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according to Dr. Horne, "because suf–
ficient quantities of resistant seed lots
aren't yet available. Corn breeders are
doing everything they can to insure a
sufficient quantity of resistant seed stock
for 1972, but there is
no
tl'a)'
for suf–
ficient quantities to be made available
for the 1971 crop." The rcsistant seed
will cost an additional Sl00-$200 per
acre to produce.
The seed industry is making an aH–
out effort to grow a winter seed crop in
Hawaü, South America and Mexico.
The prediction is, if these crops turn out
well, that about 30 percent of the avail–
able 1971 seed corn will be of the
resistant hybrid type. The guestion no
one dares ask is - what
if
a ncw strain
of blight develops in the meantime?
The Green Revolution
The production of hybrid crops
reached its peak about the middle
1960's. In many instances early yields
showed promising increases. With the
use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides
and herbicides, the hybricls prospered.
Sorne believecl the use of hybrids in the
developing countries would arm them
with a way to quickly augment their
food supply. Fostered by U. S. agricul–
tura! technology, "the ncw hope" went
abroad into every country where recep–
tibility, finance and education allowed.
The experts believed it was a revolu–
tion. "Let's call it 'The Grecn Re,olu–
tion,' " they said, and the name stuck.
But this "revolution" is not produc–
ing good alonc. Repercussions and sidc
effects are bcginning to be felt.
Heavy applications of cxpensive
chemical fertilizers and pcsticides are
essential for the hybrids to perform.
A
thorough pesticide program is necessary.
But to get thc right spray, thc right
cquipment, the right ínformation to the
right farmers at the right time, remains
an insurmountable problem.
In many countries the extra financia!
burden to import fertilizcrs and other
crucial chemicals and machinery is
beginning to break the camcl's back.
\V1e are beginning to hear the cxpres–
sion, the "so-called Green Revolution."
Everywhere the Green Revolution has
gone it is accompanied by a burgeoning
The
PLAIN TRUTH
Ma1ch
1971
Ambauador Collogo Pnato
CORN BLIGHT DISASTER
-
Contrast is shown between blighted hybrid
corn (left) and unaffected, open-pollinated corn (right).
increase of inscct pests, weeds and plant
diseases. Scientists are now beginning to
fear that the Grecn Revolution, largely
fostered by hybrid crops, is in fact a
myth. They fcar continued and exten–
sive use of hybrid seeds may open a
Pandora's box to pestilence, famine and
social disruption.
In developing countrics, the Green
Rcvolution is causing a furthcr polariza–
tion of income between thc rich and
poor. Most countries can ill afford any
growth of social unrest.
The long-drcamed-of ability of mod–
ero agriculture to produce
(
ood for
more and more people in thc world is
now open to scrious qucstion. Diseases
such as corn and rice blight are one of
the
hazarclr
of
hybricl -t·arieties.
Wocld
food production is now at a standstill
for the first time in twelve ycars. But
world population continues to explode.
What can be done to prevent a
disaster?
Correct the Cause
To combat disease that threatens the
food supply, it is a common practice in
modern agriculture to use fungicides
and pesticides -
poisons. Another
major way is to develop high-yielding
plants that grow well in soils which
have not been properly maintained. By
altcring its genes through hybridization,
a plant may grow and look good even
though it is nutritionally inferior and
unable to utilize sorne of the minerals
that are available to a pure variety.
The Armour Institute of Rcscarch in
Chicago conducted tests on 16 farms
and found that hybrid corn failed to
absorb adequate amounts of the neces–
sary trace minerals through its roots.
No
cobalt was absorbed by the hybrid coro
testeJ. The
open-poJlinated com did
tlbsorb
the necessary amount of trace
minerals, including cobalt. The lack of
cobalt is instrumental in the cause of
Brucellosis and Undulant Fever. The
cxperiment also proved that just as the
hybrid corn was lack.ing in minerals, so
1t was lacking in adequate protein. No
hybrid showed more than sevcn or eight
percent protcin, whereas the open-polli–
nated corn tested 13 percent protein.
The real basis of health and resistance
to disease is proper maintenance of soil
fertility. But when plants are bred to
disallow the intake of balanced plant