Food Crisis Series 39:
Five Trends in Agriculture Today
Dr Abe V Rotor
Never in the history of agriculture, or the history of man for that matter, had we experienced five simultaneous and overlapping farming movements that constitute the Green Revolution in our Postmodern era:
Aeroponics, farming in the city
Stem Cell Farming (SCF), the latest.
- Farming of GMO plants and animals
- Single Cell Protein (SCP) farming
- Hydroponics and aeroponics
- Natural and Indigenous Farming
1. Stem cell farming will ignite rage and ethico-moral controversy. What with the wild thought of human stem cell hamburger!
2. GMO farming has stirred worldwide controversy since its early stage. Worldwide, countries and organizations are calling for its restriction, if not total ban.
3. Genetic engineering has given rise to a new and most destructive form of pollution to the living world - Genetic Pollution, which is destroying the integrity of natural gene pools of plants, animals, and microorganisms.
4. Genetic pollution spreads through pollination in plants and mating in animals, albeit induced mutation. GM plants can pollute whole fields. The mechanism is true to animals, consequently populations. There is no way of stop genetic pollution once it has set in, unlike conventional pollution.
5. Farming the sea will continue with harmful ecological consequences. Like deforestation on land, marine vegetation, from mangrove to seaweeds and sea grasses will greatly suffer, even as the cultivation of seaweeds like Eucheuma and Calerpa, is now a lucrative industry.
6. Fish farming of marine and freshwater species has expanded into off shore floating cages and plantation-size fish pens. Wild species in captivity proved to be successful in groupers, mullets, and lately, the salmon which has virtually lost its homing instinct through genetic manipulation.
7. Hydroponics (soilless farming) and aeroponics (farming on multi-storey buildings) continue to "bring agriculture into the city," as more and more people move into urban centers.
8. Home gardening and backyard orchards are back with the objectives of recycling, self-sufficiency and sanitation, not to mention aesthetic beauty. This trend goes hand in hand with the revival of traditional societies, as people are tired living in the city.
9. People are becoming conscious of their health by avoiding chemically grown plants and animals, aware of the harmful effects of chemical residues, "Frankenfood" (GMOs), toxic metals and antibiotic residues, among others.
10. Wild food plants like Amaranthus, Portulaca, Corchorus and Mollogo have found their way to the dining table and market. So with many native varieties of fruits and vegetables on one hand, and native breeds of animals and poultAry, on the other.
Acknowledgement: Internet Photos; Living with Nature AVR
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