Paper short abstract:

Seeds seem like ordinary objects, but we do not yet understand how science can make such small, yet absolutely essential biological entities into coherent objects that can be collectively understood, stabilised, acted upon, and translated across different knowledge practices.

Paper long abstract:

Cryogenic seed banking has gained favour as the only long term, sustainable venture to prevent loss of biodiversity and secure our access to food in a troubled future climate. There is consensus that seeds are critical to the future of the planet; however, the methods that decide which ones are stored, how they are stored, and how they are defined are often contradictory. In addition, the idea that once banked, seeds can be reasonably expected to regrow, cannot be taken for granted. Consequently, the choices made by seed scientists are political as well as technical. By studying the experimental care practices espoused by scientists involved in the moving, making, and saving of seeds, I study how 'life' is being prepared for the future. Currently doing fieldwork at a large seed bank which functions as a hub for a global collaboration of over 80 countries, I will share my preliminary thoughts on how and to what extent plants are rendered 'immutable' by the saving processes. In this context 'immutable' refers to the idea that the viability, defining characteristics, and future value are reliably maintained over many decades. By tracking the seeds from the moment they arrive at the bank till they are ensconced in their cold long-term homes, the scientists and I are forced to enter a temporal frame dictated by the plants. Thus, this paper thinks slowly with these theorists and practitioners that structure the physical organisation of the seeds and their metaphysical data in the bank.