Who Will Feed the World?

WILL mankind ever start protecting biodiversity instead of destroying it?  That, according to biologist John Tuxill, would require "a major policy shift."  He adds, though, that such a shift "is not likely to occur without profound changes in people's awareness of plant biodiversity's benefits, their desire to change existing practices, and their willingness to try new approaches."

Many find it hard to believe that such profound changes will come about.  And many disagree with Tuxill's conclusion.  There are environmental scientists who feel that the role of biodiversity is still poorly understood and perhaps exaggerated by some of their colleagues.  Still, as scientists debate the  matter, it seems worthwhile to take note of the cry alarm coming from some experts in this field.  They seem troubled, not only by the loss of biodiversity but also by the greed and shortsightedness they see at work behind such losses. Note these comments from various writers.

"Just a century ago, hundreds of millions of farmers, scattered across the planet, controlled their own seed stocks. . . .Today, much of the seed stock has been brought up, engineered, and patented by global companies and kept in the form  of intellectual property. . . .By focusing on short-term market priorities, the biotech industry threatens to destroy the very genetic heirlooms that might one day be worth their weight in gold as a new line of defense against a new resistant disease or super bug." Science writer Jeremy Rifkin. 

"The media mantra, repeated over and over, is that the real bottom line must be the market place, free trade and the global economy.  When the media are dominated by wealth and large corporate interests, this economic faith is like religious dogma and is seldom challenged." -Geneticist David Suzuki.  In his book Seeds of Change-The Living Treasure, author, Kenny Ausubel points out the hypocrisy in developed countries when their "governments and corporations bemoan the imminent global danger of extinction of humanity's  'common heritage of the gene pool."  He notes that they too are threatening biodiversity by promoting the use of modern farming techniques and mono-cultures.   

Whether the worst fears of environmentalists are justified or not, you may find it difficult to feel confident about the future of this planet. How long can it survive when  mankind seems driven by greed?  Desperate for answers, many people hope that science will come to our rescue. 

Next time: Who Will Feed the World?/Can Science and Technology Save Us?

From the Awake! magazine