Transcript A Study of World Newspaper Coverage of Two 21st

A Study ofst World Newspaper Coverage
of Two 21 -Century Seed Banks: The
Erroneous Scientific Ideas Fostered by
the Popular Press Misnomer:
“Doomsday Vault”
James H. Wandersee
Louisiana State University
Renee M. Clary
Mississippi State University
http:// EarthScholars.com
Research Design
• WE studied only the openings of the
two newest and largest world seed
banks, as covered in the world’s
popular press (English newspapers).
• We conducted a decade-long
newspaper content analysis using two
vast electronic databases.
• We identified the top 5
misconceptions being sown by
science newswriters.
Agriculture Created the Need
for Seed Banks
• The emergence of agriculture, and with it of
civilization, roughly 10,000 years ago started the
process of domestication, by farmers, of the plants
that feed the world.
• Agriculture emerged independently in different
continents, in what are called "the centers of origin"
of crops.
• When our ancestors started to identify, collect, farm,
and disseminate those agricultural species, a
process was set afoot of mutual adaptation
between humans and the plants they grew, PLUS
between these plants and their environment.
Concept Map of Seed Banking
Ex-situ
Seed Bank
invented
by
Nikolai
Vavilov
is a type
of
Optimal
Storehouse
may be
that hedges against
Wild Species
may be
Heirloom
Species
serves
as a
Seeds
may be
Food Crops
stores
due to
Natural
Causes
Gene Bank
protects
Plant Loss
Biodiversity
due to
in the form of
Anthropogenic
Causes
Germplasm
Reasons to Have Seed Banks
• Climate change: Scientists are concerned that climate change will
cause extreme weather conditions and bring new pests into some
environments. These events could cause certain species of plants to go
extinct. Rosenthal.
• Natural disasters: Natural disasters can wreak havoc on a
region's ecosystem. After the 2004 tsunami destroyed rice paddies in
Malaysia and Sri Lanka, international seed banks provided local farmers
with varieties of rice to begin growing their crops again. Roug.
• Disease: Disease quickly and easily wipes out crops. For example, a
recent strain of disease called stem rust (Ug99) may have the capability to
infect up to 25% of the world's wheat supply. Singh.
• Man-made disaster: Man-made disasters can be as devastating
to plant life as natural disasters. An obvious example would be war. In fact,
one of Iraq's vital seed banks was looted during fighting. Pearce.
• Research: Indigenous people have used plants to cure sickness for
centuries. One in every six wild plants is used for medicinal purposes.
Levine. Who knows what diseases the right plant or herb could eradicate?
Plants That Humans Use for Food
• There are ~400,000 known species of plants
• Just 3 species (wheat, rice, maize) provide 50% of
the world’s plant-derived food energy and most
people eat only 30 species regulartly.
• There are over 120,000 varieties of rice alone.
• A study published in the journal BioScience
analyzed over 7,000 plant species consumed by
people, in order to incorporate them into an
evolutionary tree.
• Rather than focusing narrowly, we now consume
plants from a remarkably high number
of plant families
• A Big Mac represents 20 plant species
A Tale of Two 21st-Century
Seed Banks
• Norway’s marvelous, arctic Global Seed Vault
opened in 2008. It can conserve 4.5 million food crop
seed samples. Although it is the latest global seed
bank to capture the world’s attention, Norway’s is not
open to visitors; the UK’s is.
• At the UK seed bank operated by Royal Botanic
Gardens-Kew (2000), we witnessed one of the most
impressive plant conservation projects ever
conceived—complete with well-designed interpretive
seed science exhibits.
• Here, with seed processing and research laboratories
visible through glass walls, visitors are taught how a
modern seed bank works and why it is important to
preserve plant germplasm for future generations.
Location of These Two 21st-Century
Seed Banks
The “Doomsday Vault”
• Holds 4.5 million bar-coded seeds
• 2 vaults; 390 ft. inside mountain
• 0 degrees F year-around
• Seeds are viable: 20 to 20,000 years
•
No Staff On-Site
Global Seed Vault on Svalbard Island
The vault was built by Norway, and its operations are financed by
government and private donations, including $20 million from Britain,
$12 million from Australia, $11 million from Germany, and $6.5 million
from the United States.
