About this episode
Anton van Doornmalen merges the seed industry with music through his album 'Seed Songs', sharing insights and feelings about the sector.
It’s rare that the seed sector and the music industry overlap, but Anton van Doornmalen, Rijk Zwaan’s co-owner, chairman of its supervisory board and a singer-songwriter on the side, is changing that. For van Doornmalen, music is more than a way to unwind after a day in the office — it’s his way of sharing knowledge and passion for the vegetable seed industry. Van Doornmalen’s album “Seed Songs” describes the positive atmosphere and feeling of togetherness that he says the seed industry delivers. Songs like “We are just seedsmen” explain what it’s like to work as a seedsman, as well as talking about the goals and challenges in the industry. The song was written by van Doornmalen and is his take on the famous Paul Simon song “The Boxer”. “With my songs, I want to capture feelings,” says van Doornmalen. “A feeling can remain in the songs forever.” During the 2024 World Seed Congress hosted by the International Seed Federation (ISF), van Doornmalen performed his song, aptly called “ISF”. Some might remember originally hearing the song at the 1996 World Seed Congress in Amsterdam. “For me, it was very special to perform at the ISF in front of so many longtime…
People in this episode
Guest: Anton van Doornmalen
Topics covered
- seed industry
- music
- vegetable seeds
- songwriting
Keywords
- World Seed Congress
- ISF
- Rijk Zwaan
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Seed Songs
Books & works: Seed Songs, We are just seedsmen, The Boxer, ISF, “Passion in Seed”, We are One”, Singing for the Seed Industry
Places: Amsterdam, Tanzania
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