Touch the Soil News #2000 (photo – Wheat Products – (Public Domain – USDA)
Mainstream Agriculture Magazine Farm Journal, on its Website news portal call AgWeb, brings an interesting story about plant diversity. Out of the world’s 300,000 edible plant species, only 200 are regularly consumed and out of that, only three species of rice, corn and wheat provide 60 percent of the energy in our diets. The real kicker in the article is a recognition that the three major crops – corn rice and wheat – represent a stunningly shallow gene pool. These crops are now susceptible to more diseases. What do you think?
Can urban farmers create a new food standard of food that is genetically diverse? You can read the full story here:
