Lyndsey Larson

Adrienne Cassel

English 1209.219

3 May 2018

Food Diversity for People and the Planet

I was six years old when I first realized food came from plants grown in the ground. My

grandmother picked some parsley from her garden and I was amazed I was allowed to eat

something that still had dirt on it. My family never had a vegetable garden and my parents only

planted a few flowers each year, so it's curious how much I now enjoy getting my hands dirty

and growing plants. Six years ago, I moved into a giant house and decided to try my hand at

gardening and now today I have an urban farm here in Dayton, Ohio. The goal of my farm

venture is to increase soil health, sustainability, and to grow as many healthy and nutrient dense

heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables that will fit on a modest third-acre city lot.

The reason I have placed such an emphasis on growing a variety of heirloom plants is the

health benefits it has for people and ecosystems. Biodiversity refers to the variety of life (plants

and animals) who inhabit ecosystems. In the past 100 years or so, the diversity of plant and

animal species has drastically decreased. Native plants and grasses are being replaced by

traditional lawns, and the mass farming of one crop fields has taken over rural America. Last

year, I planted as many different flowers and vegetables that I could in my yard to start a seed

bank with the intention of making an individual impact on the survival of generational plant

species. Biodiversity enhances the life of people and is imperative to the health of the planet.
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Individuals have an obligation to Earth for all it provides us to protect and nurture it for future

generations.

People have been coexisting symbiotically with plants and animals for thousands of years

but that relationship is changing. The once intimate partnership humans had with the plants and

animals we consume has shifted to an aloof practice of grocery shopping. In grocery stores,

consumers are offered two types of fruits and vegetables; organic and nonorganic. One or two

varieties of a certain produce item are offered with little deviance, when in reality there are

thousands of different species of plants each one unique and with their own benefits.

Food diversity is necessary for humans to live long healthful lives, but "three-fourths of

the world's food comes from just 12 plants and five animal species"(Sethi 16). According to a

study published by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America titled

"Dietary Species Richness as a Measure of Food Biodiversity and Nutritional Quality of Diets",

"While an estimated 300,000 edible plant species are available to humans, more than half of the

global energy need is currently met by only four crops: rice, potatoes, wheat, and maize". The

study uses specific vitamins and minerals found in more than 6,000 people in rural areas around

the world. Nine of the same species were eaten in all the countries used but over 200 species

were eaten by the test subjects. The study found that every time a new species was introduced to

a subjects' diet, their nutritional intake increased. With health problems like diabetes, heart

disease, high cholesterol, and obesity on the rise globally and especially in the US, our farmers

and government officials should be spearheading a food revolution that teaches people how to

find and grow a variety of nutritious foods.

Food access is a growing issue for those in lower social tiers around the world and in the

US, including Dayton, Ohio. Food deserts, as they've been termed, refer to communities that
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have limited or no access to fresh fruits and vegetables. There is a multitude of implications that

lead to low nutritional diets, which is a leading health issue worldwide, but most of these

implications can be found in social inequalities (Lachat). In these food deserts, the food that is

available and affordable are foods heavy in “wheat, rice, corn, palm oil, and soybeans” (Sethi).

This food can fill stomachs but has very low nutritional value. 795 million people are suffering

from hunger but over 2 billion people are overweight or obese; "both suffer from micronutrient

malnutrition" (Sethi 16). Here in Dayton, the areas affected by limited food access are poor,

minority-heavy communities and the city doesn't seem to be taking any actions to change

circumstances. These communities also suffer greatly from diet-related food concerns and have

little access to affordable health care. To combat the health and hunger issue a varied diet

including multiple species of plants and animals both grown or domesticated and foraged or

hunted is necessary for a densely nutritious diet. This variety ties together human and

environmental health and each strengthens the other.

In India, the corporation Monsanto is contributing to poor people remaining in poverty.

