From Syria to Lebanon, Saving the Seeds That Could Save Humanity

July 5, 2021 4:35 PM

The story behind the seed genebank, or “doomsday vault,” and how it thrives despite war and displacement.
posted by Ahmad Khani (3 comments total)

I didn't know who the "father"of the Seed Vault, Cary Fowler, was until a friend wrote an article in a local paper. I was surprised to learn he was a Memphian, participated in the civil right demonstrations here, and even heard MLK's last speech.

It makes me wonder how his exposure to those events might have shaped his desire to preserve life.
posted by grimjeer at 5:13 PM on July 5, 2021

I've always found it weird to 'preserve' seeds by hiding them in a seed bank. The Xingu Seed Network takes the opposite aproach: they preserve seeds by multiplying and keeping them alive. Makes much more sense to me!
posted by Tom-B at 7:03 AM on July 6, 2021

Seed banks have a different role: their role in preserving diversity means they also preserve varieties that are not (or not presently) commercially viable; and their scientific focus means they can be expected to be more rigorous about, e.g., avoiding accidental hybridisation.

I think the two models are complementary, but you can't rely on members of a seed preservation network to grow isolated patches of archaic wheat varieties just because the genes they carry may one day be useful: that's the sort of thing a seed bank might do. And a seed network can't preserve wild varieties of plants; that would mean domesticating them. But seed banks are a repository on which seed networks can draw, and seed networks are both a useful resource for seed banks, and are a continuing example of the value of preserving genetic diversity in crops. They're both necessary, and do in fact work together.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:30 PM on July 6, 2021 [6 favorites]