No Toquen 14). As explained above, seeds, and native seeds in particular, are culturally manifested in peasants’ lives. Industrial seeds essentially lack this component of culture as they lack any connection to or integration in history, community relations and culture in general. This difference makes the cultural meaning of non-industrial seeds even more apparent and justifies my focus on non-industrial, primarily native seeds. Native or non-industrial seeds are not merely a practical component of peasants’ work. Rather seeds are a non-human matter which connects peasants to culture and territory. Since being deeply rooted in peasants’ work with their natural environment and their social interactions, seeds have an agency beyond their functionality to produce food and make money. The question that arises is: How do seeds have agency in the socio-cultural world of peasants from the South of Jalisco, Mexico? I will answer this question by means of analysing interviews I conducted and observations I made during my collaborative work with a local NGO in El Grullo, Jalisco, as well as a peasant’s testimony given during a national trial.

Presently, peasantry is largely replaced by an expanding agroindustry occupying most of Mexico’s agricultural land. In 1992, a change in Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution had a major effect on how property in Mexico was managed. Before this change, land was

managed collectively, distributed in smaller pieces, and organised in ejidos which could not be traded. With the change of property rights in 1992, land could be traded which aimed at attracting foreign investment and stimulating high-produce agriculture and export (Kelly 570). As a result of the change in Article 27, the Green Revolution and other related political and socio-economic events such as Free Trade Agreements, agriculture in Mexico was

and yields (Sonnenfeld 34-35). Within just eight years after the change of Article 27, peasant households have decreased from 65% of rural households to 31% (Carton de Grammont par. 27). For almost one decade, Jalisco is among the highest food production states with an almost doubled increase in export produce (“Jalisco es el Gigante” par. 1, 12). In its economic program “Gigante Agroalimentario” launched in 2014, the state government of Jalisco

prioritizes large-scale, profitable agricultural production for national and international markets. In the face of these political and socio-economic trends, traditional peasantry in Mexico has decreased immensely during the last 2-3 decades.

Who is a peasant? Where do we find peasant culture? Contemporary peasant culture is hard to define and narrow down to a certain group, number, or characteristics. There is little anthropological research done on the diverse forms of peasantry in present Mexico. Most research focuses on indigenous peasantry only. Given the difficulty of finding academic sources on this topic, as well as a general difficulty to frame contemporary peasantry, my outline of peasantry in Jalisco relies mostly on my own observations, conversations with peasants, and my colleagues’ explanation informed by their work with regional peasants for more than eight years.

Peasants work with the cycle of nature. This means that most work is to be done during four months of rain season, including the most important activity: sowing. Given the dependency on natural cycles, peasants dedicate many months to other tasks like construction, selecting, preserving and exchanging seeds, and sometimes to other professional occupations. According to my colleague, peasantry implies a diverse range of activities and rituals which must not all relate to sowing and harvesting (personal conversation, 11 January 2021). Besides traditional peasants (small-scale farmers who apply traditional agricultural methods to produce food for own consumption or to sell locally), many rural inhabitants have little piece of land, oftentimes outside of town, where they cultivate. Others cultivate in pots, and some rural inhabitants simply show interest in agriculture. After many conversations with

colleagues and local inhabitants at peasant reunions, agricultural events, or in casual

encounters, I found that some people who are not peasants in the traditional definition of the term still identify as peasants or demonstrate an affinity to peasant culture. Although my research participants are all peasants and farmers who cultivate on fields, I want to draw attention to the challenge of narrowing down the concept of who is a peasant and the problem of limiting peasant culture to traditionally defined peasants.

In the following chapter, I will outline the theory which serves as the basis for my analysis and interpretation. Two main theoretical frameworks inform my analysis. Firstly, New Materialism offers a perspective on non-human matter as “lively” and with agency in the socio-cultural world. Secondly, Mesoamerican indigenous epistemology helps to understand Mexican peasant culture. Further, indigenous epistemology considers non-human and human matter, and the natural and human world as interwoven. Therefore, it is useful for

understanding seeds as a non-human matter with agency in the human world. Chapter 2 compiles an analysis of the interviews, observations and testimony, addressing their most striking themes. In the third chapter, I will explore how the seeds’ manifestation in the socio-cultural world makes them a non-human matter with agency. By relating my findings of Chapter 2 to New Materialist and indigenous theory, I will outline the effects and consequences of seeds’ agency in peasants’ world.

Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework

Seeds are placed at the human-nature intersection. While they are undoubtedly an organic matter that is part of the natural world, they are simultaneously integrated in human life. Seeds are a part of nature that peasants have in their hands, first taken from nature then given back to nature, in order to retrieve one of the most essential components of life, namely food. For peasants, this dynamic expands to their work, knowledge, and in most cases

family/community history. As follows, seeds are a materiality that embodies a particular human-nature relationship both affecting the socio-cultural and natural world.

The tradition of New Materialism offers a starting point to understand the meaning of seeds for humans, their societies and cultures. While decentring the human subject, New Materialists re-evaluate the relationship between human and non-human (Tompkins par. 5). Ecological thinking emphasizes the interdependence of species and the interconnected materiality of human and non-human “bodies” (par. 14). As pointed out by Veronica Villa, the material human body and exists in a material world (143). It is this interconnected

materiality that constructs history, culture, and the subject (143-44). Seeds are internalized by nature through soil and bioorganic processes and internalized by humans in the form of food. Seeds are travelling between the human and non-human and their manifestation in the two spheres constitutes knowledge and practices. New Materialism integrates non-humans as participants in (the production of) socio-political processes (Sundberg 33, 35). In fact, seeds’ production and consumption not only enables a continuation of human life but also the creation of the social world (Villa 144). Seeds participate in peasant culture and peasants’ lives as they re-enforce and re-make a whole social world.

