CONSERVATION

EMERGING CHALLENGES,
OBSTACLES AND THREATS
THE PREVIOUS sections suggest that over the last quarter century, the recovery
of heritage food biodiversity has been one of the most cost-effective investments that
private citizens, communities, philanthropic foundations, non-profit organizations
and grassroots alliances have made in collaborative conservation over the last
century. But despite recent successes, there are many emerging challenges, obstacles
and threats that must still be dealt with. Among them are:
A. Climate change and the displacement or destruction of rare crop and
livestock populations after catastrophic weather events.
B. Expanding distributions for pests, toxic weeds and diseases that may
affect the health of rare plant or animal populations.
C. Potential genetic contamination by GMOs of heritage varieties of corn,
rice or other crops.
D. Loss of pollinators required to assure seed and fruit set of rare food plants.
E. “Green washing” in the commodity marketplace, hoping to capitalize
on the buzz associated with heritage foods or heirloom vegetables.
F. Unethical cultural appropriation, patenting or trade-marking of
heritage foods that potentially disrupts the food sovereignty of indigenous
communities, or of immigrant communities of traditional farmers.
G. Unintended effects of food safety and zoning regulations limiting the
production of heritage plants and animals which local artisans prepare into
value-added products.
H. Scarcity of trained livestock breeders or backyard/on-farm plant breeders
required to keep heritage plants and animal populations dynamic, rather
than having them relegated to the status of static museum pieces.
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