I: Hello and welcome to the programme. Today we have with us Doctor Belindi Petrina, a seed breeding specialist. Can you tell us what exactly your job is?

BP: I am responsible for monitoring the process of the industrial production of seeds. Many of you may be surprised that nowadays, farmers don’t really save part of their crops to obtain seeds they will sow the following season. They buy new ones every year. My workplace is a scientific laboratory that works on developing new varieties of seeds.

I: Many people say that seeds have become a new currency.

BP: Well, I’m not sure that’s a true statement. It’s definitely right to say that seeds are extremely valuable and without them we wouldn’t be able to feed the global population. However, using seeds as a means of commercial exchange was a common practice on all continents thousands of years ago. The value of seeds has always been great.

I: Can you explain why farmers buy new seeds every year?

BP: Sure. Most of the crops we grow around the world nowadays are the result of the industrial processes of producing hybrid seeds. Those are created by cross‑pollinating different varieties of a given plant in order to obtain the desired effect. For example, tomatoes are easily perishable vegetables. Experiments have been conducted and they have shown that unenhanced varieties of this popular vegetable don’t usually last much longer than three days before they start to change colour into ones that deter most customers from buying them, and after 4 or 5 days, tomatoes rot. They are also easily damaged in transport. There are countries which are huge exporters of tomatoes and they were especially interested in creating varieties which are durable and their shelf‑life can be extended to over 3 weeks. And now, coming back to your question, these kinds of seeds are intellectual property owned by companies that patented them and must not be reproduced without their consent.

I: Ok, so let me ask you another question. Doesn’t nature find its own way to walk around bureaucratic regulations and to reproduce itself?

BP: That’s a very logical question. However, nowadays bioengineering is pretty advanced and we know how to put a curb on that. Obviously, if you buy a packet of tomato seeds and grow your own veg in your garden, and then collect seeds from some of the tomatoes, you will most likely be able to grow new plants the next season. On a big industrial scale, however, it won’t work, as the next generation seeds obtained from crops grown from hybrid seeds will not have the desired characteristics and the yield they produce will be much smaller.

I: Now I understand the process much better. Buying new seeds every year, farmers receive the guarantee of quality and quantity of their crops. But, to be honest, it also sounds a bit like a powerful tool of control that the seed producing companies have in their hands.

BP: I guess that’s what conspiracy theories proponents would like to see in it. But look at it from another perspective. First of all, bioengineering research is very costly and companies expect some return on their investment. That’s how every business works. Secondly, and that’s a much more important argument, hybrid varieties help us create new types of grains, fruit, and vegetables which are much better adapted to the volatile weather conditions resulting from climate change. Scientists can create regional varieties which will grow perfectly in certain parts of the world but will almost certainly fail elsewhere. Whether we like it or not, that’s the future of agriculture.

I: I see, these changes in our approach to growing crops are to some extent forced by the changes in the environment and the growing global population. What about taste? Many people complain that the produce we buy nowadays lacks the flavour they remember from years ago.

BP: Unfortunately, that’s true. Producers of hybrid seeds have been focused on such qualities as size, colour, and durability, and they have neglected taste. But that’s something we hope to start changing, too.

I: Biodiversity is a kind of hot potato. Can you tell us a bit more about how it’s been changing?

BP: Industrial agriculture prizes consistency and productivity over traits such as taste, or stress and disease resistance. It’s a result of a business model in this sector. The outcome is that we rely on a very small number of varieties of crops. The figures can be a big eye‑opener. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that since the beginning of the 20th century we have lost 75% of the world’s crop varieties. The United States nowadays grows only 10% of the fruit and vegetables they did about a 100 years ago. It’s a change observable within a lifespan of one generation. You can hear people complaining that they can get hold of the varieties of fruit they remember from their childhood. That’s the result of dwindling biodiversity.

I: What are the threats connected with that phenomenon?

BP: Monocrops are more vulnerable to diseases and pests. That’s why it’s important to preserve wild relatives of domesticated crops. It ensures that the gene pool is big enough for plants to survive, but also for us, scientists, to choose from and create new, better varieties of crops, which will be used to feed the global population in the future. On a smaller and more local scale, biodiversity is also essential for preservation of regional cultures reflected in cuisines and diets consumed in different corners of the world.

I: Doctor, thank you for joining us today.

BP: Thanks for having me. It was a pleasure.