Two new materialist assumptions are specifically relevant for this thesis. Firstly, how “things other than humans” can make things happen (Alldred and Fox par. 4). Rosi Braidotti approaches the human and non-human as one equally privileged ecology. Accordingly, “matter” (human and non-human) is self-organising and vital and exists in continuity with

culture, rather than opposed to it (Braidotti 35, 56). Similarly, Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory argues that a variety of human and non-human elements produce the socio-cultural world. Accordingly, matter can “authorize, allow, afford, encourage, permit, suggest, influence, block, render possible, forbid” and therefore becomes and actant (Latour 72). Secondly and closely related, the world around us is produced by continuities and flows, alternatively to a systematic structuring of societies and cultures (Alldred and Fox par. 6). Rather than looking at simple cause-reaction/consequence patterns of how social structures produce and are produced, this view offers a perspective on matter in continuous interaction across time and space. Diana Luciano’ ideas on natural matter such as soil and rocks as participating in desire, memory and emotionality (2) inspires to think about seeds

continuously acting throughout time and space. Through spatial and temporal continuity, seeds embody a history of nature and human and thus impact the socio-cultural world. This approach allows for a continuity between non-human and human and a reintegration of humans within the environment (Alldred and Fox par. 9).

Although New Materialism helps to understand seeds as a material substance constituting social reality, I will draw primarily upon Mesoamerican indigenous

epistemologies to better understand the meaning of seeds and the human-nature relationship in Mexican peasant culture. New Materialist thinkers have pointed at the rootedness of indigenous epistemology in a non-human centred ontology (Tompkins par. 7, Sundberg 42). Yet, my central reason for focussing on indigenous epistemology derives from Guillermo Bonfil Batalla’s conclusions about Mexico as a country and as a culture. According to Batalla, Mexican society is confronted with two civilization programs, the imaginary Mexico and its westernization program rooted in the country’s colonization, and the “México profundo” (“deep” Mexico) rooted in Mesoamerican culture. While the general assumption is that indigenous culture has vanished, Batalla contends that indigenous culture continues to exist (3-4). Even though Mexico has a variety of different indigenous groups, beliefs, and

languages, they are all historically rooted in a Mesoamerican civilization process located in shared natural environments (9). Consequently, knowledge about and experience in this common environment are linked with a common understanding of the natural world as well as somewhat similar values, social organisation, and organisation of life (11). It is crucial to understand that Batalla not only speaks of the indigenous culture existent in indigenous communities but of an underlying indigenous culture present in various layers and groups of Mexican society (41). Rural sectors and especially peasant communities present a striking presence of indigenous culture (42-45). This presence can be traced back to demographic and socio-political developments as well as the cultural rootedness of nature and agriculture as the basic activity in indigenous/peasant life.

I now briefly outline the main themes in indigenous epistemology that are most relevant for my analysis. A focus lies on aspects of indigenous worldview because it concerns the human-nature relationship. Several disclaimers must be made first. I do not claim to have a full grasp of indigenous epistemology neither do I think it is possible to make definite claims about the presence of indigenous culture in contemporary Mexico. As useful as

Batalla’s concept of “México profundo” is, it was written more than 30 years ago while in the meantime Mexico’s agricultural regions changed remarkably (think of the Green Revolution, a decline of peasantry, and a continuous urbanization). Moreover, it is too difficult to

understand all aspects of the indigenous cosmovision within the scope of this thesis. Further, I want to emphasize that the aim of this thesis is not to present the resemblance of indigenous culture in contemporary rural/peasant culture, but to analyse seeds’ in peasants’ socio-cultural world. Hence, indigenous epistemology usefully frames seeds manifestation in peasant

culture. Integrating indigenous epistemology further avoids imposing a solely Western theoretical approach on Mexican culture.

Centrally, indigenous worldview sees an interconnectedness of all that is human, non-human and cosmic in the natural world. In contrast to New Materialism’s dualistic assumption

of separated significance and vitality of non-human and human (Sundberg 38), the indigenous idea of a biocosmic continuum understands human and nature as an integrity and

complementarity (Figueroa Helland 37-39, 101). Anthropologist Carlos Lenkersdorf formulates this idea in his concept of “listening”. Accordingly, humans in the indigenous worldview listen to their environment, to the non-human, and cross the boundaries of their own materiality when breathing, drinking or eating. Non-human compounds then embed and incorporate the human into the rest of the world (Lenkersdorf 19) while humans “listen” to all that is life (Figueroa Helland 111). Integrity and complementarity also find expression in the indigenous concept of communality (“comunalidad”). Floriberto Díaz Gomez and Jaime Martínez Luna formulated this idea in a contemporary context of indigenous culture which highlights the significance of territory. Communality refers to the central principles, set of behaviours and beliefs, and structure of indigenous life and society. Territory lies at the core of communality. It is the land of the people for its organic, spiritual and symbolic sustenance (Martinez Luna 92). The specific natural world, or territory, serves as a reference point for knowledge, ability, and community (Batalla 27). As a last note, the principles of self-sufficiency and reciprocity must be mentioned. Mesoamerican indigenous cultures tend towards self-sufficiency as an expression of the knowledge and abilities deriving from the interconnectedness with territory and community (Batalla 28-29). Reciprocity is key in the balance of the biocosmic cycles since all that is taken must be given back, among humans and between humans and all other parts of the cosmos (Figueroa Helland 134). Time is understood in cyclic rather than linear terms and humans participate in the natural cycle of creation, recreation and reproduction (Pineda 120). Cyclic renewal and balance are therefore more valuable than growth and gain (Figueroa Helland 135). This short outline provides a glimpse into indigenous epistemology and I will elaborate on the above-mentioned ideas in my analysis and interpretation.

