The Dangers of Ideology in Food Decisions: The Story of Nikolai Vavilov
A thread on how the history of making food decisions based on ideology, not evidence, is incredibly dangerous. Learn the story of Soviet agronomist, Nikolai Vavilov, and how his Darwinian ideas about evolution and genetics ran contrary to soviet ideology.
James Wong
Botanist | Science writer and broadcaster | Lives with 500 houseplants | ‘Weird plant dude’, apparently
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A thread on how the history of making food decisions based ideology, not evidence, is incredibly, incredibly dangerous.
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
(People have asked.)
And it can all be told through this story of one of my heroes:
Soviet agronomist, Nikolai Vavilov. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/izdS8BUaeR -
Nikolai Vavilov was one of the fathers of modern agriculture.
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
He was the first to discover all sorts of things about crop breeding that have allowed the world to feed itself.
His Darwinian ideas about evolution and genetics were however ran contrary to soviet ideology. pic.twitter.com/EVAuASYWnr -
The idea that some plants were innately superior to others (the basis of selective plant breeding) was thought of as a threat to communism.
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
Vavilov -whose work has saved millions of lives - was sent to a Gulag, where he died of starvation.
He was replaced by this guy. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TpYyyNIX35 -
Trofim Lysenko was a pseudoscientist who believed plants were all created equal, and it was their experiences that made them adapt to harsh conditions.
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
He rejected systematic crop breeding & instead treated batches of seeds to cold, thinking that’s all you needed to do. pic.twitter.com/DOQeqJC4SP -
This rejection of science by a nation which ironically produced one of the world’s greatest agronomists, helped contribute to mass crop failure which resulted in one of the biggest a famines in human history.
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
Millions perished. pic.twitter.com/uRacDjSTh4 -
Now, the reality is that *both* nature and nurture have an impact on plant growth and harvest yield.
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
While the vast majority of the advances that have allowed food production to keep pace with population growth were from breeding, we now know nurture has a (v minor) role too. pic.twitter.com/PuiiVRoioR -
Moral of the story?
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
Wanting to reject ideas that don’t conform to your culture is not just understandable, it’s totally natural and normal.
But so is famine.
So let’s try harder with food science and policy, as it’s hard to think of anything more important. pic.twitter.com/ccW4cIlQEP -
UPDATE:
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) June 22, 2023
Because the inevitable happened…
If you are one of the people in replies arguing that believing that plant breeding & evolution is equivalent to eugenics & white supremacy, this very thread is about the terrifying consequences of that exact way of thinking.