Across the world, chefs, farmers, plant scientists and everyday growers are doing something extraordinary: creating new generations of fruit, vegetables and cereals that will flourish locally, taste delicious, increase diversity and contribute to a sustainable and robust food future. In this illustrated talk, Mr. Alexander will don his seed-detective homburg to meet 21st century seed heroes who are not only championing traditional varieties but also breeding delicious new ones that will be more resilient and better-equipped to deal with the shocks of a changing climate. On a “journey around the world”, the audience will be introduced to some of the most inspiring seed heroes – from Rajasthan, India, to Mr. Alexander’s homeland Wales, across Europe to the remote regions of southern Albania, and into Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley – to remind attendees that indigenous cultures and rural communities have been expertly breeding seeds for millennia, celebrating locally and sustainably grown produce, whether traditional or innovative, that is the foundation of all food cultures. Mr. Alexander believes that everyone who grows food, whether amateur or professional, can be a seed hero – building resilience and returning fertility to the earth’s soils and biodiversity to the land.

Adam Alexander is a consummate storyteller thanks to forty years as a successful and award-winning film and television producer. He lectures widely on his work discovering, conserving and sharing rare, endangered garden crops. He grows seed of heritage Syrian and Ukrainian vegetables for displaced people in the UK and beyond and maintains a library of some 500 vegetables that he has collected over 35 years, growing out more than 40 varieties every year to refresh his collection and share with fellow gardeners. He is a seed guardian for the Heritage Seed Library, part of Garden Organic in the UK and director of Our Food 1200, an organisation supporting agro-ecological horticulture in Wales. His latest book, The Accidental Seed Heroes, was published in September 2023. In it, he explores the future for plant breeding, championing farmer varieties (FVs) and that the ability to develop, save and adapt seeds is a right for all, hobby growers and professionals alike, and not something to be controlled by corporations patenting seeds for profit.