We have become dangerously focused on corn in the Midwest (and soybeans, with which it is cultivated in rotation). This limited diversity of crops restricts our diets, degrades our soils and increases our vulnerability to droughts. Farmers in the central plains used to grow a greater diversity of food and forage crops, including oats, hay, alfalfa and sorghum. But they gradually opted to grow more and more corn thanks to federal agricultural subsidies and expanding markets for corn in animal feed, corn syrup and ethanol.The man is Prof. William G. Moseley, writing in an opinion piece in the New York Times.
Whether we're talking about crops, manufacturing, intellectual inquiry, the human gene pool, or our own talents and interests, diversity is the key to survival on this ever-changing planet.
Either we embrace that fact, or we will go extinct as a species.
It's that simple.
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