Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Including Tomato Seeds, Opens

By Michelle Fabio

As of last month, the Arctic Ocean is home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world’s first deep-frozen collection of seeds of hundreds of thousands of plants, including our beloved tomatoes.

According to its website, the seed vault, owned and administered by Norway’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food, was created to “provide insurance against both incremental and catastrophic loss of crop diversity held in traditional seed banks around the world.”

The vault’s construction was funded by the Norwegian government ($9 million) and is also financially Read the rest of this entry »