Entrance to Global Seed Vault
An automated digital monitoring system
controls temperature and provides
security. No one person has all of the
codes for the entrance.
A View of One Storage Chamber
The seeds -- peas from Nigeria,
corn from Mexico – reside in this glazed
cavelike structure.
What started out as independent
efforts from seed banks around
the world is now being consolidated
and systematized.
The “Fort Knox” of Seeds
An ancient strain of wheat, left, and garbanzo beans,
right, are examples of the types of seeds and sprouts
that will be stored in the vault to prevent the continued
disappearance of plant species.
Who Owns the GSB Seeds?
• All seeds stored in the Seed Vault
remain the property of the country or
institution which sent them. There is
no change of ownership, though, in
any case, any seeds accepted for
storage at the Vault must be freely
available under the terms of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources.
The Millennium Seed Bank
Its goal is to eventually store and
protect more than 24,000 global
species of plants.
It currently stores samples of
the UK’s entire native plant
population, including several
hundred endangered species
MSB: Public Understanding is Key
An Imperfect Plant Science
Newswriting Metaphor
•
•
While the world press’ sensationalist label
“Doomsday Vault” had not only grabbed our
students' attention and stimulated interest in
seed banks, but it had also implanted five
erroneous scientific ideas.
(1086) The Doomsday Books: The word
domesday, or doomsday, is literally “a day of
reckoning,” meaning a date when a lord takes
account of what is owed him by his subjects and
no more grace is extended. (These seed bank
projects are actually more about taking stock of
our seed resources than repopulating Earth!)
Most Prevalent Misconceptions Sown
1.This vault can “source” the replanting
of a devastated and barren Earth.
(Vital biotic and abiotic factors also must be
present.)
2. All plant seeds can be “banked.” (Not
all seeds can be stored by freezing.
Banana, the world's 5th most valuable
crop, is one example. Seed research must
accompany “banking.”)
Most Prevalent Misconceptions Sown
3. Only in a global catastrophe will the
banked seeds be used. (The seeds
will likely be needed about once a year,
as seed collections have been wiped out
– for instance by a typhoon in the
Philippines, or wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.)
Most Prevalent Misconceptions Sown
4. Seed banks store mainly important
seeds of plants proven to be useful to
the many.
(Actually, these banks are part of the world
battle against hunger, as crop insecurity
mainly hurts poor nations. Crops important
to the poorest of the poor have really been
neglected. Millet and crops like cow pea
receive so little attention. These are
"orphan crops" because, until now, they
had no one to take care of them.)
Most Prevalent Misconceptions Sown
5. Seed banking is a one-time process.
(Actually, re-banking is as important as
banking because storage life varies by
species. Eventually all seeds will die.
Before this happens, scientists must
remove the seeds from storage and plant
them to a harvest, and re-bank fresh
seeds.)
Implications for Instruction
• From our ~ decade-long world newspaper
content analysis of news stories about
these two new seed banks and the
identified misconceptions sown by
newswriters)…
• We concluded that classroom study of
today’s global seed banks and the
establishment of a classroom seed bank
project are enticing, and would allow
specific, important biological concepts
endorsed by the National Science
Education Standards (1996) to be
demonstrated and learned.
• There are about 1,400 seed banks
around the world, so which seeds get
chosen for storage varies from
location to location. Local seed banks
may focus on the storage of
indigenous wildflowers or specialty
vegetables, for example. Other banks
have a more global focus.
A Cautionary Note!
• Type the words "seed bank" into the Google
search engine and you'll see the first few
pages of results are almost exclusively about
marijuana seed banks.
• Are marijuana seeds included in global seed vaults? The
answer to that question is "yes."
• However, many of these marijuana seed bank web sites
don't have anything to do with saving the planet. These
seeds are for sale for people looking to grow marijuana. The
sites claim to offer this information only for countries where
growing marijuana is legal; but they also advise against
making any purchases with a traceable credit card. Hmmm.
Variations in Maize
The End
The MSB Quiz (2000)
Plant Names & Edible Seeds
Drying Plants & Drying Seeds
Humidity; Herbivory, & Heat
X-Raying & Freezing Seeds
Seed Products,Meds, & Travel
Travel Strategies; Recalcitrant Seeds
Cryopreservation of Seeds