Meanwhile, in Norway...
"If much of civilization is ever wiped out, at least our seeds will survive. [Like they're "ours" at all. Get it right. --Ed.]
"The first specimens — 7,000 seeds from 36 African nations — have shipped to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a repository in the Arctic Circle being built to store a safety copy of vital agricultural information, in case disaster should befall us.
"The vault is set to open Feb. 26. It is being built by the Norwegian government (Svalbard is part of the Kingdom of Norway), and when it opens its operation will be funded by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, a nongovernmental organization.
"In order to protect humanity's agricultural heritage, the seed bank will hoard refrigerated samples of most of the world's food crops in a chamber dug 400 feet deep into the side of a frozen mountain on the island of Svalbard...
"The seed vault is at the center of a global effort to conserve diversity and variation in the world's agricultural crops. Crop biodiversity is needed to equip plants with critical resistance to pests and diseases, and enable them to grow in harsher conditions of drought, salinity and flooding, which will likely increase with global climate change, particularly in poor nations.
"Experts [or anyone who's actually grown their own food for awhile] say it is particularly important to preserve samples of crops that are vital for nourishing human populations but receive less research and conservation attention. Such crops, including cowpea, cassava, yams, and millets, are known as 'orphan' crops.
"'So called "orphan" crops like cowpea and groundnut are not minor or insignificant crops,' said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. 'They are of great importance to regional food security. In addition, they are often adapted to harsh environments and are diverse in terms of their genetic, agroclimatic and economic niches.'”
To appreciate further the need for a facility like the seed vault, please refer to this article: "In backyard Europe, fading biodiversity"
"The first specimens — 7,000 seeds from 36 African nations — have shipped to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a repository in the Arctic Circle being built to store a safety copy of vital agricultural information, in case disaster should befall us.
"The vault is set to open Feb. 26. It is being built by the Norwegian government (Svalbard is part of the Kingdom of Norway), and when it opens its operation will be funded by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, a nongovernmental organization.
"In order to protect humanity's agricultural heritage, the seed bank will hoard refrigerated samples of most of the world's food crops in a chamber dug 400 feet deep into the side of a frozen mountain on the island of Svalbard...
"The seed vault is at the center of a global effort to conserve diversity and variation in the world's agricultural crops. Crop biodiversity is needed to equip plants with critical resistance to pests and diseases, and enable them to grow in harsher conditions of drought, salinity and flooding, which will likely increase with global climate change, particularly in poor nations.
"Experts [or anyone who's actually grown their own food for awhile] say it is particularly important to preserve samples of crops that are vital for nourishing human populations but receive less research and conservation attention. Such crops, including cowpea, cassava, yams, and millets, are known as 'orphan' crops.
"'So called "orphan" crops like cowpea and groundnut are not minor or insignificant crops,' said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. 'They are of great importance to regional food security. In addition, they are often adapted to harsh environments and are diverse in terms of their genetic, agroclimatic and economic niches.'”
To appreciate further the need for a facility like the seed vault, please refer to this article: "In backyard Europe, fading biodiversity"
Meanwhile, in Norway...
mr damon, 00:03
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