Food security expert sees global headwinds—and some St. Louis solutions

Cary Fowler has been compared to the Biblical Noah, and he admits the analogy makes sense. The Memphis native is known as the father of the so-called Doomsday Vault, which houses the seeds in a bunker on a remote Norwegian island in order to preserve crop diversity. In that, it’s a bit like Noah’s ark. And like Noah, Fowler is preparing for the worst, even as many people insist everything is just fine.

In a bracing talk at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Wednesday, Fowler warned about the headwinds facing the goal of global food security. But he also found cause for hope—some of it in St. Louis. He cited the work being done by the Danforth Center to increase yields for three lesser-known plants: cassava, teff, and cowpeas.

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