Introduction to the movie “The Future of Food”.
The movie “The Future of Food”, produced by Lily Films, explains how biodiversity has been sacrificed in the name of corporate profits, resulting in the cultivation of huge monocultures. It’s estimated that 97% of the varieties of vegetables grown at the beginning of the 20th Century are now extinct.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court decided by a 5-4 majority to allow the first patenting of a living organism and this decision paved the way for companies to patent seeds. If a company controls the seeds, it controls the crops. You can see in the film what has been happening to farmers who have the misfortune to have Monsanto’s genetically modified seed blow onto their land and germinate.
Genetic uniformity leads to a greater vulnerability to crop pests and disease. If our biodiversity is not preserved and encouraged, we could face the nightmare scenario of losing the means to overcome a future blight.
Christopher J. Jones, M.Sc., Ph.D.
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