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Date: | Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:30:21 -0700 |
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>> we are indeed at risk in agriculture when we rely wholly
>> on any single species of crop or pollinator
>
> I think Bill Truesdell pointed out this is the way farming has
> been conducted in the USA for decades and yet yields
> per acre of practically all crops have been steadily
> increasing.
Thank you, Paul. I don't dispute your point about yields at all. However,
history shows us the risk of putting all our eggs into one biological
basket.
The Irish potato famine was due to the planting of only one cultivar (the
Lumpkin) of potato, which turned out to be exceptionally susceptible to
phytophera. If the Irish had planted only three or four cultivars, the
famine likely would not have occurred. Ditto with the total crash of the
world's entire banana crop when the Gros Michael variety was hit by a virus,
and the Green Indian coconut when it was hit by something or another, and
all the coconut trees planted in the Caribbean died suddenly.
The almond growers are feeling the same about being totally dependent upon
honeybees for pollinating their crop. If this one species of pollinator
crashes, as it did a couple of years ago, their production costs suddenly
skyrocket without warning; or even worse, their crop could fail, since they
didn't have any alternatives available.
Massive monoculture can be extremely efficient. By the same token, it can
crash in a big way without warning. Kinda similar to putting all your
investments into only one stock. Diversification of your portfolio spreads
the risks. Diversity in biological systems, including agriculture, lends
more stability to the system.
Randy Oliver
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