The Middle East and Food Security

http://phys.org/news/2014-09-future-crops-conflict-zones.html

            I will be completely honest and say that I have never been very interested in politics and related world issues.  As a science major and hopeful future medical student, I find it easy to ignore world conflicts and assume that science can be studied on its own.  However, this article points out that this is not possible (and that I should really pay more attention to world news.)

            In the Middle East, particularly in areas called part of the Fertile Crescent, grow many crop wild relatives (CRWs).  CRWs are crops that are related to our food crops and are important for food security.  These crops have many traits that are beneficial such as drought or pest resistance, and can be vital for future attempts to breed or genetically modify crops.  For example, a relative of wheat (which was brought to other areas in the world from the Fertile Crescent in the first place) is resistant to the Hessian fly.  This CRW, then, may help people develop wheat that is resistant to such pests as well.  Thus, CRWs are important not only as parts of the ecosystem in the Middle East, but also as a vital resource to conserve as the world population continues to grow.

            However, many CRWs are at risk of going extinct.  Although there have been efforts to take samples for gene banks, conserving the plants in the wild is still important because they can only continue to adapt to changes in the environment, climate, and ecosystems in the wild.  Furthermore, even collections of seeds may be threatened as one of the largest seed collections is in Syria and is believed to be under the control of rebel forces.

           Conservation efforts are also hindered by the conflicts in the Middle East.  These include the Syrian civil war, the Iraq insurgency, conflicts associated with IS, and more.  Unfortunately, the highest concentration of CRWs also happens to fall in the same areas affected by these conflicts, especially in Syria and Lebanon.

            Although I am not sure how such clashes between food security, conservation efforts, politics, and science will ultimately play out, but I think this situation highlights the importance of understanding both politics and war even as scientists.