Is Man Destroying His Own Food Supply?

"Our true challenge today [is] not debts and deficits or global competition but the need to find a way to live rich, fulfilling lives without destroying the planet's biosphere, which supports all life.  Humanity has before faced such a threat: the collapse of the very elements that keep us alive." -Geneticist David Suzuki.


AN APPLE is an easy  thing to take for granted.  If you live where apples grow in abundance, you might assume that they are readily available  and better yet, that you may pick from a wide variety. But did you know that there may be far fewer types to choose from today than there were 100 years ago?

Between the years 18-4 and 1905, there were 7,098 varieties of apples grown in the United States.  Today 6,121 of those -86 percent-are extinct. Pears have faced similar.  About 88 percent of the 2,683 varieties once grown are now extinct. And when it comes to vegetables, the numbers are even grimmer.   Something is disappearing, and it is called biodiversity-not only the rich variety  of species of living things but also the rich variety of types  found  within species. Diversity within the various kinds of vegetables grown in the United States has been slashed by 97 percent in less than 80 years! But does biodiversity really matter?

Many scientists say that it does. Although the role of biodiversity is still debated, a number of environmental experts say that it is essential to life on earth.  They say that it is just as vital to the plants we grow for food as it to those growing wild in the forests, jungles, and grasslands of the world.  Diversity within a species matters too. the numerous strains of rice, for instance, increase the probability that some strains will have the means  to resist common plagues. Hence,  a paper published by the Worldwatch Institute noted recently that one thing above all may show mankind how serious it can be to cut down the earth's biodiversity-the effect on our food supply.

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From the Awake! magazine