A study conducted in 1983 surveyed 66 crops, they found that 93% of the traditional vegetables varieties had gone extinct.
Source: rural fundation international
What is a variety?
The term is ambiguous. There is the botanic variety, which is a taxonomic classification. Whereas, in relation to the law, a plant variety is a legal protection for which a patent protection has been applied.
Which one are endangered?
In the context of climate change, saving genetic diversity in the crops is vital. We can classify the vegetables we eat in two botanical categories: the modern varieties and the farmers, or traditional varieties.
The modern varieties are the one we grow the most and having the best yields.
The traditional varieties are the one we used to eat and grow in the past. Many of these varieties are now endangered. These last decades, we assisted to a dramatic decrease in the available type of varieties (see graphic).
Agrochemical companies logically put all their effort to obtain the patent on modern varieties, thus neglecting other varieties.
