Without diversity, we’re sunk

There’s no argument that food is important to human health and happiness. But is food’s diversity all that important? Is it really necessary that there be a great variety of combinations of genes for each kind of food? Wouldn’t we do just as well with a single kind of each food, a standardized peach or tomato or banana or rice?

Definitely not. We need all those genes, and combinations of those genes. Without them, we’d be in deep trouble. The plants, and the foods they produce, would be vulnerable to pests (insects that, like humans, like to eat them) and pathogens (viruses and fungus diseases).

History provides us with many examples of this. One of them, that occurred a few decades ago, placed the production of corn in America in great jeopardy. Another, a century and a half ago, caused the deaths of thousands of people and produced a great wave of migration that changed the world forever. The victim and cause of that tragedy was the common potato. Click the links below to take a closer look at each one.

The American corn blight

The Irish potato famine

Next: Corn blight — Agriculture home page — Glossary — Site map
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