Cary Fowler on preserving agricultural diversity

This TED talk features Cary Fowler, a Seed Savers Exchange board member, discussing the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway and the importance of genetic preservation for our agricultural crops.

Seed Savers initially depositedf 485 varieties of vegetable seed from its collection.  Since then, a second deposit has been shipped and received at the Nordic vault.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault functions like a safety deposit box for biodiversity and global food supply preservation, storing duplicate collections of seeds on behalf of gene banks from around the world.  The Seed Vault offers protection against loss of diversity due to natural disasters, wars, equipment failures, accidents, and loss of funding that can plague even the best gene banks.   Located at 78 degrees north, far above mainland Norway, three vault rooms have been fashioned inside a mountain, down a 125-yard tunnel chiseled out of solid stone.  Naturally cold already, the Seed Vault is further cooled to below -2 degrees Fahrenheit.  At this temperature, seeds can be stored safely for decades-even if the earth warms or the power goes out.  The Seed Vault will soon house and secure the world's largest collection of seeds, including many varieties no longer grown by farmers or gardeners.

This and more information can be found at www.seedsavers.org/Content.aspx?src=whatsnew.htm#vault