The Seed Keeper

Teenage Tommy is not interested in Rosalie’s garden, nor is he much good at farm work. However, he finds a way to earn his father’s respect by handling the farm’s finances. When Mangenta, an agricultural chemical company planning to build a facility outside of town, holds a meeting with the community, he attends with his father, notebook in hand, making notes and calculations. Rosalie also attends to cover the story for the newspaper.

The Mangenta representative pitches their new seeds, genetically modified to be resistant to pesticides. The catch is that the farmers would need to sign a contract to buy their seeds from Mangenta every year instead of saving their seeds from season to season. Because the seed technology is patented, any farmer found with Mangenta plants on their property would violate the law. Some farmers are skeptical, but the representative sells the idea as less work and, after the initial investment, less expense.

Gaby attempts to ask a question about the seeds’ safety, but she is immediately shut down by the mayor. Rosalie takes up her question, asking if a chemical company should be trusted with selling seeds, especially since Mangenta made the toxic Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War.