Conservation of genes and culture: historical and contemporary issues

Poultry Science
J Hodges

Abstract

The paper examines the reasons for and consequences of lost domestic animal biodiversity. The origin of domestic poultry and livestock diversity is reviewed from the first center of domestication in the Middle East during the Neolithic Revolution. Accompanied by domestic animals and birds, mankind spread worldwide over the last 12,000 yr, thereby increasing domestic animal biodiversity via adaptation to many environmental challenges, resulting in about 6,000 breeds within only a small number of species used for food. During the last 50 yr of the 20th century, about 20% of these livestock and poultry breeds have become extinct, and the remainder is at risk. This erosion of unique biodiversity is due to changes in farm practices developed in the West that involve mono-breed, intensive farming systems that are unsustainable. The close symbiotic relationship of Homo sapiens and domestic animals and birds over millennia is changing, resulting in a lost understanding of sustainability among urban communities. The single-minded focus on profit is resulting in the loss of the historic European and Western culture based on Judeo-Christian values. Respect for biological boundaries, community, and quality of life are disappearing in Weste...Continue Reading

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