- In 1903 we had 544 known varieties of Cabbage, now we have 28 varieties remaining
- 93 percent of heirloom seed varieties have gone extinct
- Loss of 75% of cultivated agricultural biodiversity since
1900
Without a bio diversification of seeds we will see more of a
mono cultural experience as a whole. Without the presence of so many different
varieties of seed we are at risk of food extremes heavily based on pesticides
and other unnatural varieties of food. Not to mention the risk of plague like pests
When we have large differences between varieties of seeds we
can more easily fight disease and pest.
The reason for the mass decrease in seed varieties is the monopolization of gmo seeds by large world corporations. It all comes down to money, power and influence. If one company is allowed to patent a genetically modified seed and thus disallow like seeds to be sold in the market because of similarities found in the seeds "Right to operate". We essentially see smaller seed producing companies close their doors because they no longer have the right to operate. In short, the seeds produced by the little company are to similar to the patented seeds produced by the bigger company.
In contradiction to belief, the big companies producing the GMO seeds will claim that there is more seed varieties available in the market than before.
One example: "When GM Roundup ready sugar beets were introduced in 2005, the sugar beet processors decided to convert the entire US production to GMO" Non-GmoReport.com
The really sad thing we find is the limited availability of organic seed for organic farming. It would not surprise me if most farmers became scared of using organic heirloom seeds just because of the threat of GMO contamination. This is the reason small backyard food producing families must continue to use organic seeds and harvesting those seeds for new crops to reduce the risk of seed extinction. If the seeds go! We all go!
Links to the data sources below:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.comThe reason for the mass decrease in seed varieties is the monopolization of gmo seeds by large world corporations. It all comes down to money, power and influence. If one company is allowed to patent a genetically modified seed and thus disallow like seeds to be sold in the market because of similarities found in the seeds "Right to operate". We essentially see smaller seed producing companies close their doors because they no longer have the right to operate. In short, the seeds produced by the little company are to similar to the patented seeds produced by the bigger company.
In contradiction to belief, the big companies producing the GMO seeds will claim that there is more seed varieties available in the market than before.
One example: "When GM Roundup ready sugar beets were introduced in 2005, the sugar beet processors decided to convert the entire US production to GMO" Non-GmoReport.com
The really sad thing we find is the limited availability of organic seed for organic farming. It would not surprise me if most farmers became scared of using organic heirloom seeds just because of the threat of GMO contamination. This is the reason small backyard food producing families must continue to use organic seeds and harvesting those seeds for new crops to reduce the risk of seed extinction. If the seeds go! We all go!
Links to the data sources below:
http://www.fastcodesign.com
http://eu.ifoam.org
http://www.naturalnews.com/043166_seed_diversity_agriculture_heirloom_plants.html
Non-GmoReport.com
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