The three words mentioned above are a big part, but not all, of the reason why we specialize in heritage varieties. They are, however, a good place to start. First, biodiversity. Dictionary.com defines it as:
–noun
"Prices reached a record $13.495 on the Chicago Board of Trade and $13.95 in Kansas City in February 2008, when food shortages sparked riots from Haiti to Egypt. Unrest this year toppled leaders in Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, and Tunisia. Chicago futures advanced to a 29-month high on Feb. 14 as countries in the Middle East and Africa boosted stockpiles." diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment.
So the next question to ask is, "why is this important", or at least, "why do we think this is important"? In terms of the food supply, this is important because a lack of biodiversity leaves us dependent for our survival on a narrow range of crops that are vulnerable to destruction by weather, pests, and disease due to the fact of their limited genetic variety. Our survival as a species depends primarily on three crops: corn, rice, and wheat. Imagine, for a moment, what happens when one of these staple crops is decimated by any of the previously mentioned threats (weather, pests, disease). What impact does that have on our lives? Not really that hard to imagine, if you think about it, because it's happening right now with the drought in the American Southwest. Here's an article that sums it up well:
The effects of this reach far beyond just the wheat crop. It impacts finished goods (beyond bread) that contain wheat (read the ingredients list on your food packaging - it's in a LOT more than you would think), cattle, the price of beef, world food supply, and even foreign governments. Think I'm exaggerating? Not so much. According to a recent article from Bloomberg:
"Prices may climb to $10 or $12 by August if the dry conditions persist in the southern Great Plains and if other growing areas of the world endure adverse weather the way they did last year, said Kim Anderson, an agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater." and,Read that again if you didn't get the full impact. Food shortages topple long standing, well established government leaders. There is no more basic human need than food and, when we don't have it, we do whatever we think we need to do to get it. Enter the concept of food security. The World Health Organization says this: "Food Security: The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences." This goes hand-in-hand with the issues related to biodiversity (or the lack of) that are discussed above.
I don't mean to be a fear-monger, I just want to make my point - our dependence on a narrow range of food crops makes us extremely vulnerable. Now that I've beaten you over the head with that I'm sure you are wondering what this has to do with heritage varieties. Isn't that what I started out talking about? Yeah. The thing about heritage varieties is that they preserve the genetic diversity within a species. This makes it stronger. It also makes it more likely that some of the varieties will survive some of these adverse conditions that threaten to wipe out the hybridized varieties that we have come to depend on. So, if this 'diversity' thing is so important, why did we end up letting so many older (ie: 'heritage') varieties fall by the wayside? It's really a simple answer, when you boil it all down: convenience. We have selected for and focused on varieties that are the most convenient to produce on an industrial scale. The varieties that didn't meet the requirements for mass production, for whatever reason, just didn't get grown. Preservation of the diversity of our food supply and helping to ensure its security are two of the primary reasons that we have chosen heritage varieties. A really wonderful resource for heritage varieties and information is Seed Savers Exchange: http://www.seedsavers.org/ . Check them out. Buy some seeds ~ you can do it, too.
3 comments:
And let us not forget that it is very economical to save your own seeds, plus it's reduced the carbon footprint of the garden, because seeds don't have to be shipped in from who knows where.
Very good point, and well made. Thanks for reminding everyone of that. I haven't started saving my own seeds yet but plan to work in that direction.
Tomato seeds are among the easiest to save, because, with the exception of the potato leaf kind, they don't cross. See the net for directions on how to go about saving tomato seeds. I managed to overwinter collards, turnip greens and kale and am waiting for the seeds to ripen. I figure if I can save the seeds, I can keep a cold hardy strain going for myself.
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