Why collect seeds?

So why collect seeds? Well the fact is we are losing biodiversity all the time. Scout commented that he has seen a decline in variation in the crops he has collected throughout Tajikistan over the years. Those important genes that may be in some of those plants lost may have been able to improve the crops we grow today.

The fact is food costs money, land and water to grow so if we can improve disease resistance, for example, we have healthier crops that produce healthy food and have less impact on the environment due to a reduction in chemical use. This helps to reduce the cost of production and so the cost of living.

What about GM? Until the general public accept we have the ability to put genes of another species in their food and do we really want to do that, we will need to preserve what we've got today. I have seen natural diversity allow tomatoes to grow in half sea water. It's out there, we just have to go and look. That's what seed collectors are all about.