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Did y'all cover Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" when it came  
out?


On Mar 1, 2008, at 5:56 PM, Jerry W. Shepperd wrote:

> At 08:46 PM 2/24/2008, Don Bowen KI6DIU wrote:
> > The problem with the Irish Potato was that it was a single genetic
> > variety.  A pathogen would then attack and take most of the crop  
> > until a
> > new variety came along.  There were several Potato Famines over the  
> > course
> > of the century.
>
> Over reliance on a single variety of food plant is something that
> should concern everyone, for, as Don points out, a single virus or
> pathogen can wipe out an entire crop.  It is not simply a problem
> associated with hybrid plants, but hybridization accelerates the
> possibility.  And, it is easy to get caught up in the hype of a new
> high-yield hybrid, which almost certainly will need expensive
> fertilizers and insecticides.  Remember that the same companies that
> produce hybrid seeds also produce the fertilizers and insecticides
> that they need.
>
> I was listening to a report on NPR and the speaker reminded the
> listeners that there are over a thousand varieties of rice, but we
> depend on only a few varieties in the U.S.  Seed catalogs listed over
> a hundred varieties of peas a century ago, whereas today, it is
> difficult to find more than a handful of varieties.   There were over
> a hundred varieties of corn; much less than that are commonly
> available today.  Likewise, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, okra,
> cucumbers, squash, and other common garden vegetables.  And, most of
> what are readily available are hybrids.  One can still find obscure
> and heirloom varieties, but it takes a bit of effort, although the
> internet makes the hunt a bit easier.  While most of our concerns are
> likely with dependable food supplies, there are a number of purely
> natural and biological reasons for all of us to be concerned about
> maintaining a wide variety of plants.
>
> This is a topic that James, as well as others on the list have
> brought up a number of times, but one that should not be forgotten.
>
> Jerry S.
>
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