Del Cecchi > wrote in
:

> alsandor wrote:
>> a écrit :
>>
>>
>>>What foods do you guys know of that aren't as good as they
>>>used to be? Here's the ones I know.
>>>
>>>1. Salmon.
>>>
>>>2. Coffee.
>>>
>>>3. Meat
>>
>>
>> The issue here is bio-uniformity for the sake of profits
>> over what nature originally offered us and which we
>> blithely refer to as bio-diversity (which is the natural
>> state of things without man screwing it up). On top of
>> that, bio-uniformity stresses longevity (a condition of
>> profits), not taste or quality. Longevity is a function
>> of two things: transport and shelf-life. Foods have been
>> travelling farther in the last 50 years than they did in
>> all the millenia before. Just because it says "farm-fresh"
>> on the nice crinkly plastic package doesn't mean it isn't
>> two weeks off the vine. Large chain food stores are
>> responsible for the shelf-life issue. One can hope the
>> current gasoline crisis will intensify rather than abate,
>> which should encourage the establishment of local
>> provenders (many in each neighbourhood) and the use of
>> local food stuffs over imported ones.
>>
>> But back to shelf-life: a product, say a green pepper,
>> will be chosen because it lasts longer on the shelf, and
>> better tasting but less durable ones will be destroyed to
>> make room for the elected varietal.
>>
>> The slow food movement which began in Italy stresses a
>> return to bio-diversity. In some cases, it is impossible
>> to do, as non-conforming varieties no longer exist, but
>> every effort should be made to develop not GM varieties,
>> but naturally occuring ones.
>>
>> One stated need for GM varieties is the need to eliminate
>> chemical pesticides by creating resistant strains. As as
>> response to one chemical nightmare, they resort to
>> another, inserting animal DNA into vegetable matter. Has
>> no one ever heard of the Sepoy rebellion?
>>
>> However, these strains would not be susceptible had all
>> varieties been available. The recent potato blight which
>> ravaged Prince Edward Island crops would not have had that
>> impact had we not reduced the available varieties of
>> potatoes to four or five instead of the original 15 or 20.
>>
>> http://www.slowfood.com/
>>
> And the blight that ravished Ireland, long before GM or
> whatever? Or the pest that wrecked the grapevines in
> france?

the potato famine was because the English landlords only
allowed one variety of potato to be grown, unlike the several
different varieties that the Irish had been growing. had there
been more than one variety, there likely would *not* have been
as severe a famine.
don't know anything about the French grapes issue.

> Or Dutch Elm Disease, or the disease that killed all the
> wild American Chestnuts?

Dutch Elm disease was brought in from another country, where
the trees had some resistance through exposure. American elms
did not.
not all American chestnuts (wild or otherwise... did anyone
cultivate chestnuts?) succumbed to blight. i have one in my
side yard that is loaded with nuts this year & 2 seedlings
that came up from some i missed last year.

> Loon.

yes & no. without the diversity of open-pollinated fruits &
vegetables, there is a good chance of ending up with something
like the Great Potato Famine again. the genetic diversity is
what is needed to produce newer varieties anyway. you get crap
when you try crossing modern hybrids.
lee
--
war is peace
freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength
1984-George Orwell