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major crops results
in
greater vulnera–
bility to rnutant strains of disease.
All crops are, of course, susceptible
to disease. However, onJy certain
strains of a given disease wiJI attack a
given variety of crop. The danger
arises when all plants over a wide–
spread area have ident ical parentage,
and are therefore
al/
subject to the
same
rnutant strain of a disease.
A sobering example is the l970
corn blight which destroyed
15
per–
cent of the United States corn crop.
That variety of corn called Texas Male
Sterile or "T" Cytoplasrn was suscep·
tibie to a specific disease called Race
"T" of Southern Corn Leaf Blight.
Even though the crop was not a
total Joss that year, the darnage was
heavy. Seed cornpanies quickly devel–
oped other varieties of corn for the
following year. These were not suscep·
tibie to the Race
"T' '
strain, but had
other susceptibiJjties.
Sorne scientists predict a possibly
disastrous end, due to the philosophy
behind the developrnent of these new
crops. Listen to this warning!
"Hardy, high-yield varieties of
rnajor food crops, carefully cross-breJ
and highly selected, are the success
story of rnodern plant genetics but
they rnay carry the seed of their own
destruction," states
Srientific Ameri–
can,
June 1971.
The U. S. National Research Coun–
cíl has established a "Cornrnittee on
the Genetic Vulnerability of Major
Crops" in an effort to study the prob–
lern and offer rneans of preveoting
outbreaks of disease.
Harlan, mentioned eadier, believes
that major crops of the world such as
wheat, rice, sorghurn, soybeans and
corn may be endangered.
The limitations of these "rniracle"
crops are known to their developers, if
not to farrners who plant them. The
success of many high-yield varieties is
koown to be a temporary success, at
best.
"One seed variety is like!y to Jast
only for a few years and must be
replaced by new varitties as new dis–
eases evolve," statcs
UNESCO Cott·
1'Íer,
May, 1970.
Other difficulties, too, enter in.
High-yield crops are bred to
1-et¡ttire
heavy applications of fertilizer, pesti–
cides and usually irrigation. Sorne
"dwarf" wheat varieties will absorb
three or four times as much fertilizer
as previous varieties of wheat will.
However, the resultant iocrease in
grain bulk does not mean that pre–
viously starving people are increasing
their
prolein
intake, which is the
primary missing ingredient in their
diet. That's the warning of Martín
J.
Forman, Director of the Office of
Nutrition for the Agency for Inter–
national Development, in
Chemical
and Engineering New.r,
September 27,
L
97
L.
Why? What have the men in
plant genetic manipulation over–
looked? Simply this. The new "mir–
acle" strains are ofteo deficient in
protein content.
It
is as íf nature were
compensating for the increased quan–
tity of crop yield forced from the soil.
\XIbat the Greca
Revolution Canoot Do
A multitude of social problems lie
outside "green revolution" technology.
Yet they directly affect the feeding of
the world.
Japaneso women work a fice paddy.
New "green
ret~oltttion"
developed
strains of 1·ice ha11e boosted yields
threefold in .rome areas. Hou•et•er,
mttritional iet,els of new strains are
IIJ!Iall)
lotrer.
U'?rtn Bttrbr