I saw the shocking infographic below the other day for the first time and couldn’t believe my eyes.
From 1903 to 1983, only 80 short years, a whopping 93% of seed varieties have been lost to industrialized agriculture.
The infographic put out by John Tomanio of National Geographic masterfully illustrates the ever dwindling variety of our food seeds in shocking manner.
In 1903, a full 500 varieties of lettuce were available from commercial seed houses. By 1983, only 36 remained.
During the same 80 year period, corn varieties plummeted from 307 to just 12.
What the infographic does not detail is the further encroachment to seed variety that genetically modified foods have caused from 1983 to the present day.
With the alarming rise of GM corn in the food supply, for example, even the paltry 12 corn varieties that remain have been largely shoved aside in favor of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GM Corn which now doesn’t even have to be labeled in supermarkets when sold as “fresh” produce!
If the Infographic below alarms you as much as it does me, please consider participating in the urgent project Drop the Money Bomb on Monsanto.
According to the Organic Consumer’s Fund, this campaign is attempting to accomplish the following:
Between May 1 and May 26, a broad coalition of food, farm, health, public interest, and environmental groups all over the country, joined by leading organic food companies, will attempt to raise one million dollars to support the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, a citizens’ ballot initiative, and other state GMO-labeling campaigns.
Monsanto’s quest to control the seeds of the world is a severe threat to the few natural varieties still remaining! If GM foods are labeled, GM foods will disappear due to the fact that the vast majority of consumers reject them.
I shudder to think that a similar Infographic in another few decades might primarily list only GM produce varieties!
Please help! Share the urgency of this project with those close to you and please participate yourself if at all possible!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
|
|
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
I am so tired and discouraged. What front to do you choose to fight on when you are being assaulted on every single side?
Stay positive, smile and be happy as anything can happen and frequently does!!!
Just work for the best outcome and know that everything is exactly as it should be right now. Life can turn on a dime.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: 93% of Seed Varieties Lost in 80 Years
Those of us who are conscious of this assault on our foods and nature are growing in numbers every day. Grow heirloom veggies and fruits. I like to give the seeds and the end products as gifts. I have a few friends and family members who now grow their own heirloom veggies and fruits, b/c of the gift I gave them. Teach them to save the seed and it’s the gift that keeps giving! I know that’s corny:) Every little bit of effort helps.
Danny\’s last post: Exercise = Neurological Development
That is appalling!!!
Control the food supply and you control the world. :/
This is absolutely heartbreaking! Thank you Sarah for putting this critical information out to your readers.
Buy, grow and save heirloom seed!
AMEN! My garden expanded to 30 varieties of heirloom vegetables this year.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com) and D. Landreth Seed Company (www.landrethseeds.com) sell ONLY heirloom varieties; Johnny’s Select Seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com) sells many heirlooms and organics.
Donated! Thanks for letting me know about this opportunity.
Rebecca\’s last post: Storm Clouds over Paris
I always plant heirloom varieties in my garden. I know that’s a
small thing to do but if everyone did it might a difference.
If everyone did what they could do in their particular unique situation that would be enough.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: 93% of Seed Varieties Lost in 80 Years
We also plant heirloom seeds in our gardens. We’re still working on getting all of our plants moved outdoors. Should have everything out this weekend. Homegrown, heirloom plants/fruits/food taste so much better than what you get at the store. Just no comparison. We live in rural Iowa and often drive out in the country for something to do…there are so many homesteads which don’t have gardens…makes me so sad. How can you live out in the country and not have a garden? I guess they’d rather mow 5 acres than plant a 10×10 garden…
I wasn’t sure so I went hunting and thought I’d share: here’s a list, directly from the Monsanto website, of the brand names they sell under: http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/monsanto-product-brands.aspx
‘ve heard that even some Burpee seeds are Monsanto GMO’s… I buy all my Heirloom seeds and organic seeds from trusted sources and will be saving my own this year!
Wow! I had no idea….I’m finally growing container gardens on my deck. I used some heirloom varieties. This has really shocked me and made me realize I need to DO something! Thank you for sharing.
Coach Kelly @ Get Fit with Kelly!\’s last post: Ultimate Reset RESULTS!
heard about this.. not sure if its true or not but ive also heard that the types we lost were the most nutrient dense.. my understanding is that we have traded the higher nutrition for higher sugar content.. could be wrong though..
does anyone have any idea how much has been raised so far??
-jason and lisa-
Over half a million so far last I checked!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: 93% of Seed Varieties Lost in 80 Years
I believe 600,000 has beEn raised so far. We need 400,000 more signatures by the 26th !
awesome!!
-jason and lisa-
Thanks for posting this! Very powerful visualization. Shared.
So, so sad and truly maddening!
Very sad. Seeds are very important to maintaining future food growing and adapting to the environment.
This is one of the worst things I have ever read. Biological diversity is the best protection we have against a blight or disease that makes a crop disappear. The Irish Potato Famine of 1848 caused over a million people to starve to death, because they were dependent on one crop.
What happens when all we have left are the GMOs and they fail?
