* Historically, farmers in different regions of the country grew different species of the same crop therefore wheat or potatoes or corn grown in different areas would be genetically different. This crop diversity is the variance in genetic and phenotypic characteristics of plants grown by different farmers. For instance, different types of corn may differ in their seed size, branching pattern, height, flower color, fruiting time, or flavor and most importantly they will vary in terms of their response to heat, cold or drought, or their ability to resist specific diseases and pests.
A corn field in Liechtenstein
* In the past, humans have cultivated thousands of plant species for food whereas we now rely on less than a dozen species for 80% of our food needs.
* Even within these dozen species, genetic diversity is being purposefully eliminated by the sale of genetically modified seeds along with the pesticides and herbicides that they are immune to.
* It seems that if current trends persist as many as half of all plant species could face extinction in the next decade. The Irish potato famine has already shown us the risks of relying on a single crop as a primary food source yet we are potentially setting ourselves up for a similar problem again.
* Large companies now sell and promote genetically modified seeds which are resistant to herbicides and pesticides. This effectively creates a “mono-culture” where there is no genetic diversity between the crops grown in different places. This means that if a disease arises which the current “mono-culture” species are not resistant to, this disease could potentially wipe out an entire crop year of corn or wheat or sugar beets with devastating consequences for society.
* In the past herbicide use had to be done carefully because herbicides could damage or kill the crop as well as the unwanted weeds. The genetically modified crops are immune to the effects of the herbicides and/or pesticides and can therefore be sprayed with them more often to produce larger yields. The problems with the increased use of herbicides/pesticides is that these materials are now found at elevated levels in the food that we eat.
* I believe that we cannot scientifically ensure that the levels of pesticides and herbicides in in the food we eat are not a health risk.
* The loss of biodiversity is considered one of today’s most serious environmental concerns.
* The wise use of crop genetic diversity in plant breeding can contribute significantly to protecting the environment. Crop varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases can reduce the need for application of harmful pesticides because more vigorous varieties can better compete with weeds.
* Drought resistant plants can help save water through reducing the need for irrigation.
* Deeper rooting varieties can help stabilize soils.
* Varieties that are more efficient in their use of nutrients require less fertilizer.
* Most importantly, perhaps, productive agricultural systems reduce or eliminate the need to cut down forest or clear fragile lands to create more farmland for food production.
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P. S. My family and I are now growing about 50% of the fruits and vegetables we eat and we are cultivating 15 species this year. We plan to grow 100% of the food needs next year, we plan to cultivate 60+ species. We have developed new advanced hydroponics and efficient LED lighting systems and other technologies to enable cost effective, environmentally sustainable means of growing plants year round in small spaces even in colder climates such as where we live – near Toronto Canada.
