Today, a trip to the supermarket reveals dozens of ice cream and potato chip flavors, but the milk comes from only a few cow breeds, and only a handful of potato varieties are used. A study by the International Potato Centre predicts that 13 wild potato species could be extinct by 2050. Apples are also disappearing; a 1905 book titled “The Apples of New York” documented hundreds of varieties, but most are now gone, including the vanilla-flavored “Virginia Greening” from the 1700s. Like milk, apples, and potatoes, food varieties worldwide are disappearing at an alarming rate, reports PBS in The Lexicon of Sustainability.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Engina Kyurt
According to the UN Environment Programme, over the past 100 years, more than 90 percent of crop varieties have disappeared and today, just nine plant species account for 66 percent of total crop production. "Over the past 50 years, we are seeing that diets around the world are changing and they are becoming more similar - what we call the 'globalized diet'," Colin Khoury, a scientist from the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture, told BBC. "This diet is composed of big, major crops such as wheat, rice, potatoes and sugar.” He added that the decline in crop diversity in the globalized diet has limited the production of more nutrient-rich foods. According to Khoury, the crops recording a decline were millets, rye, yams, sweet potatoes, and cassava in the past decade.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Vie Studio
Although the world’s croplands have over 50,000 edible plants, just three of them, including rice, maize, and wheat provide 60 percent of the world's food energy intake, per FAO. So, what is happening? Why is crop diversity on the edge of extinction? The answer lies in seeds, according to PBS. Traditionally farmers grew and mutually shared these seeds, but today most seed production is controlled by a selected few companies. Plus, the DNA of seeds also seems to have been altered, which is called “genetic modification.”
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Vie Studio
Another factor is “farming.” With the advent of advanced technology, modern farming is way different from the one done in the bygone times. These intensive farming practices are causing the soils worldwide to degrade in quality, per BBC. As the layer of fertile topsoil becomes thinner, it becomes much less capable of growing food. The result is a precarious vanishing of crops. To solve the problem of crop extinction, many people are stepping forward. For instance, nowadays, there are seed banks like “The Svalbard Global Seed Vault,” also called “Doomsday Seed Vault” that preserves the seeds from around the world.
Besides these banks, experts suggest that farmers gain an understanding of “Agricultural biodiversity,” also called “agrobiodiversity.” According to The Counter, agrobiodiversity is the foundation of agriculture and food, resulting from the connection between microorganisms, plants, and animals, as well as the quality of nutrients in the soil.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Pixabay
Plus, the solution also lies in what people eat and how they view food and agriculture. “The revolution starts here, on our plates, by looking at the pillars of our diets and by making simple changes. The way to take back this power for ourselves is to understand why we eat what we eat. And to understand what we’re losing—so we know what to reclaim,” wrote Preeti S. Sethi in her book, “Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love.”
Rice grain and white rice.Image via 
Person eats rice.Image via 
Washing and rinsing rice. 
Mother and daughter eating rice meal.Image via 
Bees feeding on food source.Image via 
In the depths...Pexels | francesco ungaro
Hope the lights stay on. Pexels | parfait fongang
"That was beyond crazy..." YouTube | 
"This is the stuff of my nightmares..."YouTube | 
"Totally blown away..." YouTube | 
A representative Image of The Atlantic Ocean. Source: Pexels | Kellie Churchman
Representative Image Source: Painting from a series by Ernest Untermann in the museum at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.
Representative Image Source: VARIOUS DINOSAURS IN GOBI DESERT. Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images
Great white shark pokes its head above water.Image pulled from YouTube video - Photo taken by Geraldine Fernandez
Great white shark swims in the ocean.Image via Canva - Photo by lindsay_imagery
President Donald J. Trump and photo of a forest.
Public united and adamantly opposes Trump’s plan to roll back the Roadless Rule
There doesn't seem to be much agreement happening in the U.S. right now. Differing moral belief systems, economic disparity, and political divide have made a country with so many positives sometimes feel a little lost. Everyone desperately seeks a niche, a connection, or a strong sense of community to which they can feel a "part of," rather than just "apart."
But there seems to be one thing that the country strongly unites over, and that's the "Roadless Rule." With the Trump Administration attempting to roll back conservation policies that protect U.S. National Forests, Americans are saying in harmony an emphatic "No." A nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization, the Center for Western Priorities, reviewed a comment analysis on the subject. After receiving 223,862 submissions, a staggering 99 percent are opposed to the president's plan of repeal.
What is the 'Roadless Rule' policy implemented in 2001?
The Roadless Rule has a direct impact on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests. Enacted in 2001, it is a conservation rule that protects some of the least developed portions of our forests. It's considered to be one of the most important conservation wins in U.S. history.
America's national forests and grasslands are diverse ecosystems, timeless landscapes, and living treasures. They sustain the country with clean water and the wood products necessary to build our communities. The National Parks protected under their umbrella offer incredible recreational retreats and outdoor adventure.
Why does the administration want to roll it back?
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told the Department of Agriculture in a 2025 press release, “We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires." Rollins continued, “This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient, and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz explained the Roadless Rule frustrated land management and acts as a challenging barrier to action. It prohibits road construction needed to navigate wildfire suppression and properly maintain the forest. Schultz said, “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities."
Why are people adamantly opposed to the proposed rollback?
A 2025 article in Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, expressed its concern over the protection of national forests covering 36 states and Puerto Rico. A rescinded rule allows increased logging, extractive development, and oil and gas drilling in previously undisturbed backcountry. Here is what some community leaders had to say about it:
President Gloria Burns, Ketchikan Indian Community, said, "You cannot separate us from the land. We depend on Congress to update the outdated and predatory, antiquated laws that allow other countries and outside sources to extract our resource wealth. This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless. We are not willing to risk the destruction of our homelands when no effort has been made to ensure our future is the one our ancestors envisioned for us. Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”
Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, stated, "Roadbuilding damaged salmon streams in the past — with 240 miles of salmon habitat still blocked by failed road culverts. The Roadless Rule protects our fishing economy and more than 10,000 jobs provided by commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska.”
The Sierra Club's Forest Campaign Manager Alex Craven seemed quite upset, saying, "The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago. Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”
The 2025 recession proposal would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the national forests. With so many people writing in opposition to the consensus, the public has determined they don't want it to happen.
Tongass National Forest is at the center of the Trump administration's intention to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule. You can watch an Alaska Nature Documentary about the wild salmon of Tongass National Forrest here:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The simple truth is we elect our public officials to make decisions. The hope is they do this for all of our well-being, although often it seems they do not. Even though we don't have much power to control what government officials do, voicing our opinions strongly enough often forces them to alter their present course of action. With a unanimous public voice saying, "No!" maybe this time they will course correct as the public wishes.