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 never 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 1804 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 fared similarly. 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 diversity 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 is 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.

The extinction of plants can affect food crops in at least two ways: first, by wiping out the wild relatives of cultivated crops, a potential source of genes for future breeding, and second, by reducing the number of strains within cultivated species. Early in the 20th century, for example, probably over 100,000 folk varieties of rice were cultivated in Asia, with at least 30,000 in India alone. Now 75 percent of India’s crop consists of just ten varieties. Sri Lanka’s 2,000 rice strains have been all but replaced by 5. Mexico, the cradle of corn domestication, cultivates just 20 percent of the varieties that were found there in the 1930’s.

But more than just food is at stake. About 25 percent of commercially manufactured medicines are derived from plants, and new medicinal plants continue to be found. Yet, plants are constantly  being driven to extinction. Could we be, in effect, sawing off the very branch that supports us?

According to the World Conservation Union, of some 18,000 species of plants and animals investigated, more than 11,000 face extinction. In places such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Latin America, where great swaths of forest have been cleared for plantations, researchers can only guess at how many species are about to—or already have—become extinct. Nevertheless, some say that extinction is proceeding “catastrophically fast,” reports The UNESCO Courier.

Of course, the earth still produces a prodigious amount of food. But for how long can a burgeoning human population feed itself if the planet’s biodiversity dwindles? Various countries have responded to such concerns by setting up seed banks as insurance against the loss of important plants. Some botanical gardens have taken up the mission of species preservation. Science has supplied the powerful new tools of genetic engineering. But can seed banks and science really solve the problem? The following article will examine this question.