“Are you worried about the economy? If so, pay close attention, because in an economic meltdown, non-hybrid seeds could become more valuable than even silver and gold.”

That almost makes sense…until you discover these words came out of the mouth of a pitchman selling $150 packages of seeds in between Glenn Beck’s inveterate weeping about socialism-fascism-Nazism-[insert ism of choice]ism and Hawaiian birth certificates, and things take a turn for creepy.

Fear is a powerful motivator, and when millions of people across the country are waiting for Armageddon, advertising a “Survival Seed Bank” on the Glenn Beck show could be a slick business move.

The Survival Seed Bank website pushes the fear even further: “You don’t have to be an Old Testament prophet to see what’s going on all around us. As the meltdown progresses, one of the first things to be affected will be our nation’s food supply. Expect soaring prices along with moderate to severe shortages by spring. If you don’t have the ability to grow your own food next year, your life may be in danger.”

And yet – when you peel away the layers of paranoia and b.s., what this comes down to is motivating people to take control of their own food supply. In that sense, “˜crisis gardens’ aren’t all that different from the green movement that encourages one to grow whatever food one can at home. While the bogeyman for Glenn Beck viewers is a liberalism-delivered (I think that’s the right ism) apocalypse, for us it’s mammoth corporations destroying the environment while shoveling toxic Franken-food into our mouths.

The key here is for people not to hoard seeds until that fabled day when the sky falls, but to actually plant them. We can all benefit from the pleasure of eating more fresh-from-the-garden foods that don’t have to travel further than a few yards to our plates. Plant heirloom seeds, gather the seeds produced by those crops every season, and you’ll have more than enough to tuck some away for a rainy day.

You’ll be better off selecting your own heirloom seeds from a source like the Seed Savers Exchange than funding a Glenn Beck advertiser, but even the Survivalist Seed Bank sells heirloom varieties.

Image: OakleyOriginals

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