We need to replenish the number of crop varieties we have, desperately!
Giving money to the California initiative is an aid to all humanity, because if we win in California, it will spread. That is why the Biotech industry will spend millions to defeat that initiative, and why it is so important to raise money to fight them. If we raise a million dollars by May 26, that money will be matched by another million contributed by various businesses and organizations, and we will have two million to spend on this fight.
hey stanley, have you heard about the global seed banks?? there are several that have been built by the rockefeller foundation and bill and melinda gates foundation.. others have helped but these 2 really jumped out.. either way, they only saved pure seeds.. non gmo, and the seeds are stored so deep in to the permafrost that the seeds would be fine if the power did fail.. what worries me is who are they saving the seeds for.. they are forcing gmo down the throat of the masses yet saving pure seeds for something…..
thought it was worth noting..
-jason and lisa-
Sure makes me wonder why they are not using those seeds now, instead of those GMOs.
agree
-jason and lisa-
The more I read news like these, the more I want a real change in the world this year, where institutions and people that just want to manipulate us, fall down, the truth shall set us free, our Lord or Supreme Power has to come and reclaim what is His. I have faith it all is starting soon, with the solar eclipse until december of this year.
It is sad and maddening, but there are things we can do. Growing and saving heirloom seeds, for example.
Our Small Hours\’s last post: Traditional Foods–Step Three
I am allergic to corn, wheat, and rice but only as an adult this might explain things.
Only fools and dolts are unconcerned. They are caught up in the Matrix that told us Fukushima was safe, blissfully unconcerned until it effects them personally. All we can do is to keep sounding the warning and hope some will hear. Great post, Sara.
I know this is slightly off subject and kind of a downer, but did anyone read this today?
http://www.prisonplanet.com/california-food-police-gone-wild-la-county-health-enforcers-conduct-door-to-door-raw-milk-confiscation-operations.html
This is so sad. I had no idea this was such a problem. Makes me want to start my own garden – and I just might!
I agree with everyone who mentioned growing heirloom fruit & veg and saving the seeds. On an encouraging note, I have read about certain heirloom seed varieties vanishing (supposedly gone forever) suddenly being rediscovered because some diligent gardener had had grown and saved the seeds for as long as they knew how, unaware that the majority of the world’s population doesn’t do likewise. I give away as many heirloom seeds as I can to as many people as I can knowing that if mine fail there is someone else I can turn to. In my very limited experience in life it’s the ‘little guys’ like this that make the world spin true, not the greedy big corporations with their self aggrandized ‘groundbreaking’ discoveries that are going to ‘save our planet’! They not only violate our planet but the sanctity of life. One company in one country can have such far reaching consequences … all the way down here to Australia and and no doubt every corner they can stick their dirty little tentacles into. I too am eagerly awaiting the day they are dethroned and demolished!
I just wrote about this too, it is scary.
But this is an amazing opportunity to do something about it, this bill could really get the ball rolling! I have been trying as hard as I can to spread the word.
Rachel @ Rediscovering the Kitchen\’s last post: Millions against Monsanto
Wow – sad, sad sad!
Allison\’s last post: The Chicken Whisperer & A Giveaway!
Wait a second. I’m in favor of evaluating what we, as farmers, are doing and of being critical of decisions we ourselves make. I am also very much in favor of retaining heirloom seeds and local strains as well as preventing/punishing genetic pollution from our neighbor’s fields (pretty easy in the case of sweet corn due to differing pollination times). But it is important that we take a moment to make sure we understand the data being presented.
“During the same 80 year period, corn varieties plummeted from 307 to just 12.”
I don’t think that’s a correct interpretation of the graph. According to the graph, 12 of the 307 that were available in 1903 were still available in 1983. There are far more than 12 varieties of sweet corn available today. Burpee’s site lists 31 options. Gurney’s lists 12. Jung lists dozens. Johnny’s Seeds lists about 40 types of sweet corn. Seed Savers has about 6. Baker Creek has about 6.
Money bomb all you want to against Monsanto but do so with the real facts. Better than a money bomb, patronize a local farmer who works to be GMO-free. In fact, free yourself from factory food by getting to know your farmer.
HeadFarmSteward\’s last post: Vegetarian…Chicken…Soup?
Head Farm Steward, you make a valid point that we should all get to know our local farmers and I think you’ll find that the main thrust of traditional eating supports that wholeheartedly. However, not everyone has a local farmer that they can get to know and if they do, there are no guarantees that the local farmer grows their food ethically. Anyone growing large scale has to think about crop productivity, keeping times, ability to transport (tomatoes), etc. Heirlooms dont tend to tick enough boxes. I took this post as trying to give a wake up to a general trend rather than hard and fast facts. Their will always be opposition to the monsanto’s in any industry but is it enough. If you are a large scale producer that is able to stand against current trends I heartily, genuinely congratulate you. If you were my local, I would buy from you and encourage everyone I know to do likewise. Ever considered moving to Australia?
Buy local and organic. If it is out of season, do without. Eat less meat. That will kill Monsanto.