In the high arctic tundra of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a steel facility holds the food insurance policy for all of humanity: 1,214,827 seed samples from almost every country in the world. Although it sounds like something out of an 80’s science fiction movie, this operation is no fiction. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is made possible through international cooperation to ensure the world is prepared for catastrophe. As of the facility’s 15th anniversary in February of 2023, it holds over 13,000 years of agricultural history.