Founded in 2011 by Lane Selman, a Professor of Practice at Oregon State University, the Culinary Breeding Network (CBN) stems from the idea that plant breeders, farmers, buyers, chefs, distributors and eaters have a lot to teach one another. One of the main events that the CBN hosts each year is the Variety Showcase, which is an interactive mixer designed to build community among plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, produce buyers, food journalists, consumers and more. The annual event pairs breeders and chefs to create unique “bites” made with new varieties and breeding lines that allow participants to engage in the breeding process, learn about organic plant breeding and seed, and taste delicious examples of the vegetable, grain, herb, fruit, or other crop being featured. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event has had to switch to a virtual format for 2021, but Lane has curated a group of breeders, seed growers, and others involved in the seed system to present on their work. Included in this group are a number of SOSP members! We encourage you to tune in live to the entire event (or watch the videos later) via the CBN YouTube Account, but if you want to specifically check out the sessions that include SOSP members, they are bolded below.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND

  • 10:00-10:30 – Preservation and Selection of ‘Penncrisp’ Blanching Celery. Presenters: Earl Groff of Groff’s Vegetable Farm and Tom Culton of Culton Biologique. Based in Lancaster County, PA.
  • 10:30-11:00 – Interspecific Hybridization in Amateur Squash Breeding. Presenter: Klaus Brugger. Based in Austria.
  • 11:00-11:30 – Okra Seed Oil Breeding Project. Presenter: Chris Smith of The Utopian Seed Project. Based in North Carolina.
  • 11:30-12:00 – Winter Radish Breeding. Presenter: Peter Lassnig of Solawi Ackerschön. Based in Austria.
  • 12:00-1:00 – Seed Production with Organic Seed Alliance. Presenters: Micaela Colley, Laurie McKenzie, and Jared Zystro of Organic Seed Alliance

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD

  • 10:00-10:30 – Kabocha Squash Breeding. Presenter: Lindsay Wyatt of Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Based in Maine.
  • 10:30-11:30 – History of Seed and Plant Catalogs. Presenter: Alice Formiga of Oregon State University and eOrganic
  • 11:30-12:00 – Organic Naked Barley. Presenters: Brigid Meints, Pat Hayes, Jordyn Bunting, and Cristiana Vallejos of Oregon State University Barleyworld
  • 12:00-1:00 – Plant Breeding with Organic Seed Alliance. Presenters: Micaela Colley, Laurie McKenzie, and Jared Zystro of Organic Seed Alliance

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH

  • 10:00-10:30 – Lorenzo Trussoni Heirloom Safflower. Presenters: Norah Hummel, Steffen Mirsky, and Cody Egan of Seed Savers Exchange. Based in Iowa.
  •  10:30-11:00 – How to Use the GRIN Database. Presenter: Nathan Kleinman of Experimental Farm Network. Based in Pennsylvania.
  • 11:00-11:30 – Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture. Presenters: Phil Simon of USDA-ARS, Jaspreet Sidhu of UC Davis, and Organic Seed Alliance
  •  11:30-12:00 – Rainbows of Peas. Presenters: Johanna Keigler and Michael Mazourek of Cornell University

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH

  • 10:00-10:30 – ‘Steph Kuri’ – a red kuri squash. Presenters: Adrienne Shelton and Shaina Bronstein of Vitalis Organic Seeds.
  • 10:30-11:00 –Participatory Beet Breeding. Presenter: Solveig Hanson of University of British Columbia (research conducted at University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  • 11:00-11:30 – Tartary Buckwheat . Presenter: Nathan Kleinman of Experimental Farm Network. Based in Pennsylvania.
  • 11:30-12:00 – Purple Sprouting Broccoli breeding. Presenter: John Navazio of Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Based in Maine.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH

  • 9:45-11:00 – #ArtGenetics. Genomes on Canvas: Artist’s Perspective on Evolution of Plant-Based Foods. Presenters: Ive De Smet, molecular biologist at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, and David Vergauwen, art historian at Amarant. Based in Belgium.
  • 11:00-11:30. Yakteen, a beloved Palestinian edible gourd. Presenters: Vivien Sansour of Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and Ken Greene of Hudson Valley Seed Company
  • 11:30-12:00 – ‘Marzito’ a unique, mini-Marzano tomato. Presenter: Josh Kirschenbaum of PanAmerican Seed Company