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58 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
58 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
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DECLINE IN GENETIC DIVERSITY: GLOBAL DISASTER IN THE MAKING
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Diversity in the gene pool is shrinking at an alarming rate and
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could lead to what Robert Cowen, science editor of the CHRISTIAN
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SCIENCE MONITOR, says "could become a mass extinction of Earth's plant
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and animal species." Species extinction of both plants and animals has
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accelerated rapidly in the 20th century and has reached what many feel
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is a state of crisis. From 1600 to 1900, one species disappeared every
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four years; now perhaps 1,000 species become extinct each year. The
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Worldwatch Institute pamphlet on conserving the diversity of life,
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published in June 1987, predicts the extinction rate in 20 years will
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reach more than 100 species per day.
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The loss of life forms is more than an aesthetic issue. The
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rapid extinction of food crop germplasm represents a disaster in the
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making. Unless the trend is slowed, mass famine on a global scale is
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a real possibility. The International Board for Plant Genetic
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Resources has issued warnings that the genetic diversity of many of
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the staple crops that feed the world such as wheat, rice, barley,
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millet, and sorghum is imperiled. 72% of the U.S. potato crop is
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concentrated in four genetic strains. Six varieties account for 71%
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of the corn crop. Of the cataloged vegetables grown in the U.S. in
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1901/02, less than four percent still existed in 1985.
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Genetic diversity is a prerequisite for agricultural success.
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Genetic uniformity makes crops vulnerable to environmental threats
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such as pests, blight, and drought. The Irish potato famine was the
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result of genetic uniformity. The U.S. lost 75% of its durum wheat
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crop in 1953/54 and 50% of its corn crop in 1970, both due to genetic
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uniformity.
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The dimunition of diversity has led to what some researchers call
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the global "seed wars." As plant species disappear around the world,
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"access to, control over and preservation of plant genetic resources
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becomes a matter of international concern and conflict." The vast
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majority of the world's genetic resources is concentrated in the Third
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World. In order to prevent crop stains from inbreeding, the industrial
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nations resort to "germplasm appropriation," a strategy for collecting
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plant genetic material from Third World countries. The fact that the
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"collection" is done without recompense further exacerbates tensions
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between industrial and developing nations.
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The Plant Variety Protection Act legislation of 1970, which
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broadened the interpretation of U.S. patent laws to allow corporations
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to patent seed varieties, has accelerated the extinction rate of food
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crop germplasm. Germplasm appropriated from the Third World is sold
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back to developing countries in the form of hybridized, patented seed.
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Farmers in the world's centers of diversity are planting genetically
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uniform crops more and more frequently, thus causing further loss of
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indigenous seed. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
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estimates that two thirds of all Third World crops will be from
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uniform strains by the year 2000.
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The disappearance of genetic diversity either by accident or
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design is a critical issue that has had little media coverage or
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public debate. Germplasm has not made headlines. There are no "Save
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the Barley" bumperstickers. Yet every day, more and more of our
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precious food sources disappear forever.
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SOURCES: UTNE READER, Jan/Feb 1988, "Conserving the Diversity of
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Life," by Jeremiah Creedon, pp 15-16; MOTHER JONES, December 1982,
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"Seeds of Disaster," by Mark Schapiro, pp 11-15, 36-37.
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