Dan Jason
Encyclopedia
Dan Jason is the founder and owner of Salt Spring Seeds, a mail order seed company
that specializes in heritage and heirloom varieties of vegetables and plants. Popular varieties include garlic
, beans, tomatoes, lettuce
, and grains
. The company, founded in 1988, has stocks of many unusual seeds including over 150 tomato varieties.
Dan Jason was born on July 22, 1946 in Montreal
, Quebec
to Harry and Sally Jason. Dan has two siblings, Michael and Laurence, and five children, Tobias, Peter, Zama, Leif and Naomi. Jason currently lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
with his wife Celeste.
He was involved in the founding of Seeds of Diversity Canada and the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada; both are seed bank
s whose mission is to preserve varieties of vegetables and crops. He has written several books including The Whole Organic Food
Book: Safe, Healthy Harvest from Your Garden to Your Plate, and most recently Saving Seeds as if Our Lives Depended on it.
Jason is active in food politics
, being an outspoken opponent of genetically modified seeds, patents on living organisms, and industrial agriculture
in general. He frequently gives lectures at environmental and horticultural events in British Columbia
, including Seedy Saturday
.
Jason has been interviewed and been published in a number of publications, including The Georgia Straight
, Canadian Organic Growers Magazine, Seeds of Diversity Canada Magazine, Mother Earth News
, Global Public Media, and Salt Spring News.
There is a documentary about Dan Jason: Gardens of Destiny. In this 75 minute production, filmmaker, Jocelyn Demers meets Dan Jason on Salt Spring Island, Canada's west coast. Dan is an organic gardener with a fantastic selection of seeds, vegetables, grains, medicinal plants and flowers. He is also the head of the grassroots organization called the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada, a network of Canadian gardeners who are preserving as much plant diversity as is possible. Mr. Jason has been a long time critic of the non-organic food system in North America. Jocelyn Demers explores Dan's garden and seed world and investigates what other experts from the agriculture milieu think about Dan's observations.
Seed company
Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruit and vegetables to theamateur gardener. The production of seed is a multi billion dollar business, which usesgrowing facilities and growing locations world wide. While most seed is produced by large...
that specializes in heritage and heirloom varieties of vegetables and plants. Popular varieties include garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, beans, tomatoes, lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, and grains
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
. The company, founded in 1988, has stocks of many unusual seeds including over 150 tomato varieties.
Dan Jason was born on July 22, 1946 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to Harry and Sally Jason. Dan has two siblings, Michael and Laurence, and five children, Tobias, Peter, Zama, Leif and Naomi. Jason currently lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
with his wife Celeste.
He was involved in the founding of Seeds of Diversity Canada and the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada; both are seed bank
Seed bank
Seed bank may refer to:*Seedbank, a repository of preserved seeds*The store of viable plant seed in an ecosystem; for example:** Soil seed bank, the viable seed present in the soil;...
s whose mission is to preserve varieties of vegetables and crops. He has written several books including The Whole Organic Food
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
Book: Safe, Healthy Harvest from Your Garden to Your Plate, and most recently Saving Seeds as if Our Lives Depended on it.
Jason is active in food politics
Food politics
Food politics are the political aspects of the production, control, regulation, inspection and distribution of food. The politics can be affected by the ethical, cultural, medical and environmental disputes concerning proper farming, agricultural and retailing methods and...
, being an outspoken opponent of genetically modified seeds, patents on living organisms, and industrial agriculture
Industrial agriculture
Industrial farming is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political...
in general. He frequently gives lectures at environmental and horticultural events in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, including Seedy Saturday
Seedy Sunday
Seedy Sunday or Seedy Saturday refers to events where people get together to swap seeds, especially heirloom varieties, or varieties that have been in the family for years if not several generations. lists the various Canadian seed exchanges....
.
Jason has been interviewed and been published in a number of publications, including The Georgia Straight
The Georgia Straight
The Georgia Straight is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp...
, Canadian Organic Growers Magazine, Seeds of Diversity Canada Magazine, Mother Earth News
Mother Earth News
Mother Earth News is a bi-monthly American magazine that has a circulation of 475,000. It is based in Topeka, Kansas.Approaching environmental problems from a down-to-earth, practical, how-to standpoint, Mother Earth News has, since the magazine’s founding in 1970, been a pioneer in the promotion...
, Global Public Media, and Salt Spring News.
There is a documentary about Dan Jason: Gardens of Destiny. In this 75 minute production, filmmaker, Jocelyn Demers meets Dan Jason on Salt Spring Island, Canada's west coast. Dan is an organic gardener with a fantastic selection of seeds, vegetables, grains, medicinal plants and flowers. He is also the head of the grassroots organization called the Seed and Plant Sanctuary for Canada, a network of Canadian gardeners who are preserving as much plant diversity as is possible. Mr. Jason has been a long time critic of the non-organic food system in North America. Jocelyn Demers explores Dan's garden and seed world and investigates what other experts from the agriculture milieu think about Dan's observations.