ISSN 2348-31ϱϲ (Print) International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-31ϲϰ ;onlineͿ Vol. 4, Issue 2, pp: (160-172), Month: April - June 2016, Available at: www.researchpublish.com Page | 160 Research Publish Journals Free Seeds: Connecting Freedom and Autonomy of Nature 1 Silva, Clayton Rodrigues França, 2 Garcia, Loreley 1 Pontifícia Universidade Católica, São Paulo. Brazil 2 Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Joao Pessoa, Brazil Abstract: This paper presents the results of a research on a campaign called Seed Freedom, developed on Navdanya's farm - Bija Vidyapeeth - in 2012. Our essay focuses on the question of seed appropriation and domination practiced by large agribusiness corporations, since the 1960s to the present day's transgenic crops as well as the social movements' fight to keep their way of life and production. We plan to discuss and to put into a context the socio-economic problems that led to the Seed Freedom movement and the relationship between the protection of seeds and food production with the use of sustainable agriculture, environmental campaigns for the protection of biological diversity, and food sovereignty and safety in stark contrast to the agriculture mechanisms used by the broad market and the political and economic agreements which only benefit agribusiness corporations. Our goal is to prove that alternative forms of traditional farming used along with sustainable technologies can ensure not only environmental protection but also food sovereignty. Keywords: Seed Freedom Network, agribusiness, GM Crops, Navdanya food sovereignty. I. INTRODUCTION: THOUGHTS ON SEEDS Seeds have been a part of human life for 10 thousand years, accompanying us throughout civilization development, cultural evolution, history and myths in such a way that it is impossible to think of the civilization itself and the terms of trade without considering grain storage from the first silos on the Nile Delta. The trade and interaction that support the civilizational model has begun with the exchange of seeds between citizens. The act of conserving and protecting the harvested seeds suggests the idea of ensuring food for the unreliable future in the face of nature's unpredictability. The idea of conservation has likely begun during the agricultural revolution, when the domestication of seeds was born and which remains, to this day, in the constitution of seed reserves. Biologically speaking, the seed is part of the reproduction and regeneration of a plant; "it is an egg developed after the fertilization, [and which] contains the embryo." (VIDAL and VIDAL, 2006, p. 67), the fusion of male and female gametes is responsible for its development. To be disseminated or scattered, the seeds need – most of the times – the help of an intermediary called dispersal syndrome. Once it is disseminated, the seed is ready to be germinated, accordingly to the environmental factors that surround it. There are two types of germination: the epigean, where the seed comes out of the soil after germination; and the hypogeal, where the seed remains underground. Besides being a reproduction instrument to plants, the seeds feed living beings, are filled with nutrients and – as it is the case with corn, wheat, rice, beans, soybeans or lentils – have energy reserves. Socially, the seed has become a symbol of freedom and food sovereignty for farmers who rely on it. However, this need is not restricted to natural factors. Nowadays, there is an ongoing increase in the financial dependence when it comes to purchasing or acquiring seeds and raw materials – part of the production process. As the seeds gain economic status, being cultivated for the market production, they lose biological and social strength and are named with different terminologies, each of them according to its function or purpose.