The Viking in the Wheat Field
Bent Skovmand’s struggle to preserve the world’s harvest.
Written by Filed under Science & Technology
“We’re just plain urban eaters—most of us. We just want to go to the market and buy that loaf of bread. We don’t understand the politics, the lobbying, or anything that goes on [in regards to agriculture], says Susan Dworkin, author of “The Viking in the Wheat Field” (Walker), a new book that focuses on the work of the late Bent Skovmand (1945-2007), who devoted his life to protecting and increasing the world’s food supply.
According to Dworkin, her goals for the book were threefold: To recognize the efforts of “hidden, but heroic” public servants like Skovmand; to publicize the existence of Ug99—a new type of stem rust that poses a grave threat to the world’s supply of wheat; and to educate urban folk about the importance of issues like plant diversity. “There is a big information gap between people who live in urban and suburban America and people who live in rural America,” notes Dworkin, lamenting the fact that city dwellers have virtually dropped out of the “hugely important civic conversation about food security.”
With this in mind, Failure interviewed Dworkin about Skovmand, stem rust, and efforts to develop Ug99-resistant varieties of wheat.
What inspired you to write “The Viking in the Wheat Field”?
I saw Bent Skovmand’s obituary in the New York Times, and I had been reading about him for a long time. I knew he was the central librarian for all the wheat breeders in the world, and thought he was too important to neglect. So I took steps to contact his family, friends and associates and made an exclusive arrangement with his wife for access to his papers. I ended up sitting in his study [in Sweden], reading his letters and academic papers. Then I went to Mexico to talk to many of the people he had been associated with at CIMMYT [the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center]. I interviewed maybe 100 people in the course of my research.
My goal was not only to write the biography of a great public servant, but also to acquaint people—particularly urban people like myself—with the subject of plant genetic resources and how incredibly vital plant diversity is to the health and food security of the world. I hope I’ve succeeded, at least to some degree.
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