The Great Santa Cruz Seed Bank Revolt

Andrew Whitman with some of the 250 varieties of heirloom seed he's gathered. Photo by Chip Scheuer.

Andrew Whitman holds out his hand. At first glance, he appears to be offering up a pile of tiny gray pebbles, or the world’s tiniest seashells, purple and black flecks radiating from the center of each. They are alive, and very, very old, but the spiraled wonders have nothing to do with the ocean. They are the seeds of teosinte, the ancient predecessor of maize and corn.

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