Graduation project
Seeds of Resilience
Daan Overgaag
A selection of ancient plant species was grown, cooked and served in a pop-up restaurant to unearth cultural losses caused by plant breeding.
Seeds of Resilience reconsiders the value of ancient plant species by growing, cooking, and comparing them to their genetic descendants and commercial varieties. A living archive consisting of 145 wild, old, and new plant varieties was cultivated on a 200 sqm farm in the Zuidoostbeemster. Most have disappeared from agricultural production and were retrieved from the seedbank of the Centre of Genetic Resources at Wageningen University. The harvested crops were transformed into dishes served in a pop-up restaurant on the farm, offering a gastronomic experience that acknowledges the impact of plant breeding decisions on how and what we eat. This unearths the cultural losses incurred when older plant varieties are replaced by newly engineered, high-yielding crops.