Director’s Statement

Sandy McLeod, Director

When I met Cary Fowler a whole new world opened up to me. I realized that, although I thought I knew a thing or two about food, the issues that he was grappling with were entirely new to me. And that those issues, largely concerning food security, are issues that anyone who likes to eat should not only know about, but have a say in too.

Cary Fowler is a guy who has almost single-handedly created something of great value for the Global Community. I can’t think of many other global projects that have the kind of absolute value for all of us that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds.

The Peruvian farmers give a face to the smallholder farmer who has saved the diversity that Cary is trying to preserve. Together they represent a way forward to a more sustainable future.

Our food system is not sustainable or secure and this is a problem that affects us all. Without a good agricultural foundation we can’t have sustainable agriculture and without sustainable agriculture, we will not have a sustainable future.

- Sandy McLeod, 2014