Join us throughout the year to engage with leaders in our wider community as they address the health, environmental, community and economic aspects of Community Supported Agriculture and the local food movement.

Join the CSA Coalition and John Torgrimson as he discusses preserving genetic diversity and cultural history in our food supply in “Preserving Genetic Diversity and Cultural History in Our Food Supply.”

As seed companies consolidate and American agriculture moves toward fewer and fewer crops, the importance of preserving genetic diversity -– and keeping that diversity in the hands of farmers and gardeners — has become increasingly important.

The mission of Seed Savers Exchange is to conserve and promote America’s culturally diverse but endangered food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants.

Torgrimson will discuss how the seed exchange works and how this allows gardeners to become backyard preservationists and advocates for a diverse food supply. In addition to preserving diversity, seed savers and seed exchanges also conserve agricultural history. The stories and knowledge passed down with each seed can be as important as genetic diversity itself.

Torgrimson has served as executive director of Seed Savers since July 2010. He previously served as editor and media coordinator for the organization. He has considerable experience managing nonprofit organizations, including serving as executive director of Oxfam Hong Kong, an international development and relief organization in Southeast Asia. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer, and worked in community development along with his wife Patricia in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. He and his wife live on an organic certified hobby farm in Minnesota.

This is the third presentation in the four-part Year of CSA Speaker Series celebrating the 20th anniversary of FairShare CSA Coalition. The series concludes with Ken Meter of the Crossroads Center presenting “Local Food as a Strategy for Economic Recovery” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14 in room 270 of UW Madison’s Soil Building, 1525 Observatory Dr.