Seed Hunter: Saving The Planet's Genetic Heritage

As the world heats up due to global warming, drier weather is causing increased drought and crop failure.  In this posting, learn more about a man helping to find drought and salt resistant varieties which could help increase food production.  He is the Indiana Jones of agriculture and he is the subject of a documentary film by an Australian independent film company.

Dr. Ken Street is an Australian born scientist living in Syria.  He and his research team  comb the planet's toughest environments (such as Tajikistan in central Asia) in search of ancient varieties of wheat, chickpea and other plants that can withstand hotter, drier, and more saline conditions.   The seeds from these ancient plants are then collected and stored in a vault deep beneath the earth in Norway.  There at a temperature of -18 degrees Fahrenheit, they can remain viable for centuries, protected from whatever calamities may befall the rest of the world.

The backdrop to this story is the "Green Revolution" which began in the late 1960's.  In an effort to feed a growing world population, new crops were introduced which had higher yields.  But in the success of the green revolution are also the seeds of its failure -- literally.  The new crops can yield more food, but are far less hardy than their ancient ancestors.  Widespread adoption of these new crops now place the world at risk as the climate becomes hotter and drier.

Enter Dr. Ken Street, the Indiana Jones of agriculture.  He and his research team are racing against the clock to collect ancient seed varieties that are on the verge of extinction.  The hope is that these varieties will have genetic characteristics that will  prove useful in feeding the worlds population as the climate becomes more hostile.

A video clip about Ken Street is attached below.  You can purchase the full video on DVD from 360 Degree Films.  For viewers in the United States, you want to purchase the NTSC version of the DVD as that is the US video standard.  The video itself costs $29 U.S. Dollars but with tax and shipping to the U.S. it will come to $42.