[oxymoron]

Rob Dunn also tells the story of Fordlandia in Never out of Season (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/031626072X). It’s a quick and interesting read of why we need crop diversity, and has a couple of really interesting cautionary tales.

The most enticing one to me was the story of how Cassava was saved from disaster in Africa. Somehow a certain mealybug crossed over from Cassavas native range in South America, and free from its one antagonists, it spread like wildfire and threatened the sustenance of millions. A few lone researchers tracked down the native habitat of the mealy bug in Peru, and identified a certain wasp that only prayed on that specific mealybug. They managed to introduce it Africa, thereby potentially saving millions from starvations.

Dunn’s case for crop diversity is all in all pretty compelling. I try to pitch it when I get the chance, because it deserves more attention!

[nabeards]

Oh how quickly the blight would destroy the rubber trees of Southeast Asia...