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Is their any reason we cannot bread in genetic diversity? For example, if we cross polinate are artifical strains with wild strains, and then use standard artif

Is their any reason we cannot bread in genetic diversity? For example, if we cross polinate are artifical strains with wild strains, and then use standard artificial selection for the most high yielding strain, we should return to genetic diversity. The only way I can see this not working is if the specific changes we made that yield improved output are the same ones that cause problems. However, my understanding is that this is extremely unlikely, and the likely problem is that in order to get those changes we were only working with a small number of strains, so we lack genetic diversity across the entire genome. There is still the economic problem that doing this is expensive, yet causes no benefit to anyone in particular. This seems to make it the perfect candidate for the government to step in and do it.

JoeAltmaier 14y ago
You evolved that idea very well; I could not be so articulate. The free market makes us all locally optimize our own outcome; who will choose possibly sub-optimal seed just to help out the community? A sucker, that's who. The govt can help; or some other way of marketing variable-genetic seed that makes sense to the farmer. I don't see any other way.
- gizmo686 14y ago
  Actually, I'm not sure that it isn't in a farmers own interest to invest in genetically diverse seeds. A farmers lively hood depends on the success of his crops, so diversifying them would make him more resistant to unexpected crop failures. In this way, we could view diverse seeds as a type of insurance. However if a farmer takes this insurance, even if it is a net positive investment in the long term, he will not be able to sustain himself in the short term. You typically need large entities (be them public or private) to make this type of long term investment. If it is not innitiated by the government, we might see Monsanto (or other large GM companies) make the investment. Because if one of Monsanto's crops fails catastrophically, they loose alot, however they have the capital to invest in making their crop resistent to mass failure by introducing genetic diversity. Unfourtuantly companies also tend to focus short term. If we're lucky, we will see localized mono-culture failures which will incentives all involved to invest in geneticly diverse crops.

JoeAltmaier 14y ago

You evolved that idea very well; I could not be so articulate. The free market makes us all locally optimize our own outcome; who will choose possibly sub-optimal seed just to help out the community? A sucker, that's who. The govt can help; or some other way of marketing variable-genetic seed that makes sense to the farmer. I don't see any other way.

gizmo686 14y ago
Actually, I'm not sure that it isn't in a farmers own interest to invest in genetically diverse seeds. A farmers lively hood depends on the success of his crops, so diversifying them would make him more resistant to unexpected crop failures. In this way, we could view diverse seeds as a type of insurance. However if a farmer takes this insurance, even if it is a net positive investment in the long term, he will not be able to sustain himself in the short term. You typically need large entities (be them public or private) to make this type of long term investment. If it is not innitiated by the government, we might see Monsanto (or other large GM companies) make the investment. Because if one of Monsanto's crops fails catastrophically, they loose alot, however they have the capital to invest in making their crop resistent to mass failure by introducing genetic diversity. Unfourtuantly companies also tend to focus short term. If we're lucky, we will see localized mono-culture failures which will incentives all involved to invest in geneticly diverse crops.