binary thinking and sheds light on the interconnectedness of humans with nature and humans with each other. Seeds are part of a “lived culture” (a term coined by Raymond Williams), a culture of the every-day, in which meanings and processes are produced, distributed and consumed in material circumstances (Gray 13). In order to grasp the “lived culture” of peasants’ seeds, I apply diverse methods, mainly drawing upon ethnographic research methods. Three components constitute the basis of my analysis. Firstly, a testimony which was given during the Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos: Capítulo México in Chihuahua, Mexico (27-29 May 2012) by Rodolfo Gonzalez Figueroa, a peasant from La Ciénega, South of Jalisco. Secondly, observations I made during my stay in El Grullo, South of Jalisco, encompassing participant observations of peasant reunions, on-site observations, and small talks. Thirdly, two in-depth interviews I conducted with peasants from the South of Jalisco. I chose to interview one woman (Interviewee A) from Tapalpa, Jalisco who, as her main occupation, cultivates communal land for aromatic and herbal products and one man (Interviewee B) from El Grullo, Jalisco who cultivates private land but not as a main

occupation. Difference in age and professional background were part of my criteria in order to account for the complex reality of peasant culture in present-day Mexico. The interviews were semi-structured, and the type of questions were constructed according to observations I made beforehand over the course of several weeks. Both interviews were conducted in Spanish.

The combination of methods allows me to balance targeted interviews and small talks with outsider observations and an independent testimony. While the observations and the testimony provide a wider impression of peasant culture in Jalisco, the interviews allow for focussed questions and themes. Anthropoligtsts Henk Driessen and Willy Jansen point out how small talk enhances the researcher’s important sensitivity to the place and the people (251). Inspired by this view on small talk, casual interaction, and participant observation, I attempted to establish a relaxed and authentic climate by having several encounters and small talks with my interviewees before the actual interview. My analysis focusses on thoughts,

feelings, and experiences of peasants. Attention lies on wording, which ideas come up initially, and how they are connected to personal and socio-cultural contexts.

Given my involvement in local activities because of my internship with a local civil society organisation, I could meet rural communities and peasants in casual situations. Since my internship organisation works with local peasants, my colleagues supported me with getting in touch with peasants and understanding responses and reactions. Nonetheless, I acknowledge my position as a foreign researcher. In terms of fully understanding a culture and its history that is not mine as well as people’s acceptance or openness towards me, my identity might be an obstacle. However, I have also encountered interviewees’ and

participants’ great willingness and patience in explaining aspects of their “lived culture” which might have been taken for granted by a native researcher. A last note concerns the diverse personal and social identities and backgrounds of the persons who take part in my research. I have observed that age, gender, occupation, and socio-political background has an influence on the responses and reactions towards seeds. For my analysis, I have chosen to interpret themes which come up persistently, but it is important to note that it is impossible to make general assumptions. I will touch upon the consequences of varying responses in regard to my research question in my conclusion. The following chapter entails an analysis of the main themes of the observations, testimony, and interviews.

Chapter 2: Analysis

To begin with, the concept of “native” seeds requires a closer consideration. The Mexican Servicio Nacional de Inspección y Certificación de Semillas defines native seeds as those obtained through ancient practice used by farmers to select seeds from their harvest to use for the next sowing (par. 1). Native seed selection is adjusted to farmers’ needs, cultural

traditions, conservation practices, and protection of the ecosystem (par. 4). However, defining native seeds merely by their obtaining practice is insufficient to describe the deeper meaning which the wording native seed has in peasants’ reality.

According to interviewee A, native seeds have the information which the peasant knows and the memory of the temporality of the place. A colleague of mine similarly

highlights that native seeds originate in the region and adds that these seeds have an ancestral and indigenous connotation. Native seeds have a profound rootedness in cultural and

ecological history. Both the social and the natural world are accustomed to native seeds and construct their systems of knowledge and survival/regeneration accordingly. Equally, native seeds integrate themselves in these systems and are shaped and altered by nature and human. Interestingly, interviewee B describes native seeds as persistent and strong in their properties although it is a biological fact that seeds’ genetics change with time due to ecological impacts and domestication. This description reveals how native seeds represent a historical persistence leaving traces in nature and culture.

During my research, I encountered several terms which are related to the idea of a “native” seed, or which were used instead of “native” while connoting something similar. “Criollo” seeds was the most frequently used term next to native seeds. As a colleague of mine explained, criollo seeds do not necessarily originate in the region but are usually organic and integrated in peasant culture (personal conversation, 4 January 2021). The term criollo was frequently used by interviewee B to describe traditional, non-industrial seeds. Similarly, many participants in the women’s reunion about seed conservation (El Grullo, 25-27 October

2020; thereafter referred to as women’s reunion 2) spoke about criollo seeds in the context of household or community-based seed preservation. The second term related to native seeds is “organic” which, according to a colleague, suggests that seeds are produced and conserved without chemicals. Both interviewees and the peasants present at reunions often connected the concept of organic seeds to seeds’ impact on the environment as well as on the human body. Definitions and descriptions of non-industrial seeds such as native, criollo and organic express the importance that peasants and rural inhabitants give to these types of seeds. I found that seeds are integrated into three spheres, the individual, the communal, and the natural. When analysing the gathered material, I identified eleven major themes which were, although to varying extents, present in all sources: territory, community, food, nature, body/health,

knowledge, memory, emotionality, production/autonomy, identity and future. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how these themes are manifested in the individual, communal, and natural spheres. Nonetheless, themes and spheres tend to overlap. Yet, it is this

interconnectivity which contributes importantly to seeds’ agency in the socio-cultural world. I will use the word seeds to describe native and criollo seeds and will make explicit when I talk about industrial seeds.

