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 advancing this vital resource, including leaders of multinational companies and NGOs, UN and government officials, entrepreneurs, national seed associations, scientists, and of course, farmers. Plus, you’ll hear about the key concerns keeping them up at night. State of Seed is brought to you by the International Seed Federation, with production services from FP Studios.
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 Europe. Then she speaks with Eyal Maori, Co-Founder and CTO of Tropic, about their newly released non-browning banana, and Prof. Simona Radutoiu, Co-Director of the ENSA (Enabling Nutrient Symbioses for Agriculture) research program, about how ENSA’s research could reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers. Finally, Nandini Krishnamurthy, Biotechnology Portfolio Leader - External Technologies and Innovation Ecosystems at Corteva, shares how a public-private partnership harnesses the latest innovations to tackle a rampant maize disease in East Africa. State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
3 Jul 2026
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 conversation from the World Seed Congress about inclusive seed systems, moderated by Julie Borlaug and featuring Leah Salvaleon, a smallholder vegetable farmer in the Philippines from the Bukidnon PhilGAP Farmers Association; Maaike Groot from East-West Seed, Evelyn Lusenaka from AGRA, and Trey Key from Gates Agricultural Innovations.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
26 Jun 2026
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 Trade Organization (WTO), and biotech experts from the World Seed Congress about how biologicals can offer solutions to the fertilizer crisis.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios. Special thanks to Travers Pickmere from South Pacific Seeds, Jelle Vriend from Ad Terram, and Doris Gusenbauer from Ensemo for their thoughts at the beginning of the episode.
22 Jun 2026
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 from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
21 Apr 2026
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, chefs, and journalists fighting to keep organic food honest.
Like today’s special episode with chef and author Dan Barber, who explores America’s relationship with food and agriculture, including how farming for flavor - instead of farming for the amount of food or the shelf life of that food - can transform our food system from the ground up. It’s a fascinating conversation, particularly as Dan argues that seed breeding should begin in the kitchen, with taste driving innovation in the field. From soil-grown crops to flavor-forward farming, this episode digs deep into what we’ve lost - and what we can grow back by connecting chefs, farmers, and crop breeders.
For more episodes like this, make sure to follow Real Organic Podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And tell them we sent you.
11 Jul 2025
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 Laura Rosbrow-Telem speaks with key players in the negotiations, including Kent Nnadozie, the treaty's secretary. She also talks to Jasmina Muminovic, the head of genetic resources at Bayer Crop Science as well as the International Seed Federation's Coordination Group on Genetic Resources, which leads the seed industry’s participation in the treaty negotiations. We also get a better understanding of the technological advancements complicating the talks from Dave Bubeck, a research director at Corteva Agriscience. Finally, we hear a lively debate about the negotiations from a World Seed Congress panel moderated by Jean-Paul Judson, the founder of NOWMORE.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
4 Jul 2025
How Seed Trade Officials Are Navigating 2025
Doaa Abdel Motaal and Samuel Crowell discuss navigating unpredictable tariffs and key challenges impacting the global seed community in 2025, while Yang Yasheng shares insights on curbing illegal seed practices, in an interview with Laura Rosbrow-Telem.
27 Jun 2025
How Cary Fowler Co-Founded the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Cary Fowler, co-founder of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, details the creation of this crucial biodiversity sanctuary and its role in safeguarding global food security in an interview with Laura Rosbrow-Telem.
20 Jun 2025
Coming Soon: State of Seed Season 2
Host Laura Rosbrow-Telem previews Season 2 of State of Seed, recorded at the World Seed Congress in Istanbul, exploring seeds' critical role in planetary protection with experts like Cary Fowler, trade officials, and UN negotiators; this is an interview.
2 Aug 2024
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 Nsimadala, president of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation and a lifelong smallholder farmer, as well as ISF Secretary General Michael Keller, who discusses ISF’s recently launched Seeds for Food Coalition, among other public-private initiatives.
Finally, we learn about farmer-led research from Sonja Vermeulen, Managing Director of Genetic Innovation at CGIAR (the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), and Andrew Mushita, head of the Community Technology Development Trust in Zimbabwe. They spoke on a panel about public-private partnerships at the World Seed Congress.
Special thanks to Alessandra Fajardo, Jorge Fernandez Vidal, and Ebunoluwa Ijeoma Ajobiewe, whose insights helped inform this series.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
26 Jul 2024
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 and Head of Vegetables Research and Development of the Crop Science Division at Bayer. She also talks to Marco van Leeuwen, ISF President and Rijk Zwaan Managing Director, as well as Sam Crowell, Senior Director for international programs and policy at the American Seed Trade Association.
Plus, Laura calls longtime farmer Andrew Brait, co-owner of Full Belly Farms, about what it is like to buy seeds. Full disclosure: They are related.
Special thanks to Susan McCouch and Jonathan Miller, whose expertise helped inform this episode.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
19 Jul 2024
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, including Richard Harrison, managing director of plant sciences at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands; Diego Risso, executive director of the Seed Association of the Americas; and Dan Jenkins, vice president of regulatory and government affairs at Pairwise, a U.S. startup genetically editing seeds. Olalekan Akinbo, Senior Program Officer of the Biosafety Program for the African Union Development Agency, also shared his perspective on genome editing during a panel at the centennial World Seed Congress.
Special thanks to Thin Lei Win, whose journalism helped inform this episode.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
12 Jul 2024
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 reflects on what the policy world misunderstands about agriculture and the key barriers farmers face in accessing quality seed.
State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
5 Jul 2024
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 International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.
Who has been a guest on State of Seed
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Doaa Abdel Motaal
Samuel Crowell
Yang Yasheng
Cary Fowler
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
4.7 / 5
14 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 18 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
1
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
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