Purdue University Surefire Way to Preserve Crop Diversity Essay

For this assignment you will explore the topic of crop diversity through the system of seed banking and write a reflection paper on your readings and research. In particular, the seed bank you will research is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.

Below you will find a list of links to learn about crop diversity, seed banks and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Read and review these materials to learn about these topics and then share your reflections in an original reflection paper.

Resources to learn about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault:

• Crop Trust > Our Work > Svalbard Global Seed Vault website is here
• Crop Trust > FAQ about the Seed Vault page is here
• BBC > Work Begins on Arctic Seed Vault story is here
• US News & World Report > Norway Doomsday Vault Hits 1/2 Million Mark story is here

You are welcome to review additional readings and articles about the seed vault in conducting your own research – these are just a few resources to get you started.

Your Paper

For this reflection paper, please write a reflection paper following these submission criteria:

• 2-3 pages in length
• Times New Roman font, 12 point
• Double spaced, standard margins
• Include citations using the APA Style (…for more on APA style see the Purdue OWL site here)

Your paper should include a very brief overview of WHAT the global seed vault is, but the paper mostly consists of your original thoughts or reflections on one or more of the following:

• Do you think a global seed vault is a surefire way to preserve crop diversity?
• Do you agree with some of the criticisms about the vault? (…for more on this topic here is a lengthy Guardian article on some of the controversy around the vault)
• How could this system be improved?
• Does this system promote crop diversity or just preserve it and if so, is that ok?

You are free to use the seed vault concept as a proxy to explore other issues surrounding crop diversity in this paper if you wish.

Grading

This assignment is worth 10 points:

• 8 points awarded for a thoughtful, original reflection paper that includes your opinions and ideas. No points will be awarded if submission merely summarizes what the Global Seed Vault is
• 2 points for proper formatting, grammar, punctuation and citations (see above)

Please see the last page of your syllabus for the assignment due date and time.