More than 10,000 years ago, the first crops began to significantly alter their DNA in response to human selection. We chose the mutated grains that did not shed their seeds. The roots that tasted milder. The seeds that kept us fuller for longer. Without knowing words like genetics or DNA, we became plant breeders. And the plants responded in kind by changing us: our diets, our settlements, our economies and our cultures. We became farmers.

Today, research draws that thread through time. Seeds of Change, created in a close collaboration between the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Viborg Municipality/Viborg UNESCO Creative City, The Animation Workshop and Sci‑Vi, makes this grand story tangible and accessible. Animator Cosimo Miorelli lets the images point from fields of the past toward the crops of the future.

“We have shaped plants, and plants have shaped us. When we tell that story visually, it becomes clear that plant breeding is not just about technology, it is culture and future at the same time. And it also reminds us that modern, precise breeding technologies should be understood in the light of the fact that crops already underwent very large genetic changes at the hands of humans thousands of years ago,” says Kim Hebelstrup from the Department of Agroecology. He researches plant breeding and is the researcher behind the new animation film, which aims to make us all wiser about how plant breeding has taken place throughout almost our entire history.

From beer to ecosystems

There is a well‑known anecdote in plant history: perhaps it was the possibility of making malt and beer that made cereals a favourite early in human history. It may sound like a light‑hearted story, but it nevertheless reveals something fundamental about how we have historically selected the plants we grow. We have indeed pursued flavour and enjoyment, but also robustness, harvestability and, not least, yield.

Today, researchers at the Department of Agroecology are working to identify and rediscover the traits that make wild plants strong: for example resistance to diseases, resilience to extreme weather, and the ability to be cultivated for several years, allowing them to store carbon in the soil. Where selection in the past was based on experience, modern plant breeding can now identify specific genetic changes and put them to use in new cropping systems.

“When we rediscover plants’ natural resistance, we can often reduce the use of chemicals while still keeping crops healthy. That is good for land, water and farmers alike,” says Kim Hebelstrup.

Just a few species feed the world

It is striking to consider how many people must be fed globally today and that despite the existence of hundreds of thousands of wild plant species, fewer than ten account for the vast majority of our food production.

“That makes us vulnerable to climate change, pests and diseases. But it also means that the potential to expand our global pantry is enormous,” Kim Hebelstrup explains.

Seeds of Change uses the language of animation to explain why modern research into both new and long‑established breeding technologies and cropping systems can be part of the answer; not as quick fixes, but as targeted, concrete improvements to the crops we already know and those we have yet to give a chance. Imagine cereals with deeper roots during droughts, or other robust crops capable of withstanding disease, heat, drought and flooding.

A local story with global reach

That Seeds of Change originated in Viborg, at the intersection of an international research environment and a world‑class animation ecosystem, is no coincidence. AU Viborg is a green campus where research into agriculture, nature and food meets practice every day. At the same time, Viborg is designated as a UNESCO Creative City and is Denmark’s animation capital, home to The Animation Workshop and Sci‑Vi, where animators, visual storytellers and science communicators work side by side with a shared ambition to make complex knowledge accessible.

This unique constellation is precisely what made the film possible. Through its Creative City initiative, Viborg Municipality plays a central role by actively connecting researchers, animators and local creative environments and by supporting projects both financially and structurally. For many years, the municipality has invested strategically in collaborations across research, business and visual culture, and Seeds of Change is a direct result of this tightly integrated local ecosystem.

The film is therefore more than a collaboration between Aarhus University’s Department of Agroecology, The Animation Workshop, Sci‑Vi and Viborg Municipality/Viborg UNESCO Creative City. It is an example of what Viborg does better than most places: creating an environment where research and creativity can meet physically, quickly and in mutually productive ways. In Viborg, the university, the animation studios and the municipality’s development units are close enough that ideas can move from whiteboard to storyboard in a single day.

Watch the film

🎥 Seeds of Change – watch the film here:
https://projekter.au.dk/seeds-of-change

Credits: Produced for the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, in collaboration with Viborg Municipality / Viborg UNESCO Creative City, Sci‑Vi and The Animation Workshop / VIA University College.
Animation & art: Cosimo Miorelli.

Contact: Communications Advisor Camilla Brodam Galacho, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Tel.: +45 9352 2136 or mail: brodam@agro.au.dk