Brian Lainoff traces the story of the world's crop diversity from the beginning of agriculture nearly 13,000 years ago through the pioneer of crop diversity, Nicolai Vavilov, to the icy tundra in Svalbard where lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Deep inside a mountain on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, lies the Global Seed Vault. It is a fail-safe seed storage facility, built to stand the test of time — and the challenge of natural or man-made disasters. The Seed Vault represents the world’s largest collection of crop diversity. The story doesn't end there as we must race together to adapt our agriculture to the challenges brought on by climate change and population growth.
Brian Lainoff is the Lead Partnerships Coordinator for the Crop Trust headquartered in Bonn, Germany. A dual citizen of the United States and Italy, Brian received his Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee (USA) with degrees in English Literature and Environmental Studies. Brian joined the Crop Trust in 2012 as the first recipient of the Cary Fowler '71 Environmental Studies Fellowship. Now at the Crop Trust, Brian acts as the spokesperson for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and is responsible for private sector partnerships. Brian is also a member of the team writing the Global Conservation Strategy for Coffee Genetic Resources.