If I needed another reason to be a vegetarian, I think I may have found one – seeds may be the key to saving mankind. 

When climate change, droughts, nuclear war, or any other number of catastrophes destroy the world’s food supply, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault will have our back. As far as I know, there aren’t any global beef or poultry vaults out there. 

According to National Geographic online, the Global Diversity Trust helped create the vault, which is located within a frozen mountain on the Arctic island of Svalbard, located 620 miles from the North Pole. The Norwegian government owns the vault, which opened on Tuesday. (Leave it to us Norwegians to help save the world.) The vault reminds me of some movie villain’s secret, remote liar, but luckily for us, it will be used for good. The vault will store millions of seeds from all over the world in an effort to protect the world’s food supply, according to National Geographic. 

Polar bears are the inadvertent guards of the seed cache, which news reports have referred to as the “doomsday vault.” Apparently, the vault will serve as a backup for other seed banks around the world, which is a good thing because I have a lot of questions about how humans would access the vaults following a global catastrophe.

What if doomsday arrives and the remaining human population has no way to access the vaults? Say the only surviving members of the human race live in southern Argentina. Would those people be able to make the long journey to the Arctic? Hopefully they would be able to find and operate a large boat because I don’t think a makeshift raft would survive the trip. 

Maybe there is a seed bank in Argentina, but if there is I don’t think many people know about it. 

I can also imagine another scenario where surviving civilizations would compete to get to the seeds first in order to ensure a hefty food supply. A seed race would ensue. 

It’s nice to think that humans would come together and help one another after surviving a global catastrophe, but I think most people would be scared and desperate. What if a war breaks out for possession of the most desirable seeds?

Of course, once humans gain access to the seeds, can we be sure they will grow? Will any place on Earth be favorable for growing crops? Will growing seasons exist, if we are thrown into another Ice Age?

Maybe I’m being too gloom and doom about the whole thing. If the human race is annihilated, we won’t have to worry about seed banks. 

It’s comforting to know that forward thinking organizations and governments are protecting the world’s food supply against climate change, wars and natural disasters, but it’s also frightening to think about the day when we may need those vaults. When the world as we know it ends, will a diverse seed catalog be enough to sustain us? 

Those involved with the Norwegian seed vault say it’s mankind’s insurance policy. Now if only we could do something about world hunger before a major disaster strikes.

- Amanda Estes