Independent Lens

SEED: The Untold Story

Few things on Earth are as miraculous and vital as seeds, which have been worshipped and treasured since the dawn of humankind. SEED: The Untold Story follows passionate seed-keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy.

SEED: The Untold Story - Trailer

30s

Worshipped and treasured since the dawn of humankind, few things on Earth are as miraculous and vital as seeds, but in the last century, 94% of our seed varieties have disappeared. More than a cautionary tale of “man against nature,” SEED: The Untold Story follows passionate seed keepers, farmers, scientists, and lawyers intent on protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy.

  • Seeds Are Magic: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Seeds Are Magic

    S18 E13 - 2m 12s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film SEED: The Untold Story, famed scientist Jane Goodall talks about how seeds work and spread is nothing short of magic. With animation and time-lapse photography we see the magic in the way they are brought to life after hitching a ride with an animal or being digested by one, or activated through fire.

  • SEED: The Untold Story - Botanical Explorer Joe - Clip: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    SEED: The Untold Story - Botanical Explorer Joe - Clip

    S18 E13 - 2m 3s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film SEED: The Untold Story, we meet seed-obsessed botanical explorer Joseph Simcox, who, with his brother Patrick, shows us rare and precious seeds they've collected from all over. From Bolivia to Tanzania, Peru to West Virginia to Vietnam, Simcox has collected thousands and thousands of seeds, to bring them to as large a swath of humanity as possible.

  • SEED: The Untold Story - Pesticide and Suicide - Clip: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    SEED: The Untold Story - Pesticide and Suicide - Clip

    S18 E13 - 2m 42s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film SEED: The Untold Story, Suman Khulko, a seed collector in a farming family in eastern India, tells how her brother insisted they use chemicals and hybrids to make their farm profitable, but the results were disastrous and tragic. Their hybrid seeds became diseased, and her uncle went mad and committed suicide—by drinking the same chemical pesticide.

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