In the article "Modified Seed Fails for some 500,000 Farmers." Written by Gill Donovon in the

National Catholic Reporter in 2003, the author reveals that Monsanto was responsible for the

failure of maize crops in India and was sued. The farmers said that while they had cobs grow on

the plants, they had no kernels. The corn was "genetically modified"(GMO) in an effort to have a

larger crop and to be more unaffected by pests and diseases, but the local people feel that

Monsanto misrepresented the product and sold them bad seeds. These crop losses, the result of

the empty promises and the high costs of growing GMO plants, are contributing to farmer

suicides in India which occur every 30 minutes, usually the result of drinking pesticide ("Open
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Sesame"). The debt the farmer leaves from the failed crop is passed on to the family of the

deceased farmers creating a hard to break cycle.

Corn is not the only crop at risk, cotton and grape farms are also failing resulting in

farmer suicides all over India. Farmers find themselves drowning in debts as small as $150 but

this number can pass $50,000. The article "Stories of survival: Widows of India's farmer

suicides" written by Deepti Asthana in November of 2016 tells and shows the images of the

struggles faced by the family left behind from the suicides. There are many images of the women

and children who are victims of these suicides but the first photo is of a woman named Savita

and her three daughters who is one of the hundreds of widows left to support their families alone

and pay off the debts incurred by their now dead husbands. Women in India face not only

financial hardships there are also social implications for women whose husbands have committed

suicide making it hard for them to remarry and find work.

Figure 1-Savita and her three daughters

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Monsanto is able to monopolize the agriculture industry and is so powerful because of the

patents they own. These patents contain insane descriptions of plant characteristics including

shades of colors and thousands of genetic strands. They also have farms everywhere making

buying farmland that's suitable for organic open pollinated farms almost impossible in many

areas. Because of the necessity of food in a human's life controlling the seeds means controlling

one of the greatest values of life. Is this statement an exaggeration? Absolutely not. Seeds are

one of the basic units of life.

Without seeds, people would go extinct because 90% of a human's daily calories start out

as a seed ("Open Sesame"). Although they claim otherwise, the truth about the plants created by

Monsanto is that they are known to be less disease and pest tolerant and require loads of

pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to produce a crop. The chemicals used in these treatments

are harmful to people, plants, and animals and when sprayed can infect nearby farms but that

doesn't change the fact that five billion tons of pesticides are used per year ("Open Sesame").

This amount will only increase as populations grow and so does the need to grow more food to

feed people unless something is done to change it.

In contrast to GMO plants, heirloom plants have had generations to slowly adapt to their

environment, so they are naturally more pest and disease resistant. Our heirloom varieties,

however, are being threatened by the way people practice agriculture. The heritage and heirloom

varieties that still exist have decreased by 90% in the past 100 years ("Open Sesame"). These

plants are the way humans have survived all these years and we have no concept of all we have

already lost. These special plants not only adapt for themselves, but also adapt to meet our

nutritional needs more efficiently and are usually more delicious because they are packed full of

vitamins, minerals, and flavor.

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Flavor is my favorite human experience because the experience of enjoying a flavorful meal

is full sensory. The colors and aromas of food stimulate the brain and encourage mouth-watering

responses, good conversation and the sounds of a kitchen feed the enticement, biting into

textures of crispy, crunchy, gooey, buttery, and creamy deliciousness force you to interact with

your food and coat your tongue for the irreplaceable crescendo of flavor. Experiencing flavors of

sweet, salty, bitter, sour, or umami or if it's really special a mixture of these, to me, is almost

religious. "Taste is a reflection of who we are, what we've been exposed to and what's expected

of us in a given group or society" (Sethi 28). The tastes people experience are the way food

communicates with us and when companies like Monsanto modify the genetics of plants they

also modify their flavor and ability to communicate with us. Heirloom plants are so full of good

nutrients and minerals that they just taste better. Eating delicious, nutritious food is not just

healthy fuel for the body; it's fuel for the soul.

Cultures are bursting with diverse regional foods and flavors and a threat to regional plant

species is a threat to cultures everywhere. With the loss of plants comes the loss of how to grow

and eat them. "It's cultural erosion that accompanies the genetic one: Our culinary traditions are

going extinct, too" (Sethi 25). Food is what brings people together. From family dinners to

business meetings, sharing a meal with someone is one of the most familiar things people do

together. People should feel like food belongs to them not just that it's needed for survival.

Heirloom foods need to be preserved to be handed down to strengthen cultural ties and identities.

