It is a fail-safe mechanism if ever the world runs out of food. Deep in the chilly icy Arctic is Svalbard Global Seed Vault, better known as 'Doomsday Vault', a storehouse for the world's seeds.

Located just a few kilometres from the North Pole, on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the vault is a long doorway into a frozen mountain which is the world's largest repository of seeds, often referred to as humanity's best chance of feeding itself in a distant, disaster-filled future.

Founded by Germany based Crop Trust in 2008, the international agency has 860,000 different varieties of seeds of 4,000 different plant species from around the world, and has room for many, many more. They are kept in a frozen state and can be revived and brought back to life any time. It can stay at a frosty temperature of around –5 degrees Celsius for 200 years, even without electricity. Right now it's maintained at –18 degrees Celsius.