The Individual Sphere

In the context of peasants’ individual sphere, seeds engage in body perception and identity construction. Knowledge and cultural, emotional memory, both of which are tied to the environment, shape an understanding of the self that is related to place, history and ecology. In the form of food, seeds establish a direct relationship to the human body.

Interviewee A explained how seeds through food transmit ecological information about light, water, and soil to the body. In her view, modified (industrial) seeds will give modified

information which the body does not recognize biologically. Native/criollo seeds’ code is logical and familiar to the body and can help it to structure, grow and heal. She further describes the physical feeling of eating native seeds as energetic. Food deriving from native

seeds is a living thing because the body can feel and react to the information it carries (Interviewee A). Food from native seeds functions like a bio-cultural key in the body as can be explained by the example of maize.

In Mexican food culture, maize represents the most essential ingredient. It is part of almost every meal of the day, may it be in form of tortilla, tamales, or pozole, and is

manifested in the country’s culture and history. Mexico is officially declared centre of origin of maize, with more than 59 recognized varieties of maize (No Toquen 14). Maize is a

“historical memory” with a “living presence” (15). Many peasant reunions I attended included an exchange of maize seeds or at least an exhibition of the variety of crops (see figures 1 and 2). Diversity in colour, size and other properties were proudly presented and peasants enjoyed telling stories about their maize (see figure 3). Interviewee B describes his amazement with the different types of native maize which one cannot find in the supermarket. Several peasants describe the distinct taste of native maize varieties and connect its taste to feelings of pride and satisfaction (Interviewee B; women’s reunion 2). Native maize manifests itself

emotionally in peasants’ lives, oftentimes shaped by memory. Since maize is such a central element of peasant culture and most peasants grew up in peasant families (my interviewees; peasants at women’s reunion 2; peasants at women’s reunion 1, 4-6 October 2020), their first engagement with seeds is connected to the cultivation of native maize. Hence, for the

individual, native maize functions like a memory stick on which feelings and experiences are saved since childhood.

Food from own seeds is described as a “heritage” (Interviewee B), an embodiment of one’s work and one’s land that is given to the body. As interviewee A explained, native seeds are such a central source of organic information so that the body that consumes it is

consistently used to and knowledgeable of the place. In peasants’ perspective, food from native seeds is clean, healthy and pure (Interviewee B; peasants at women’s reunion 2). In

contrast, industrial “modified” or “non-local” seeds are connected to contamination and sickness (Interviewee A; peasants at both women’s reunions).

Further, seeds are part of identity construction. Peasantry is not only an occupation, it is a way of living, thinking and feeling. Peasants’ engagement with seeds is a highly internal process which is marked by emotion, knowledge (finding), and memory. Interviewee A explains how the “field exists in [her]”. Working with nature, and its seeds, requires an inner process of learning about and (re)connecting to all that is implied by peasantry. Being peasant “is not just anything”; working the field day to day and handling the territory require

knowledge and patience (Interviewee B). Knowing the seeds means knowing the territory and how to work with the seed (Interviewee B). As Rodolfo explains, taking away peasants’ seeds means taking away their knowledge and their land (131). Arguably, taking away the seeds also takes away (parts of) peasants’ identity. In the opinion of several peasants, seeds carry part of the sowers’ identity (women’s reunion 2; Interviewee A; small-talk with peasant). The taste of the fruit, vegetable, or grain, seed’s shape, history and length of the growing process, all become relevant in peasants’ choice for the seed. In contrast, if the seeds’ value lies in money making (industrial seeds), peasants hardly speak of the seed’s/plant’s qualities and beauty (Interviewee B; meetings with peasants from El Limon, 2 October 2020). Instead, the focus lies on productivity, prices, and plagues.

The connection with seeds brings up an emotional memory. When being asked about a favourite seed, all respondents gave very diverse answers and motivations all of which were somewhat connected to two central themes: territory/nature and memory. Both interviewees recalled stories or lessons from their parents which until today shaped their emotional connection to seeds. For instance, interviewee A remembers her father saying they were millionaires when they had a lot of seeds. Until today interviewee A sees the value of seeds in its ability to multiply, to have a huge impact on all that is living in nature (including humans), and to ensure existence and life through cyclic nourishment. Concludingly, being a peasant

involves a positioning, or manifestation, in a historical culture and environment. Seeds are a central element in peasants’ identity construction because they establish a rootedness in nature and culture by knowing and remembering through the seed.

The Natural Sphere

In terms of the natural sphere, seeds establish an interconnectivity between nature and peasants. This interconnectivity can be explained by locality; that is, the rootedness of seeds as well as knowledge, memory, practice, and culture in a given territory, and, closely

connected, integration of the human in nature. Before diving into the analysis, it is important discuss a question of terminology. Most of the peasants I have been in contact with use the Spanish word “la tierra” to describe a whole range of aspects which, in English, are expressed through various words. In peasants use, “tierra” can refer to soil, territory, land or nature. Although these English terms do have separate Spanish translations, peasants often used “la tierra” instead of “territorio” (territory), “naturaleza” (nature), or “suelo” (soil). Choice of wording gives a first impression of the interconnectivity and integrity of the concept of land/nature/territory with human life and emotion. Attention needs to be paid to the persistent use of the article “la,” which often gave a sense of identity to “tierra” and naturally ascribed an idea of agency to it. In my analysis, I try to translate “tierra” to what I think is most appropriate but I use the Spanish “la tierra” occasionally in order to retain its full meaning.

