Natural News, By: Jonatha Benson, 12/08/2013
Known today as the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP), the laboratory collected seed data on 10 common produce items: beets, cabbages, sweet corn, lettuces, muskmelons, peas, radishes, squashes, tomatoes and cucumbers. NCGRP compared the availability of seeds for each of these items in 1903 to their availability in 1983, which was still long before the time genetically modified organisms (GMOs) hit the scene.
Based on the data, seed stocks have shrunk dramatically over the course of the past century, with many heirloom varieties of produce disappearing from the commercial seed supply. According to National Geographic, which recently put out an "infographic" illustrating this decline in seed diversity, many heirloom varieties of common fruits and vegetables that were cultivated by generations before us have gone completely extinct. "As we've come to depend on a handful of commercial varieties of fruits and vegetables, thousands of heirloom varieties have disappeared," explains National Geographic. "It's hard to know exactly how many have been lost over the past century."
For more on this story visit www.naturalnews.com
