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Lovin' The Homestead
Pavlovsk Seed Vault, near St. Petersburg, Russia, is under attack by land developers.
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Change.com articleChange.org said:It's hard to imagine a more agriculturally vibrant place than Russia's Pavlovsk Experiment Station near St. Petersburg. The "station," part of the N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, really isn't a laboratory at all it's a global seed vault holding tens of thousands of living, growing plants. As USA Today recently reported, "there are apples from 35 countries, 1,000 varieties of strawberries from 40 countries, black currants from 30 countries, plums from 12 countries and multiple other crops."
If that's not enough to convince you that Pavlovsk needs saving, here's a bit of history that puts the vault's importance into perspective: During the 900-day siege of Leningrad during World War II, 12 scientists starved to death rather than eat the seeds and plants contained in Pavlovsk. You can bet those researchers are rolling over in their graves knowing that the plant varieties they literally gave their lives for may be destroyed for the sake of a few new homes.
What's worse, real estate developers are using a totally lame-o excuse to support their cause, and according to several news outlets, it looks like the Russian court is buying it. Developers argue that because Pavlovsk's worth is described as "priceless," it has no monetary value assigned to it and is therefore worthless. They also said that the plant collection was never officially registered, meaning that officially, it doesn't exist. Sorry, developers, but the tens of thousands of plants sprouting forth from the ground prove that the Pavlovsk Experiment Station is very real. And as for its value ensuring food security is worth, oh, about a million bajillion dollars more than a handful of luxury homes.
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