Most peasants’ general assumption is that seeds have a location. Seeds can be

domesticated but they only function in a certain environment (Interviewee A; Interviewee B). Equally, seeds influence the environment as they create space and generate landscapes

(Interviewee A; Interviewee B). Since landscape and seeds are interwoven in complex way, peasant knowledge is crucial to understanding this relationship. For instance, two peasants at the women’s reunion 2 explained how traditional sowing practices like “sowing with the moon” (“siembra con la luna”) or the sowing of cuamil (sowing a slanted field) respond to the

land’s and seeds’ characteristics. In peasant knowledge systems, seeds conserve the cycle of nature because they are reproducing, revitalizing, and nourishing the “tierra” and the human. The natural world serves as a reference point in peasants’ knowledge and beliefs (Batalla 27). Lenkersdorf’s concept of “listening” sees humans in the Mesoamerican tradition as a

“cosmoaudition”. As air, water, nutrients cross the imaginary boundaries of the skin, humans can “listen” as seeds in the forms of food constitute the body from within (Lenkersdorf 19). Taste and appearance of a specific native flower as described by a peasant (women’s reunion 2) and the beauty, spirituality, and connectivity she feels embed her in the land, its

characteristics, and changes. She can therefore “listen” to “la tierra” through the information the seeds transmit. Peasants described this interconnectivity with nature, mostly by relating to “la tierra” and its cycles through their seeds.

Peasant culture and emotionality is influenced by this conception of nature.

Celebrations, rituals, work and rest are marked by the rain season (Gonzalez Figueroa 130). Sowing generates hope, and harvest is a feast shared by the people and the land (130). Interviewee A recalled a ritual in which seed offerings are presented to a shrine in order to connect to seeds’ polar energies (e.g. feminine/masculine or positive/negative). Interviewee A explained how this polarity speaks to her body and her feelings because humans in themselves have this polarity (taking in the sun’s positivity and the soil’s negativity). In the indigenous conception of communality, land and the human are seen in a relationship of mutual

belonging (Diaz Gomez 368). On the example of an orange that is cut into halves with both parts sharing the same information and memory, Interviewee A described how the

peasants’/humans’ body and mind are manifested in “la tierra” and vice versa. It results from this interconnectivity that peasants see it as a responsibility to acknowledge the wilderness and nature’s regenerative system (e.g. interviewee A). Respect and love for “la tierra” is most important for peasants, for women more so than men (compare women’s reunions with meetings and small-talks with male peasants). Nature is the mother which gives life to the

seed and life to those who respect it (Interviewee A; women’s reunions). The human does not own the land, rather belongs to the land (Martinez Luna 92).

The Communal Sphere

In the communal sphere, many aspects of the individual and the natural sphere overlap. The field/land is where many peasants meet and collaborate. Mexico has a long history of communal land. In Mesoamerican civilizations, land was usually used collectively and this tradition revived when “ejidos” (communal land) were introduced through the Mexican land reform in 1910. Many of my research participants take part in community fields. Values of reciprocity and shared experience are connected to hard work and necessary collaboration. If one peasant loses their seeds, they will ask their neighbour or father

(Interviewee B). “La tierra” requires an “alliance”, a network of voluntary connections, to treat nature with respect, without chemicals or hard machinery, and still work efficiently (Interviewee A). Seeds are regarded as a collective interest as peasants are the nurturer of the land, the family, and the community. Interviewee B notes that neighbouring peasants who preserve their own seeds “guard [them] like a treasure” because it is the family’s day-to-day food and ensures a nutrition of quality. In contrast, industrial seeds and its connected

agricultural processes are reduced to a productivist vision as they “meet the demands of the industry and not those of peasants and their families” (Gonzalez Figueroa 131). To “improve” means to include more people, work efficiently in a collective and work with the land

(Interviewee A). Working with the natural cycle and not having to buy seeds like a

commodity every year allows for farmers to decide about their own land which is central to peasants’ identity (Gonzalez Figueroa 131-132).

Sovereignty and autonomy were important to each peasant I talked to. Historically, self-sufficiency is rooted in peasant culture since Mesoamerican civilization (Batalla 28). However, self-sufficiency is never absolute but relies on community and family (28).

Exchanging expert knowledge and seeds and dividing labour allows for a sustainable system of reciprocity. Further, it creates and results from a community network shaped by trust and common culture, memory, and knowledge. The case of seed exchange activities illustrates the facets and value of an autonomous community network.

Non-industrial seeds are usually obtained through local and regional seed networks. Several peasants participating in these networks identify as “guardians of the seeds”, but highlighted how one cannot be guardian alone. Interviewee B pointed out how participating in local seed networks is an ethical question with regard to the soil and the people. This comes back to a centrality of trust and shared vision seed exchange. Knowing that “la tierra” was treated with respect elicits a respect for the trading person (Interviewee A). Equally, sharing ones’ seeds is emotionally-charged. As a peasant during the women’s reunion 2 points out, sharing seeds means knowing and respecting the other. With the exchange of seeds there comes an exchange of knowledge and memory surrounding this specific seed that was preserved through hard work and a loving relation to “la tierra”. Most peasants have learned from their parents or grandparents. Many cultivate seeds and apply sowing techniques which are part of family or community tradition. Therefore, this knowledge and emotional memory are already inherently collective and are passed on through many hands in a network of trust. Moreover, as seeds change through nature’s impact and humans’ hands, memory and

knowledge surrounding seeds are constantly reconstructed and recreated. Peasants shared new knowledge and exchanged experiences with a feeling of excitement and joy, and even more so if experiences were complemented by other peasants’ memory or knowledge (women’s

reunion 2). Community is where memory and knowledge are not only exchanged but also created, now and throughout history. The peasants I have been in contact with (through small-talks, reunions and my interviews) almost exclusively learned by means of observation, oral lessons and participating in agricultural work from a young age. Peasant knowledge

“through living, through contact with others, and through doing the work itself” (Batalla 29). Hence, learning right away connects the individual with the community, the nature, and memories and experiences.

