Mehmet Oztan

BIO

**Mehmet Öztan** is a Turkish seed keeper and farmer. He grows and stewards culturally significant seeds of Turkey. He farmed in the Tampa Bay Region from 2012-2018, and in Preston County, West Virginia, from 2019-2024. He is also the founder of the Anatolian Seeds Recovery and Preservation (ANATOHUM) Project that aims to restore, preserve, document, and promote the traditional seeds of Turkey. Through the project, he has introduced more than 150 open-pollinated seed varieties to the American seed market.  Öztan was a 2024 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellow and was nominated for the 2024 James Beard Foundation Leadership award in Industry Culture & Practices category. He is the co-owner of Two Seeds in a Pod seed company, one of the very few minoritized seed companies in the U.S. The company currently operates in Tallahassee, Florida.