Podcast · Tech & Science

State of Seed

by Foreign Policy · English · Tech & Science

On State of Seed, you’ll find out how seeds feed and sustain the planet. Though more than half of what we eat comes from seeds, most of us know very little about them—and how the sector contributes to our world and the future of food security. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to the innovative players

Start from episode 1WhatsApp

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 34 min
Latest: 10 Jul 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

10 Jul 2026 · 46 min

Gene Editing and Seeds

What is the current state of gene editing for crops in the world and how could they address critical food security challenges? In this final episode of the season, we learn about the latest innovations in this new breakthrough area of plant breeding. Plus, we hear how various countries are enacting policies for gene editing, including Europe, which recently became the newest region to adopt these advanced breeding techniques. In this episode, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to a range of plant breeding experts, including Euroseeds advisor Petra Jorasch about the new gene editing law in…

Play episodeWhatsApp Download

Earlier episodes 13 most recent

S3 · E2 · 3 Jul 2026 · 45 min
The State of Farmers
How are farmers coping with the shocks of 2026? In this episode, we explore how farmers are faring across the world and how we can ensure that high quality seeds reach those who need them most. First, we visit farmers in Portugal and speak with a number of farmers about the impacts of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure on their business. Then, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem interviews Mark Watne, Former Head of the North Dakota Farmers Union, and Dr. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) about the state of farmers right now. Finally, we hear an edited…
S3 · E1 · 26 Jun 2026 · 36 min
Seeds in a Fragmented World
How is our increasingly fragmented world impacting access to seeds? In Season 3 of State of Seed, we talk to seed company executives, government officials, leaders from multinational organizations, and farmers about how they are grappling with this geopolitically complicated moment – particularly since the war in Iran began. In this episode, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem interviews Jeff Rowe, CEO of Syngenta Group, one of the world’s largest agricultural innovation companies and the third largest seed company, and Edwini Kessie, Director of the Agriculture and Commodities Division at the World…
S3 · 22 Jun 2026 · 4 min
Coming Soon: State of Seed Season 3
In the newest season of State of Seed, launching Friday, we examine how our increasingly fragmented world is impacting access to seeds. Recorded at the World Seed Congress in Lisbon, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to farmers and leaders from seed companies, government, the WTO, and the FAO about how they are grappling with this geopolitically complicated moment. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Agricultural trade remained stable last year and crop breeding innovations could help farmers manage various challenges, including better optimizing inputs like fertilizers. State of Seed is a podcast…
S2 · 21 Apr 2026 · 58 min
You Might Like: Real Organic
This week we’re sharing a special episode from our friends at the Real Organic Podcast, the award-winning “Best Sustainability, Environment & Climate Podcast” produced by the Real Organic Project. Recently named one of the "best climate podcasts" by Earth.org, the Real Organic Podcast uncovers the forces reshaping organic food – like how corporate lobbying is redefining what “organic” means and how industry use of new terms like “regenerative” and “hydroponics” are not really organic. Hosted by Linley Dixon and Dave Chapman, each episode features deep conversations with farmers, scientists,…
S2 · E3 · 11 Jul 2025 · 34 min
Negotiating Seeds at the U.N.
This is a big year for the U.N. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which ensures that seeds in most countries’ public seed or gene banks are widely available to farmers, scientists, and plant breeders everywhere. Negotiators will meet in November in Lima, Peru to try to update the treaty, which first passed in 2001. But this task is proving to be challenging. In our season finale, we learn about the main issues in the international plant treaty talks, why they are so contentious, and how all this impacts seeds and global food security. Host…
S2 · E2 · 4 Jul 2025 · 31 min
How Seed Trade Officials Are Navigating 2025
The constantly changing tariffs from the Trump administration are directly impacting the global seed community. How are seed officials grappling with this unpredictable regulatory environment as well as other key challenges in 2025? In this episode, we will learn about two of the seed sector’s biggest current obstacles: trade and illegal seed practices. First, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem gets a fuller picture about seed trade this year from Doaa Abdel Motaal, the senior counselor for the Agriculture and Commodities Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Samuel Crowell, the senior…
