Seeds: Nature's Microchips

AUGUST 15, 2009

Seeds: Nature's Microchips

By GEORGE BALL
WSJ

Once introduced, Americans invariably inquire what business you're in. While foreigners find the question a bit crass, it's second nature to us. The question reflects our work ethic on the one hand, and our democracy on the other: It's not who you are but what you do that defines you. We mean business. Wall Street high-fliers—investment bankers, brokers and hedge fund profiteers, elaborately upholstered all—tend to regard my business as impossibly outmoded and arcane. Seeds? Plants? Do I, perhaps, belong to the Flat Earth Society as well?

When I'm at a social function, I invariably find myself chatting with a Wall Street tribe member. Jared, let's call him, since that's always his name, is a player. A pink-cheeked master of the universe fluent in junk bonds, zero-coupon bonds, REITs and interest rate swaps; he knows what business is all about. His world is one where funds appear from somewhere, most of them go somewhere else, and he pockets the difference. Seeds have no place in Jared's business cosmology. They aren't stylish, prestigious or luxury things. They make a humble showing in the land of high-end bling, although in some traditional cultures they're used as money, and in others these "botanical eggs" are collected rather like jewels.

Jared hauls over his pal Nick and says, "Nick, this is George. He's in seeds." They look me up and down, as if I were an exhibit in a natural history museum, their expressions a blend of amusement and disdain. I look them over in turn. I explain that seeds are God's microchips: miniature devices programmed with information and algorithms to generate life. This befuddles them for a moment. Are they missing the next big thing? Or am I playing the players?

(snip)

A few steps into the 21st century, the role of the home garden has once again changed. Standing in my garden, I can almost hear the stampede of new and rededicated American gardeners. Outfitted in jeans, baseball caps and Wellingtons, clutching their trowels, Americans pioneer their new frontier—their backyard garden. Converging on the home garden is an extraordinary array of trends in tastes, health awareness, lifestyle and demographics—a phenomenon I call a "perfect storm of tipping points." The Old Economy is new again. The major catalyst is the economy's downward spiral. Americans are getting wise to the extraordinary savings they can reap, along with their tomatoes, peppers, green beans and squash. A home garden delivers reliable and extraordinary returns on your investment, a hundred dollars in seeds producing a harvest that would cost you $2,500 at your supermarket. A 25-to-1 return? Snap my striped suspenders!

(snip)

And in this world of iPhones, PCs, Twitter, 200 cable channels and over the top home entertainment centers, the garden suddenly appears as something new and delightful: a multidimensional, interactive realm of flavor, nourishment, fragrance, pleasure, beauty, recreation, sanctuary and self-realization. At first, we are smitten with our glittering new techno-toys, only to relearn that these clever machines cannot provide what we really want — a sense of connection and authenticity. Welcome to the garden: It doesn't get more real or connected than this.

—Mr. Ball is chairman of the W. Atlee Burpee & Co. and past president of the American Horticultural Society.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A13

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204619004574324781923057234.html

:P