To get agriculture going again?
So they made a vault for seeds to survive ‘something bad’ but man that looks bleak.
So after fighting off the zombies or living through the asteroid hit, you have to go to the Norway to get the seeds.
Remember that.
There is an AP story on this in the local paper as well. In that coverage they mention the site is “protected by armed guards - to discourage humans and Polar Bears.” I wonder who you would have to piss off to get assigned guard duty on Svalbard?
Oh, and it’s not just going to Norway after the asteroid or zombies. Svalbard is a damn sight more difficult to get to. I wonder how potential global warming might affect this.
The linked article was nice to read as it gave more details. It was interesting to see that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided some money for the seed collection. They do seem to be doing some good things with the billions he has pulled in.
They’re zombies, dude. They don’t eat crops. You won’t have to go to Norway.
Zombies also don’t smoke, so you won’t have to go to Amsterdam either.
But after the zombies kill all the farmers and the crops are infected with zombie juice, then we have to trudge all the up the bleakest place on earth.
The crops won’t be infected. I promise you, there is no such thing as zombie seed corn.
You may be thinking of an outbreak of bodysnatchers, not zombies. Bodysnatchers definitely do propagate via inflorescence. But in that case, the global seed vault is possibly the worst destination imaginable.
I the event of an apocalypse I’ll take a few cows (for milk) up to the doomsday bunker, and live there eating the most varied muesli on the planet, for a couple of years until things blow over.
Didn’t you hear what Mycroft H. said? The Polar Bears already have already called shotgun. Once you escape from the Zombies, even if you make it to Norway you are going to be Polar Bear chow.
What if it’s an asteroid hit? An asteroid that is carrying space zombies?
Norway was already high on the list of where Dopers would go after a zombie attack, so the seeds are just an extra incentive.
Unfortunately, one must get to Norway and back. I don’t think maize would fare too well up there and I need watermelons to survive. I would enjoy, however, an epic battle betwixt zombies and armored polar bears.
Unless they are vegetarian zombies and they only eat BRRRAAAAANNNS!
I so want to see this movie!
And Wile E, good one!
There are other seed arks closer to home, they’re just not as comprehensive or as well fortified. UC Davis is the site of one. It is not limited to but, for the purposes of the inter-agency seed bank, specializes in tomatoes. They have no armored bears, polar or otherwise.
The seeds don’t have an infinite shelf life, so employees of the bank are routinely planting and re-collecting the seeds. I don’t know what steps the Norway bank are taking to ensure sproutable seeds.
I’ll head for the local seed company. I’ll head to Jung’s in Randolf and see if any relatives survived, or to one of the heirloom seed banks.
The seed bank might be a handy repository of genetic information should some GMO genes skip out and run rampant. If we could train the zombies a la ZomCon (see the movie Fido) into agricultural workers then peraps we could realize a wonderful and work free existence.
This seems like a nice Zombie-zombie to resurrect.
As I read old threads (I’m reading Zebras, at the moment)…I often come across those threads that are timely. This one seems very timely during these pandemic days. So I’m re-opening it.
I have my own seed bank. I even have some gift seeds I’m planning on planting.
Does anyone else think that if the migrant farm workers don’t get through the border or too many are dead, we will be sorely in need of produce? I think there’s a distinct possibility that this could happen.
I got started on my vegatable garden. Well, I bossed around my virus refugees and made them plant. We will be keeping a sharp eye on it. I intend on a good crop.
I wonder if the people in Norway are patting themselves on the back for their forethought.
My seriously cray-cray conspiracy theorist Son-of-a-wrek used to expound about getting ready for the Zombie apocalypse. I knew it would be a pandemic, though. I went along with him just to keep him working on putting things by and growing his own garden. He’s an excellent potato farmer. Russets and Sweets. And, like any country boy he can hunt and fish.
I created that monster. That son of mine. Now I have keep pointing him the right direction. He’s gonna be useful in the apocalypse.
You’ll have to meet up with the one Hispanic guy up there to get the key to the seed vault, Norway José.
Whaddaya think smut is?
Nekkid ladies and such?
The polar bear dilemma is scary. Not to mention armed guards.
BTW, I will share seeds. PM what you would like and I’ll see if I have them. (:))