S2 · E1 · 27 Jun 2025 · 41 min
How Cary Fowler Co-Founded the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Lately, it can feel as if the world is falling apart, with war, climate change, and global instability rising—to name just a few existential threats. But the world is not ending. And seeds are a big part of ensuring our future. In this season of State of Seed, recorded from the World Seed Congress in Istanbul in May, we will learn how seeds play a critical role in continuing life on this fragile globe of ours. And we will grapple with some of the seed sector’s biggest current obstacles, such as trade and illegal seed practices. We will also hear about U.N. negotiations on sharing the genetic…
S2 · 20 Jun 2025 · 3 min
Coming Soon: State of Seed Season 2
Season 2 of State of Seed launches Friday, June 27th. This time around, we examine how seeds are playing a critical role in protecting the planet during this moment of global uncertainty. Recorded at the World Seed Congress in Istanbul, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to a range of experts, including the 2024 World Food Prize Co-Winner Cary Fowler, who co-founded the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. She also speaks with trade officials about how they are navigating 2025, as well as negotiators of the UN’s International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture – which will face a…
S1 · E4 · 2 Aug 2024 · 27 min
Increasing Seed Access
Two thirds of the people facing the most hunger are farmers themselves, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). We heard about this shocking reality during our first episode. And now, we will hear about solutions to this urgent problem. On today’s episode of State of Seed, our last of the series, we will focus on seed access: how to get quality seed to those who need them most. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to a range of experts, including smallholder farmers, major seed organization representatives, and researchers. She speaks with Elizabeth…
S1 · E3 · 26 Jul 2024 · 34 min
The Seed Business
The seed market has become more consolidated in recent years. Four companies currently represent more than 50% of commercial seed sales globally: Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, and BASF. But beyond these big four, there are thousands of other businesses developing new, diversified crops. On today’s episode of State of Seed, we hear about the economic forces impacting seeds around the world. We’ll find out how they impact not only seed businesses, but also our food in general. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem speaks with key business leaders at the World Seed Congress, including J.D. Rossouw, Senior VP…
S1 · E2 · 19 Jul 2024 · 30 min
Innovating Seeds to Combat Climate Change
More than a third of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions come from food systems. So now, there is a big push to make agriculture more sustainable. And seed technology has an important role to play. On today’s episode of State of Seed, we hear about the science behind three main types of seed innovation: traditional plant breeding, genetically modified seeds (or GMO seeds), and genome editing. What are the benefits and risks of these emerging technologies? And how could they reshape the future of food? Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem speaks with some of the leading innovators in the seed world,…
S1 · E1 · 12 Jul 2024 · 32 min
How Seeds Feed the World
Welcome to State of Seed, a four-part series about how seeds feed and sustain the planet in surprising and complicated ways. On this first episode, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem visits a Rijk Zwaan lettuce plant breeding facility in the Netherlands, watching seeds pollinate in real-time. She then goes to Rotterdam to attend the centennial World Seed Congress, an annual gathering of seed leaders. Here, she interviews Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Bechdol comes from a grain farming family, going back seven generations. She…
S1 · E1 · 5 Jul 2024 · 2 min
Coming Soon: State of Seed
Could access to high-quality seeds be the secret ingredient to food security? And if so, what are the obstacles to getting there? On State of Seed, you’ll learn how better seeds could feed more people and help us fight climate change. Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem talks to a range of experts at the centennial World Seed Congress, tackling some of the thorniest topics. What is the science behind seed innovation and what are the risks and benefits? How consolidated is the seed industry? And how can we increase seed access to those most in need? State of Seed is a four-part series from the…

About State of Seed

State of Seed is a English tech & science podcast from Foreign Policy. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Foreign Policy
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 34 min
Latest episode: 10 Jul 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1755707344

RSS feed Apple Podcasts

More English tech & science

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.