To conclude, seeds and their manifestation in peasants’ lives shape and are shaped by communities, their individual members, and “la tierra”/their lands. Knowledge, memory and emotions and feelings of joy, satisfaction, wonder, sadness, or nostalgia are key in

understanding this manifestation. In the following chapter, I will interpret the findings of my analysis to explain how seeds can be understood as agents in the socio-cultural world. This agency stems from seeds’ “liveness” and the creation of an own identity on the one hand. On the other hand, agency relates to seeds’ capacity to travel between the three spheres, carry information from one to the other, and establish a system of interconnectivity.

Chapter 3: Interpretation and Conclusion

Historical embeddedness of seeds in landscape and culture establishes the basis of seeds’ agency. As demonstrated in the previous chapter, systems of knowledge,

survival/regeneration, and culture are constructed around mostly native but also criollo seeds. Similarly, seeds adjust(ed) to the natural world, due to changes in climate, vegetation, etc., and the social worlds because of humans’ conscious selection and cross-breeding of seeds. Given this historicity, seeds, although being intrinsically unstable (think of biodiversity changes, trading, or genetic development), represent a consistent entity exactly because of their cyclic nature. Consequently, seeds established a coexistence with the human world and laid grounds for the interrelation of humans and nature in past and present. Along the lines of Dana Luciano’s argument for the historical emotionality of natural matter (Roudeau 6), seeds have a loaded cultural and affective relationship with peasants’ socio-cultural world due to their historical continuity. As follows, seeds are always loaded with meaning and interconnect generations. In the viewpoint of indigenous influences on peasant culture, they even

interconnect civilizations.

Knowing the seed is crucial to peasants’ engagement with seeds. In a complex process of “knowing the seed”, peasants ascribe an identity to seeds and, with this identity, an agency. Peasants constantly engage with the territory to organise and reorganise seed-related

practices. Knowing the seed means to accompany it in all stages; selecting, preserving, cultivating, and exchanging/obtaining. Yet, really knowing the seed also implies knowing all its values. Seeds have emotional value. Through seeds, peasants remember their grandparents, their childhood, the tree in their garden which, once it was cut, left seeds becoming new trees (interviewee A). In the community, seeds have the value of interactions (like seed exchange), social structures (for instance collective work), and communal memory and culture (think of ancestral and religious seed rituals and offerings, or knowledge transmission). Seeds’ value in

nature is their ability to generate landscapes and give life, to humans and non-humans. Getting to know this vitalizing ability also includes getting to know seeds’ effect on the human body and the consequential locality of the human body in a given environment. Through getting to know these values, peasants get to know each seed’s identity. Learning about seeds’ identity means “listening” to “la tierra”, and acknowledging its subjectivity, and its identity. This process of learning and listening is both individual and collective as it draws on (shared) peasant knowledge that is established over history. After all, seeds identity is emotional, collective, and interrelated to nature and territory. All of these parts of identity are nuanced, constantly shifting because they depend on individual and communal experiences and the specific territory. This means peasants continuously rediscover and therefore also remake seeds’ identity. It is the very identity of seeds which contributes to their “liveness” and their capability to do, react and make react.

In peasants’ perception, seeds have their own “life”. Seeds do, react to and make react, just like Latour conceptualizes non-human actors. Food deriving from native/criollo seeds are a living thing. The body understands the information and can be nourished from it. Through the biological information they carry, transmit, and make life. Moreover, seeds are a non-human matter which makes emotional life, social life, and elicit feelings and memories. In Braidotti’s line of argument, matter is intrinsically intelligent, as it is driven by its unique informational codes and simultaneously interacts with its social, psychic and ecological environments (60). Essentially, seeds link and transport; make emotions, social connections and knowledge happen and thus reproduce culture. A peasant will know about different nutrients in the soil, will feel happy or sad when sowing the seeds that grandmother was always sowing, and will ask a friend for advice when sowing the next cycle. In this way, seeds live and do according to their specific identities.

The idea of a living seed becomes clearer when taking into account the originally indigenous belief of a mutual belonging of “la tierra” and the people. Accordingly, everything

has life and gives life. In the indigenous worldview, all elements of nature live and have hearts (Lenkersdorf 25). Nothing in the cosmos is “lifeless, everything shows ‘subjectivity’, life and spontaneity” (Figueroa Helland 111). Seeds’ “subjectivity” is reflected in their

particular identities. They live and do through the human body, the memory and knowledge of the human and the natural. In Mesoamerican poetry and narratives, like the Nahua “Song of Tlaltecatzin” maize often connotes the source of life. In fact, the Pop Wuj, the Mayan “Book of Events”, pronounces that human bodies are formed of maize (Batalla 5). Seeds constitute life from within (food, emotionality, spirituality) and from without (social life, culture) (Figueroa Helland 103). In this way, seeds manifest peasants both in the natural and socio-cultural world. As peasant culture is informed by a belief system which acknowledges the simultaneity and equality of non-human matter (Martinez Luna 93), seeds have agency in interlinking human and nature. In an abstract formulation, seeds tell and humans/peasants listen (think of Lenkersdorf’s concept of “listening”).

