Losing Biodiversity, Losing Flavors

We can see the causes and effects of biodiversity loss all around us. Only one variety of banana or pineapple for sale in every grocery store. Or the miles and miles or corn and soy you pass as you drive the roads of Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. Or the windshield effect: that there are far fewer dead insects on our windshields as we drive those country roads. We are right now in what’s being called “a biodiversity crisis,” in terms of the number of species we are losing and the increasing pace at which that loss is happening. The primary driver of species loss is our global agriculture system — in other words, the way we grow our food. And as we lose those varieties and breeds of animals and plants, we don’t just lose their genetics, we lose their unique tastes and flavors, too.