In North America colonization has completely reshaped the plants and animals domesticated

today. Buffalo and wild plants were the largest portion of Native American's diets for

generations, but after colonization, everything changed. Native American cuisine all but

disappeared when fertile lands and traditional culture were taken from indigenous American's
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and replaced with Western subsidized food provisions. In an article published March 1, 2008, in

Native People’s Magazine titled “Return of the Buffalo Nation” It is said that the food provided

was high in “sugar and fat” which is in large contrast to their high protein, high nutrient, and

low-fat diets before the provisions. This diet change has continued despite the rising buffalo

populations and can be blamed for the rising native populations experiencing “diabetes, high

blood pressure and heart disease” (Blevins), especially in Lakota territory. This change is also

putting indigenous plants in trouble because they aren't being used. There is however, a Lakota

man trying to influence the way people in North America eat.

Sean Sherman is a Native American chef in Minnesota who owns the restaurant and

company The Sioux Chef. His mission is to "revitalize Native American foods and to reidentify

North American cuisine"(“The Chef Bringing Native American Food to Your Table.”). The

restaurant does not use any colonial foods like dairy, beef, pork, or chicken and instead uses wild

game animals, and many foraged food items or Native American heirloom varieties. These

ingredients include wild bergamot, rhubarb, nasturtium, elderberries, chokeberries, and lamb's

quarters to name a few. He strongly believes that this continent will be healthier and stronger if

we understand the native food systems that surround us. This is not only true in North America;

the entire world would benefit greatly to learn about the ecosystems their food is a part of and to

make an effort to grow more heirloom plants.

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Figure 2- Wild Bergamot Flowers

Cross-pollination and changing climates are threatening heirloom foods. Cross-pollination

from GMO plants threatens heritage and heirloom plants passed down through generations by

interrupting their adaption cycle and making them susceptible to pests and disease. The way food

is produced and consumed is also contributing to a global climate change which is having

devastating effects on plant life. The climates to which they have adapted are changing at a much

more rapid pace and genetic evolution can't keep up. According to an article published by the

Yale School of Forest and Environmental studies in April of 2018, the types of crops being

grown in fast-changing climates here in North America is having to change as well as the amount

of land needed to grow and the irrigation strategies needed to water the crops. Another article

published by The New York Times written by Edward Wilson titled “The 8 Million Species We

Don't Know" states that Humans have sped up the natural climate evolution process and have

influenced the drastic numbers of endangered or extinct plant and animal varieties and to save
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our own species we have to find a solution. Saving the seeds from the "toughest" heirloom plants

is the best chance we have against the changing climate because these plants are adaptable. If we

had spent our energy all these years on saving open-pollinated seeds instead of mass producing

four crops, plants could already be adjusting.

Biodiversity is important for the health of both global and local ecosystems. In fact, we know

that it’s important but we know little else about the implications the loss of biodiversity has. We

know that nature is connected and the animals who inhabit our planet, including ourselves, need

access to food, water, and a livable habitat to survive. 80% of the plants and animals who live on

Earth are yet to be discovered (Wilson). This includes the mostly unnoticed life that exists

around us that Wilson has termed “the little things that run the world.” These are the insects of

the land and sea that clean our air and water, provide food for other species, and do a number of

other functions for the planet that we may never understand. Because of their importance, he

convincingly suggests that we

Do not call these organisms “bugs” or “critters.” They too are wildlife. Let us learn their

correct names and care about their safety. Their existence makes possible our own. We

are wholly dependent on them.

The life of these little creatures and many other animal and plant species is being threatened by a

number of human-created problems and people won't have the pleasure of discovering most of

them before they become extinct. Pesticides, climate change, and human’s lackadaisical attitude

about making lifestyle changes are the biggest threats faced by our plant and animal life today.

These pesticides sold largely by Monsanto, are known to have harmful effects on not only the

precious insect lives they are intended for but also nearby wildlife and people. One of the biggest
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implications of the pesticides is the impact they have on bees and other pollinators which are

necessary for pollinating flowers that fruit and become food for humans. The research

development page on Monsanto's website claims the company uses sustainable methods, are

working to save the bees, and try to limit their environmental impacts but the number of lawsuits

they are involved in for various reasons including poisoning farms near their testing fields proves

otherwise.

