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
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 am allergic to corn, wheat, and rice but only as an adult this might explain things.
It is sad and maddening, but there are things we can do. Growing and saving heirloom seeds, for example.
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.
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-
Very sad. Seeds are very important to maintaining future food growing and adapting to the environment.
So, so sad and truly maddening!
Thanks for posting this! Very powerful visualization. Shared.
I believe 600,000 has beEn raised so far. We need 400,000 more signatures by the 26th !
awesome!!
-jason and lisa-
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!