The Accidental Seed Heroes (Adam Alexander)

Adam Alexander dons his seed detective homburg to meet the twenty-first century seed heroes, who are not only championing traditional varieties but also breeding delicious new ones that will help create a sustainable future for our planet.

Across the world, chefs, farmers, plant scientists and backyard growers are doing something extraordinary; they are creating new generations of fruit, vegetables and cereals, all bred specifically to flourish locally, that also taste delicious and that contribute to their food culture – and food future.

We don’t all need to become backyard breeders or even, like Adam, accidental ones. We don’t even need to eschew, as growers, the modern hybrid cultivars our seed catalogues are stuffed with or, as consumers, boycott those same uninspiring specimens that populate our supermarket shelves. Adam just wants that choice to be better informed and infinitely more diverse and enjoyable.

This story is a celebration of the locally and sustainably grown produce, whether traditional or innovative, that is at the heart of all our food cultures and that empower our rural communities and farmers. From Frank and Karen, farmers in Oregon, whose open-sourced lettuce breeding is in jeopardy because of commercial patents to the young orchardist in Massachusetts making beautiful cider from wild American apples and British trials to grow a native baked bean variety, Adam believes these new varieties of fruits, vegetables and even grains will not just offer us all nutritious and delicious food, but also be part of the solution to combating climate change and returning fertility to our soils and biodiversity to our land.