The adventures of a seed detective – saving seeds, preserving our food culture: with Adam Alexander
In this talk, Adam will explore some of the vegetables that are the stars of his new book; The Adventures of a Seed Detective – Uncovering the secret histories of remarkable vegetables, to illustrate what inspired him to write about the remarkable journey the most prosaic of vegetables have taken – from wild parent to cultivated offspring. On the way, these amazing plants found themselves revered and at the very heart of human cultural evolution. And as civilisations came and went the vegetables which were at the very centre of those food cultures continued to evolve, becoming a part of the story of globalisation, scientific advancement and the arts.
By growing vegetables, celebrating them, saving their seeds, and sharing them and their stories and personalities, we reconnect with a story of humankind that started some 12,000 years ago when our neolithic ancestors turned from hunter-gatherers to settled farmers.