Woodle Orange, Russian Lime, Noire Charbonneuse, Aunt Ginny’s Purple, and Dr. Wyche’s Yellow. These five exotically named plants are just a sample of the 82 heirloom tomato seed varieties offered at Boondockers Farm, formerly in Eugene, Oregon. At Boondockers the tomato colors range from white to pink and vary in sizes from marbles to softballs. Tomatoes such as the Malakhitovaya Shkatulka exhibit an amazing range of hardiness and are able to grow in Siberia. The Malakhitovaya’s yellowish-green skin and burly, misshapen form looks much different than the perfectly round, red tomatoes sold in nationwide grocery store chains. Most "perfect" tomatoes are hybrids, which are a tailored combination of different varieties that have been bred together for specific traits; namely, color and ability to travel.

"It’s a shame of a tomato," Rachel Kornstein says sadly about hybrids. Her hair is tied back in a practical bun and her expressive hands wave back and forth in the air as if trying to illustrate her indignation about mass-produced tomatoes. Kornstein and Evan Gregoire are co-owners of Boondockers Farm where they grow and save seeds from heirloom tomatillos, squash and tomatoes, and raise rare breeds of ducks and dogs.

Gregoire cradles one of the dogs as she tries repeatedly to lick his face. "She’s named Bisou, which means ‘kisses’ in French," Gregoire laughs. "I bet you can’t guess why." He and Kornstein began breeding the Great Pyrenees dogs, which are known for their guardianship, to protect the Ancona ducks they raise. The Anconas are a rare domestic breed considered "heritage." "We’re trying to save these rare heritage seeds and rare animal breeds so we can get away from the last 70 years of what food has gone to," Gregoire says.

Heirloom vegetables are known as open-pollinators, which means they are pollinated by natural means, such as insects, birds, or wind. An heirloom cultivator collects seeds from the best open-pollinated plants so they may be planted the next year, harvested, saved, and so on for decades. Since a cultivator collects seeds from only the most robust plants, the traits that are passed on are generally the best in disease resistance, taste, and nutritional value. The difference between heirlooms and hybrids is that heirlooms breed with the same species of vegetable or fruit, while hybrids combine two different species to produce a new variety. The definition of heirloom lineage can range from 50 years to a century, but the overall definition of heirloom can be very elastic, much like the terms "natural" and "organic." Sarah Kleeger and Andrew Still at Adaptive Seeds in Sweet Home, Oregon, save seeds from heirloom vegetables and what they consider "heritage" vegetables. "This [heritage] includes ‘heirloom’ varieties, but also acknowledges varieties that were the product of deliberate breeding efforts," Kleeger explains. "Something with heritage is dynamic, alive and formative. Because seeds are alive, they are not static. Heritage is not synonymous with antique and would not be happy in a museum." In addition to seeds, Kleeger and Still produce dry beans, small fruits and grains, and sell their goods at the Springfield FarmerŐs Market and through Community Supported Agriculture programs.

Kleeger and Still grow their products at Open Oak Farm in Sweet Home, which is in its third year transitional organic and will be certified organic in 2013. The pair is currently involved in a lawsuit with 94 other plaintiffs against Monsanto due to fears by farmers that their organic, open-pollinating farms will be cross-pollinated with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as Monsanto’s. "They [independent famers] are constantly under siege from the threat of transgenic seed contaminating their property and, thus, jeopardizing their ability to maintain organic certification," reads the complaint.

The lawsuit Keegler and Still are part of is an attempt to overturn Monsanto’s patents on GMOs−specifically fruits and vegetables−because the patents give the corporation exclusive ownership to the plants and the genes within. Because of this, Monsanto can sue organic farms for "stealing" its patented product. "Each of the plaintiffs is fearful that they could become contaminated by [Monsanto’s] seed and then be accused by defendants of patent infringement," the complaint reads. "Monsanto’s control of the seed market is so high that over 85 to 90 percent of all soybeans, corn, cotton, sugar beets, and canola grown in the US contains Monsanto’s patented genes."

At Adaptive Seeds Kleeger and Still focus on providing alternatives to genetically modified organisms and monoculture production by allowing gardeners and farmers to grow their own heirloom plants at home. "Small, diverse farms that market directly to the communities where they live, and home gardeners, are viable alternatives because each of them is working to change that by taking responsibility for one of life’s fundamental needs: food," Kleeger says.

After World War II, agriculture began to change with the advancement of technology. Between 1948 and 1960 the amount of human labor a produce farm needed decreased by 35 percent, while produce yields continually increased. In response, herbicides and pesticides were developed, as well as large machinery to process higher volumes of produce. Food began to move out of the backyard and into the produce section of grocery stores and specific parts of the nation, such as the Midwest, became compartmentalized with food production. The distance food travels to American homes has been increasing for decades because of growth of monoculture farming−an agricultural industry that uses a one fruit or vegetable on a mass scale. Heirloom cultivators are seeking to narrow that gap.

"Many of us have been alienated from food production due to the rise of industrial agriculture," Kleeger says. "For all of the efficiencies that are claimed, monocultures are only economically efficient when they export the costs of production to others. Cheap petroleum, dehumanization of farm workers, irreparable harm wrought on the environment; they do not calculate their costs of production correctly."

Since the rise of the monoculture industry, hybrids have become more economically practical for large multinational corporations, such as Monsanto, and consumers looking for the cheapest buy. Consequently, heirlooms have fallen by the wayside.

Kornstein and Gregoire believe that food alternatives, such as heirlooms, will help to diminish, if not dominate, the popularity of monoculture varieties. "To start protecting our food," Gregoire says. "That’s what we’re trying to do." At the same time, both Kornstein and Gregoire realize the difficulties with the absence of food education in the mainstream. "Kids are taught that food comes in packages in a store," Kornstein says. "We’re so disconnected that we donŐt realize how messed up we are. Without diversity we’re going to starve the world, not feed it."

Kornstein adds that although components such as food awareness are missing in mainstream culture, the importance of food is relevant to everyone, and understanding this can be the starting point for changing how people view the food they eat.

"Food is medicine. You can spend your money on food or you can spend your money on health concerns," Gregoire says. "That decision is something that you have to do for yourself."