The future seems bleak, but there is hope for humans, plants, and animals yet. There are

large efforts to maintain what biodiversity is left like The "Half-Earth Project" which is

dedicated to finding the locations of the most densely diverse populations of species for

preserving to make the biggest impact. The project prefers to use conservation practices that rely

heavily on communities using aboriginal cultural traditions as examples. The best way to

understand how to preserve these areas is to understand their ecosystems and the functions

within them.

Individuals can have an impact on preserving biodiversity too. Calling local

representatives regularly to voice how important having green, conservation areas is for a

community is a quick and simple way to help. Adopting an Earth-conscious lifestyle is a way to

have a larger impact. This includes recycling to help save wildlife from harm, eating less meat to

reduce methane gas emissions, researching and utilizing energy efficient alternatives to use less

natural resources, and growing more food at home to minimalize the resources used to get

grocery store food to home kitchens. Saving seeds from the plants grown and sharing them with

people helps create a dialogue about why passing down seeds is important and lengthens the

existence of a plant species at least a few more years. Finally, the most fun ways to help preserve

biodiversity is to eat! Eating and teaching people how to cook with heritage plants creates a
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market for it, which will increase the number of farmers educating themselves and growing the

plants.

Figure 3-A proudly displayed seed bank

It’s amazing that something as important to our planet as biodiversity doesn’t have a role

in our daily lives and conversations. Biodiversity enhances the life of people and is imperative to

the health of the planet. Individuals have an obligation to Earth for all it provides us to protect

and nurture it for future generations. Doing something small is simple, making a big impact takes

work but we should be “celebrating the fact that the solutions to the loss of agricultural

biodiversity aren’t difficult; they’re delicious” (Sethi 6).

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Work Cited

“10 Reasons to Be a Seed Freak.” SNAKE RIVER SEED COOPERATIVE,

snakeriverseeds.com/10-reasons-to-be-a-seed-freak/.

“A North American Climate Boundary Has Shifted 140 Miles East Due to Global Warming.”

Yale E360, 11 Apr. 2018, e360.yale.edu/digest/a-north-american-climate-boundary-has-

shifted-140-miles-east-due-to-global-warming. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Asthana, Deepti. “Stories of Survival: Widows of India's Farmer Suicides.” | Al Jazeera, 3 Nov.

2016, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/10/stories-survival-widows-india-

farmer-suicides-161004061039461.html. Accessed 23 Apr. 2018.

Blevins, Win. "RETURN of the Buffalo Nation." Native Peoples Magazine, vol. 21, no. 2,

Mar/Apr2008, p. 32. EBSCOhost. Accessed 23 Apr. 2108.

Donovan, Gill. "Modified Seed Fails for some 500,000 Farmers." National Catholic Reporter,

vol. 39, no. 25, 25 Apr. 2003, p. 11. EBSCOhost. Accessed 8 Apr. 2018.

Lachat, Carl1, et al. "Dietary Species Richness as a Measure of Food Biodiversity and

Nutritional Quality of Diets." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the

United States of America, vol. 115, no. 1, 02 Jan. 2018, pp. 127-132. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1073/pnas.1709194115. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.

“Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds.” Films Media Group, 2014,

fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=19259&xtid=93971. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.

“R And D Pipeline.” Monsanto, monsanto.com/innovations/research-development/. Accessed 6

Apr. 2018.
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Sethi, Simran. Bread, Wine, Chocolate - the Slow Loss of Foods We Love. Harpercollins

Publishers Inc, 2016.

“The Chef Bringing Native American Food to Your Table.” Great Big Story, 21 Aug. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocm6DRIF9oU. Accessed 23 Apr. 2018.

“Wild Bergamot Monarda (Bee Balm).” Johnny's Selected Seeds,

www.johnnyseeds.com/flowers/monarda-bee-balm/wild-bergamot-monarda-seed-

827.html.

“Wilson, Edward O. “The 8 Million Species We Don't Know.” The New York Times, The New

York Times, 3 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/opinion/sunday/species-

conservation-extinction.html. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.