Since the early 70's, plant breeders have worried that the abundance of the world's food supply is balanced on a narrowing supply of wild and domestic plant genes. For instance, a handful of varieties bred for peak production make up the bulk of the world's rice harvest. Meanwhile, irreplaceable genetic traits that enabled old varieties of rice to grow in harsh conditions have disappeared. The same scenario is playing out for wheat, corn, barley, tomatoes and most other major food plants. Homogenization in the market is one result.
Hunger can be another.
The Irish potato famine was caused by a plant disease that raced through crops containing no genetic resistance. As the new owners of 89 acres of forest, meadow and orchards in Manistee County, Mich., my wife and I wanted to know more about the place we had just bought and who had preceded us. Although historical records are incomplete, sometime during the 1880's, Hiram Hier moved to the township and built a plain two-story home for his wife and two children on a rise above Nurnberger Road. During the late 19th century, American farmers were encouraged to spread seeds and see what came up. Hier almost surely followed the protocol, as did his neighbors.