The chart above shows the historical average yields for wheat and corn in the US. Note that until the 1930s the relative yields of the crops were similar and were not changing. After that time yields of both crops began to rise steadily, but corn yields have grown at a much faster pace. What explains this difference?
There are several interacting factors behind this, and they work together to create the “orphan” status of wheat as a crop. Corn is a hybrid crop which enhances its yield and the ease of increasing its yield through breeding. Wheat is harder to hybridize so it isn’t practical except for extremely high yielding wheat areas like Northern Europe. Instead, US wheat is largely a “saved seed crop” meaning that the grower can simply save back some of the grain and replant it rather than needing to buy new hybrid seed each year. That system is workable, particularly if the grower periodically buys some “certified seed” to have a purer stand and to take advantage of breeding improvements. The down-side of a “saved seed crop” is that there is not a very big private seed industry to invest in the crop. Most of the breeding is done by University and USDA breeder supported by tax dollars and there is a small private industry as well. As I said in the previous post, these breeders have done a remarkable job with the resources they have, but in an increasingly ag-unaware society, that support is never generous.
I’m doing a series of posts about why wheat has been an orphan crop. Today I want to talk about UG99 Stem Rust.
In 1999 a new strain of Stem Rust, a severe wheat disease, emerged in Uganda. It was named UG99, and since then it has spread to other wheat growing areas in Africa and Asia but is expected to spread further. It is a serious threat to the global human food supply because it causes severe yield losses.
There have been many great articles, blog postings and websites about this important plant disease, so today I will talk about how I think this situation will play out.
I’ll wager that the worst potential from this disease will NOT actually occur. This is not a casual wager - the health or even survival of millions of poor people around the world is at stake. Some of my wheat breeder friends might not like me to say this (because they legitimately need more funding), but my bet is is still that the breeders will prevail against all odds (and get little credit for it).
I base that qualified optimism on having seen what a remarkable group of scientists called “plant breeders” have been able to achieve in the past. I’m even more encouraged knowing that they have access to some new tools based on biotechnology.
I read an article today about a major shortfall in the Kenyan wheat harvest that will drive the need for major imports to meet food needs. There were three major factors behind this disappointing harvest. Tight credit and high energy prices kept some growers from even planting. The rains were not well timed to achieve good yields. Also a new strain of a very serious wheat disease, UG99 Stem Rust, further reduced yields.
This news has nudged me to write a series of posts about wheat because as a crop, it has a lot more problems than one bad harvest in Kenya. The Kenya example just stands as an example of the vulnerability of this extremely important world food crop-a crop that is really an “orphan” in today’s agricultural scene.
In part one of this blog I acknowledged that I enjoy local food as a special treat in my diet but described three reasons that the true “locovore” concept was impractical: Limited Food Diversity, Quality Issues, and Water Issues. I’ll continue.
I love eating locally produced foods when I have the chance. I enjoyed having access to fully tree-ripe stone fruit when I lived in Davis, CA. Today I get to enjoy the ultra-local herbs, vegetables and fruit from my garden part of the year, and I make 10-20 gallons of wine from my little vineyard. I feel that I am fortunate, not noble. In January our county (San Diego) is one of the few places producing strawberries and I certainly enjoy those, but it doesn’t mean I don’t buy them later in the year when they come from further North. Local food can definitely be a treat, but to think that it is a noble thing to be a “locovore” is a bit silly and often quite pretentious. There are plenty of non-local foods that you should eat with no sense of guilt. In this and my next blog I’ll talk about why.
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks with Sabrina Walasek of Blue Planet Run Foundation, which has a vision of a world where everyone has access to safe drinking water and healthy human beings have a chance to live up to their potential.
In a previous post, I listed five of the best things I think you can do in order to live a sustainable lifestyle — #6-10. Now, here is the top five list.
If you go to the Organic Consumers Association website you will see that they are upset about the way that stores like Whole Foods market products as “natural.” They believe (and they are probably right) that consumers will confuse this with “Organic.” In fact there are no real rules about what can be called “natural” and savvy marketers have realized that almost everyone likes the concept of “natural” and they have tapped into that for selling power.
The problem for the Organic community is that their own, highly regulated farming system is also built on the concept of “natural.” I have a good friend who was on the board of CCOF (California’s organic certification leader) back in the days when the definition of “USDA Organic” was being hammered out (1990-2002). He explained that one reason it took so long was that there was a philosophical struggle between the Organic stalwarts who wanted it to be driven by what was “natural” and by the USDA that wanted to bring some science into what was safest and best for the environment. The “natural” voices prevailed.
Cloned asian pears in New Zealand (photo Steve Savage)
OK, I’ll admit it. That question and the picture caption are a little bit manipulative because few people know that all the major fruit crops are technically “cloned” because they have to be to get the varieties we want. If you take the seed of a Fuji apple and plant it, the tree you will eventually grow will not make Fuji apples.
It will be something new because when the apple flower was pollinated there was a new combination of genes from the male and female flower. Its the same reason our kids don’t come out exactly like either parent. So, for millennia, people have been propagating the fruit varieties they liked by making cuttings or grafting or some other way to keep the identical genetics of the desirable fruit.
So, there really isn’t anything creepy about eating cloned fruit, but because I use the emotive term, “cloned,” I can usually get a negative response. Why do I mess with farming-naive people this way? I do it to make the point that if you want to understand controversial issues about food and the environment, you need to be vigilant about being manipulated by emotive terms.
I find this to be particularly true about the anti-GMO camp. Its one thing to make an argument, but the reason that many people are afraid of these things is that they have been given a healthy dose of disinformation, often through the use of emotive terms that don’t really convey information as much as they do fear.
Ever stare at the seafood counter and wonder where all that fish comes from? Maybe not, but I do, and a new article in Martha Stewart’s Body+Soul magazine wades through some other issues that might be on your mind - overfishing, fish farming, omega-3s and mercury.
Although the article sugar coats a few things (e.g. wild fish generally being a safe, sustainable option - not true), it contains some good advice. First and foremost, get to know the people that sell you fish. They can be your best ally in making good choices and are often a wealth of knowledge.
Second, don’t be afraid to ask questions like, ‘Where is this fish from?’, ‘Is it farmed or wild?’, etc. This will help steer you in the right direction.
Since July 2003, sustainablog has been providing information on environmental and economic sustainability, green and sustainable business, and environmental politics. The blog regularly features environmental leaders, experts in alternative energy and green technology, and real people trying to lighten their environmental footprints.
