On State of Seed, you’ll find out how seeds feed and sustain the planet. Though more than half of what we eat comes from seeds, most of us know very little about them—and how the sector contributes to our world and the future of food security. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to the innovative players advancing this vital resource, including leaders of multinational companies and NGOs, UN and government officials, entrepreneurs, national seed associations, scientists, and of course, farmers. Plus, you’ll hear about the key concerns keeping them up at night. State of Seed is brought to you by the International Seed Federation, with production services from FP Studios.
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On State of Seed, you’ll find out how seeds feed and sustain the planet. Though more than half of what we eat comes from seeds, most of us know very little about them—and how the sector contributes to our world and the future of food security. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to the innovative players advancing this vital resource, including leaders of multinational companies and NGOs, UN and government officials, entrepreneurs, national seed associations, scientists, and of course, farmers. Plus, you’ll hear about the key concerns keeping them up at night. State of Seed is brought to you by the International Seed Federation, with production services from FP Studios.
How Cary Fowler Co-Founded the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
State of Seed
40 minutes
2 months ago
How Cary Fowler Co-Founded the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Lately, it can feel as if the world is falling apart, with war, climate change, and global instability rising—to name just a few existential threats. But the world is not ending. And seeds are a big part of ensuring our future.
In this season of State of Seed, recorded from the World Seed Congress in Istanbul in May, we will learn how seeds play a critical role in continuing life on this fragile globe of ours. And we will grapple with some of the seed sector’s biggest current obstacles, such as trade and illegal seed practices. We will also hear about U.N. negotiations on sharing the genetic information of seeds and why they are so contentious.
But for this first episode, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem interviews Cary Fowler, who gave the World Seed Congress’s keynote address this year. Fowler is a co-winner of the 2024 World Food Prize for co-founding the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Launched in 2008, the global seed vault holds more than 1.3 million samples of seeds—the largest number of seeds in one place on Earth. Fowler shares in rich detail how he and others created this novel sanctuary for global food security, as well as the importance of seed banks in preserving our biodiversity.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
State of Seed
On State of Seed, you’ll find out how seeds feed and sustain the planet. Though more than half of what we eat comes from seeds, most of us know very little about them—and how the sector contributes to our world and the future of food security. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to the innovative players advancing this vital resource, including leaders of multinational companies and NGOs, UN and government officials, entrepreneurs, national seed associations, scientists, and of course, farmers. Plus, you’ll hear about the key concerns keeping them up at night. State of Seed is brought to you by the International Seed Federation, with production services from FP Studios.
