Danielle Nierenberg at Food Tank writes, in that organisation’s e-newsletter, about the case for seed saving. ‘There are roughly 100,000 global plant varieties endangered in the world. Extreme weather events, over-exploitation of ecosystems, habitat loss, and a lack of public awareness threaten future plant biodiversity. Conservation techniques, such as the creation of seed banks and seed exchanges among farmers, gardeners, and even nations, play an important role in preserving ancient, heirloom varieties of important food crops.’
Ms Nierenberg then tells us about 15 Seed Saving Initiatives Protecting Biodiversity for Future Generations.
I like Food Tank. Ms Nierenberg and her colleague Ellen Gustafson talk good sense.
[Edit] Most of these resources avoid genetically modified seeds. Those are GM seeds, also called genetically engineered or GE seeds. But Food Tank lists at least one seed saving initiative which promotes GM – the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC). Here’s the AVRDC’s Position Paper on GM Vegetables. In response to comments on the Food Tank article, Ms Nierenberg says that she likes what the AVRDC people are doing.
[Edit] The Food Tank article asks for information about more seed saving initiatives. That article won’t let me comment without joining Facebook, which I don’t want to do. So I’ll say here what I’d have said there. Here in Britain, rare vegetable varieties are conserved at the Heritage Seed Library.
Science on the Land 
Absolutely!
Yes.
Pingback: The repentant environmentalist in his own words | Science on the Land
As everything we now cherish, could be gone almost in the blink of an eye, projects like these are a must. Conservation over degradation every time.
Yes indeed. I think that the debates around genetic modification can be a distraction. We humans should take more notice of what we already have.