It’s either a reassuring exercise in sound advance planning or a charming display of incurable optimism. Several pepper varieties have arrived at a doomsday vault on an arctic island.
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin was part of the congressional delegation that delivered the pre-foodstuffs to a Norwegian seed bank on the remote Svalbard archipelago Sunday.
Operators of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault said it has the world's most diverse repository of crop seeds.
The vault is a safeguard against war or natural disasters that could wipe out food crops.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Smart. Still, getting the crops growing again would require healthy levels of sun, air, water and soil. But the scientists have probably thought of a way around that. Right?
Cardin delivered seeds for Wenk's Yellow Hots, Pico de Gallo and San Juan "Tsile" chili peppers. Not to worry if you can’t take spicy food. The Doomsday diet doesn’t have to be entirely Tex-Mex. In addition to peppers, the care package from a Department of Agriculture collection in Colorado included seeds for peanuts, melons and sorghum.
It leads one to wonder what other delicacies are within the vault holding the world’s most diverse repository of seeds. Could it be that’s where all the good tomatoes have gone?
Copyright AP - Associated Press
