AMES, Iowa – The newest episode of GermiNation, a podcast produced by the Iowa State University Seed Science Center, highlights voices from the Seed Savers Exchange annual conference and 50th anniversary celebration. The episode, titled The Seeds That Connect Us, features conversations with leaders working to preserve and protect seed diversity through cultural heritage, scientific innovation, and community action.
Bonnetta Adeeb, founding member of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance and Ujamaa Seeds, speaks on the importance of African Indigenous seeds. “Seeds are living legacies,” Adeeb said. “They carry the knowledge, culture, and resilience of our ancestors. When we grow them, we’re not just planting food—we’re planting identity and history.”
Nicolas Enjalbert, CEO of SeedLinked, shares how collaborative research with USDA NIFA, Seed Savers Exchange, and thousands of farmers is creating new opportunities for innovation. “We’re harnessing the power of farmers’ knowledge at scale,” Enjalbert explained. “By combining traditional seed-saving wisdom with cutting-edge digital tools, we can accelerate innovation while preserving biodiversity.”
The episode concludes with Linda Black Elk, an American Indigenous seed and food sovereignty expert with NATIFS. “Seeds are our relatives,” she noted. “They have stories to tell, and when we care for them, they care for us.”
Podcast host Cindy Hicks, communications specialist at the ISU Seed Science Center, reflects on the power of seeds to unite communities: “From ancestral knowledge to cutting-edge science, seeds connect us all. They remind us that while our histories may differ, our future is deeply intertwined in the soil, biodiversity, and food we share.”
Listen to the full episode: GermiNation Episode 2: The Seeds That Connect Us