Interconnectivity is key to seeds’ “lifelines” and agency. As New Materialist thought assumes, the social and natural world is constituted by complex assemblages of non-human and human matter (Alldred and Fox par. 22). Seeds establish an “association between entities” which become meaningful in the moment they are reshuffled together (Latour 65). Their ability to interconnect and interrelate natural, social/cultural and individual spheres is exactly what gives seeds agency. Through memory, food, and knowledge, seeds establish the

individual and the community in a certain place. This implies not only a practical manifestation through food culture and agricultural practices but also an emotional

rootedness. There exists love and respect for “la tierra”. These emotions become communal when peasants decide to connect with people who share the same vision. Eventually, they create seed exchange systems, labour collaborations, and collective fields according to this shared vision. Furthermore, seeds make peasants work with the cycle of nature. Rituals, spirituality, celebrations, alliances, and social connections are constructed accordingly. As

Braidotti argues, the “relational capacity” of non-human matter allows for its subjective intelligence and agency (60). Across the spheres, seeds carry and transmit memory,

knowledge, territory. All these components are emotional, subjective but also communal, and form an individual and communal understanding and of the world. According to this

understanding and feeling of their world, peasants make decisions and experience events in a certain way. In the following paragraph, I will demonstrate how seeds agency affects

peasants’ decisions and experience of their lives.

Given the socio-political, economic, and technological development in Mexico’s agricultural sector in the past decades, peasants’ traditional practices and culture are repeatedly undermined (remember the Green Revolution or changes in Article 27).

Native/criollo seeds are threatened to be replaced by industrial seeds. Peasants’ reflections on this threat illustrates how seeds have agency. Firstly, using native seeds is an act of

preservation. Seeds embody and guard the knowledge of the territory, of “la tierra”. In the view of many peasants, losing the knowledge means losing the connection to “la tierra” (women’s reunion 1 and 2; Interviewee A; Gonzalez Figueroa 132). Moreover, “la tierra” is integrated in peasant culture as an equal entity, to be treated with love and respect. Industrial seeds do not cherish this nature-human relationship. Hence, native/criollo seeds are non-human matter in between the two spheres and uphold the culturally and spiritually important connection (rituals, family history, and sowing practices relying on peasants’ loving

perception of nature). Thus, seeds are not only preserved but also preserve peasants’ culture, values, knowledge, and memory. In contrast, losing seeds sparks a feeling and experience of powerlessness, despair and anger (Gonzalez Figueroa 131-133; Interviewee B; women’s reunion 1 and 2). The loss of seeds is experienced as a loss of one’s culture, the way of doing things, and living autonomously. Seeds make peasants feel in a certain way. They may feel nostalgic in memory, proud and full of dignity in their knowledge, and they may feel love for their community, family, and “la tierra”.

Secondly, the use of native seeds is central to resistance (thinking). Peasants are the defence of seeds and peasant culture because they sow (women’s reunion 1). Seeds are intrinsically meaningful because of the continuous integration in peasants’ lives so that sowing their seeds means sowing culture, memory, autonomy, knowledge, identity, community, and reciprocity between people and between nature and humans (women’s reunion 2). Given the decay of, or how many NGOs and peasants say, the attack against peasantry, seeds become an even more precious actant. Choosing native/criollo seeds over industrial seeds was considered an active resistance by many peasants (women’s reunion 1 and 2; peasant reunions in Guadalajara, 10 October 2020). Sowing seeds is of importance because it sows all that is interconnected with it. Besides individuals’ choice to sow

native/criollo seeds, community and social networks are essential. Interviewee A and peasants at both women’s reunions stated that to succeed in preserving and resisting, they need to build up strong networks for seed exchange. With seed exchange, there is an exchange of

knowledge, memory, and traditions (Interviewee A; women’s reunion 2). Again, seeds transmit and ascribe power over decisions and knowledge, and emotions and memories for what seeds embody. Consequently, seeds give and realise a certain agency of resistance, both for the individual and the community.

To conclude, seeds have agency in peasants’ socio-cultural world in four ways. Firstly, seeds are historically manifested in culture and nature. Thus, their agency is (partly) based on their continuity. It is for this reason, that seeds can connect people over time, create memory, and sustain knowledge and culture (spirituality, worldview, rituals, etc.). Given their historical persistence and manifestation in the land, seeds can create strong ties between peasants, their communities, and families because they embody a shared value, memory, knowledge, and culture. Secondly, seeds have an identity. Each seed has a certain character, a specific position in a peasant’s life/community and in nature. This identity makes peasants respond to it and act upon it (think of resistance and feeling/fear of loss). Thirdly, and closely related, seeds “live”;

they can do, make and trigger. Seeds can make something because they are something, they have an identity. Besides seeds emotional and spiritual doings, seeds have a more concrete manifestation in peasants’ life. They determine the day of celebration, the food on the plate, or the attendance of a meeting. Fourthly, seeds have agency because they interconnect and interrelate a variety of spheres and aspects of peasants’ lives. Knowledge is rooted in a

territory because of seeds. Emotions and memories are remembered/created due to seeds. As I have demonstrated in this chapter, many connections and relations are established through seeds. As the specific example of resistance and preservation demonstrates, seeds in fact have agency.

During my research, I have found that the tone of voice, the intensity and the compilation of ideas highly depends on the social context and political attitude of each individual peasant. While Rodolfo’s testimony resembled his political attitudes and call for resistance, interviewee A had a particularly spiritual view on seeds and the natural world. In contrast, interviewee B who uses industrial seeds but grew up with and is fascinated by criollo seeds was very production-oriented and had rather practical concerns towards seeds. Even amongst peasants at reunions and meetings, I could identify tendencies in their responses and attitudes. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, women had a much more family- and nature-oriented approach on seeds while men frequently focussed on politics. Therefore, I suggest that future research takes into account gender, political attitudes, and occupational

background when investigating the incorporation and agency of seeds in the socio-cultural world.

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Appendix

Figures

Figure 1. Different varieties of maize after seed exchange at women’s reunion 2 in El Grullo, Jalisco, 26 October 2020.

Figure 2. Different varieties of maize shown at reunion in collective garden in Guadalajara, Jalisco, 10 October 2020.

Figure 3. Maize shown at reunion in collective garden in Guadalajara, Jalisco, 10 October 2020.

