The concept of biodiversity includes the genetic diversity of all life, the ecological diversity and ecosystems of our planet, as an evolutionary natural process of millions of years and refers to plants, animals and microorganisms, while the biosphere represents a life insurance contract for the species that evolve and especially for humans.
The soil undergoes various forms of degradation, together with the climate, burdening the health of citizens and threatening the safety of food and feed.
The Montreal Convention in 2000 on biodiversity and biosecurity, in Greece was formulated as a National Strategy for biodiversity with three dimensions a) ecological sustainability, for preservation of biological diversity and sustainability of ecosystems, b) economic sustainability for balanced development and c) social sustainability for the protection of citizens.
Greece, small in area with a remarkable, but biodiversity of endemic species of flora, comes first in Europe and the Mediterranean as an important gene bank due to the long-term exercise of mild human activities (agriculture, animal husbandry).
The process of industrialization of food goods leads fatally to the disappearance of the link between man and nature, we therefore need to re-cultivate taste as a complex game of pleasure combining cooking with tradition.
Genetically modified food and feed are marketed in the EU, following a scientific risk assessment in the context of the revised Lisbon Strategy. In Greece, genetically modified products are not available as organic agriculture and animal husbandry are an economic and cultural driver of the development of the Greek countryside with principles and rules for farmers for animal welfare, environmental protection and the preservation of the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems, therefore in 2010 , UNESCO recognized the Mediterranean diet as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity and an eternal symbol of health, well-being and longevity, while WHO ranked olive oil and the Mediterranean diet as the healthiest diets (MedDiet).
Seeds are public property and can be reproduced by anyone, while seeds produced by private seed industries are protected by intellectual property and patent and therefore cannot be freely reproduced. Indeed, whoever controls the genetic material of seeds controls the global diet.
Today, only 10% of the traditional seed varieties are cultivated 100 years ago, the plant varieties of the islands and other geographically isolated areas took centuries to genetically adapt to the nutrient-poor soil and general microclimate of the area, developing good yield with quality without require fertilizers or pesticides.
“Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control people.” — Henry Kissinger
Konstantinos Kouskoukis
Professor of Dermatology
Lawyer
President Hippocratic Academy of Thermal Medicine
President World Academy of Chinese & Complimentary Medicine