Interview Guide

Introducción: Estas entrevistas serán utilizadas para mi tesis de licenciatura. El tema de la tesis es el significado cultural de las semillas nativas. Esto incluye pensamientos,

sentimientos, experiencias sobre las semillas nativas, la naturaleza, la vida campesina. Quiero averiguar cómo ven los campesinos las semillas nativas, qué significados tienen en su vida cotidiana y en su visión del mundo.

- ¿Cuál es tu conexión con las semillas? - ¿Tienes una semilla favorita?

- ¿Utilizas (vende / produce) semillas nativos?

¿Por qué usas / no usas semillas nativas? ¿Qué ideas conectas con las semillas nativas en general y con sus semillas nativas específicamente?

1. Semillas y comunidad: individualismo y / o comunidad - ¿Tienes una trama colectiva?

- ¿Darías semillas a amigos, vecinos o familiares u otras personas? ¿Recibes semillas de amigos, vecinos o familiares u otras personas?

- ¿Hablas de semillas autóctonas con otras personas? - ¿Hay reuniones o talleres en los que participa? 2. Semillas y cultura: historia, parentesco y tradición

- ¿Cómo aprendiste sobre las semillas nativas y las prácticas que las rodean?

- ¿Hay historias / libros / imágenes / arte / rituales que moldearon su comprensión y visión de las semillas nativas?

- ¿Heredaste semillas o conocimientos sobre semillas / prácticas a través del parentesco?

- ¿Sabes si las palabras que usas para ciertas semillas o prácticas tienen significas espicificas?

- ¿Qué valores tienen las semillas para tí en tu cultura/familia/communidad?

- En general, ¿puede pensar en usos o compromisos con semillas que fueran diferentes en el pasado?

3. Semillas y política: biopolítica y comercialización de la naturaleza

- ¿Conoces o experimentado alguna política o acción gubernamental con respecto a las semillas nativas?

- ¿Crees que las semillas nativas son generalmente relevantes en política y sociedad? ¿Deberían serlo?

- ¿Qué crees que es importante en la futura y por qué?

- ¿Crees que consumir alimentos de semillas nativas son conectado con el cuerpo? - ¿Ves algún impacto de las semillas nativas en el medio ambiente?

- ¿Cómo son las semillas nativas una solución / problema a los problemas de su comunidad?

- ¿Qué opinas / cómo te sientes acerca de las semillas comerciales? - ¿Cómo te sentirías si las semillas nativas desaparecieran?

4. Semillas e identidad: Refresco y cierre

- Quando siembras, como te sientes al respecto de la naturaleza

- Tienes ideas especificas al respecto de la naturaleza? ¿Cómo describiría su sentimiento por la naturaleza?

- ¿Crees que las semillas te conectan con la naturaleza?

- Mucha gente me dicen: las semillas son la vida? Estas de acuerdo? Que significa eso para tí?

- ¿Puedes pensar en algo que le gustaría que la gente sabe sobre semillas nativas? ¿Existe una situación ideal para ti?

Consent Photographs

I took all photographs used in this thesis (figures 1, 2, 3) with my own camera. Photographs are saved on a separate memory stick. Every person depicted on the photographs gave their oral consent and allowed me to use these photographs for my personal purposes, including my research.

Consent Interviews

Both interviewee A and interviewee B filled out and signed the consent form attached below. Before starting the interviews, I have read the consent form to them and asked if they had any questions about the consent form.

Consentimiento para participar en la investigación

I... voluntariamente acepta participar en este estudio de investigación titulado “Bachelor thesis: Arts and Culture Studies”.

Entiendo que aunque acepte participar ahora, puedo retirarme en cualquier momento o negarme a responder cualquier pregunta sin consecuencias de ningún tipo.

Entiendo que puedo retirar el permiso para utilizar los datos de mi entrevista dentro de las dos semanas siguientes a la misma, en cuyo caso el material será eliminado.

Se me ha explicado por escrito el propósito y la forma del estudio y he tenido la oportunidad de hacer preguntas sobre el mismo.

Entiendo que la participación implica para responder a preguntas sobre experiencias personales, pensamientos y opiniones sobre el tema de la agricultura.

Entiendo que no me beneficiaré directamente de la participación en esta investigación. Acepto que mi entrevista sea grabada en audio.

Entiendo que toda la información que proporcione para este estudio será tratada de forma confidencial.

Entiendo que en cualquier informe sobre los resultados de esta investigación mi identidad permanecerá anónima. Esto se hará cambiando mi nombre y ocultando cualquier detalle de mi entrevista que pueda revelar mi identidad o la de las personas de las que hablo.

Entiendo que los extractos disfrazados de mi entrevista pueden ser citados en la tesis de licenciatura del programa de estudios “Arts and Culture Studies” (Radboud University, año 2020/2021) del entrevistador Joelle Vetter.

Entiendo que los formularios de consentimiento firmados y las grabaciones de audio originales se conservarán en un dispositivo de almacenamiento separado en posesión del entrevistador bajo custodia (Sólo el entrevistador tiene acceso a estos datos) hasta Junio 2021. Entiendo que se conservará una transcripción de mi entrevista en la que se haya eliminado toda la información de identificación durante dos años.

Entiendo que bajo la legalización de la libertad de información tengo derecho a acceder a la información que he proporcionado en cualquier momento mientras esté almacenada como se especifica arriba.

Entiendo que soy libre de contactar a cualquiera de las personas involucradas en la investigación para buscar más aclaraciones e información.

Joelle Vetter, Bachelor program Arts and Culture Students, Radboud University, Países Bajos. Dirección de contacto: Im Fässjeseck 26, 64732 Bad König, Alemania.

Firma del participante en la investigación

Firma del investigador

Creo que el participante está dando un consentimiento informado para participar en este estudio