

The Ug99 fungus could wipe out 80% of the world's wheat crops - stuffthatmatter
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/14/science/sci-wheat-rust14

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pyre
While I want to be concerned if this is a very _real_ threat, I have a hard
time getting worked up due largely to the many _scares_ that we have nowadays
like 'Swine Flu' and 'Avian Flu' or even the 'Banana Fungus'. (Wikipedia is
your friend)

I realize that these things can be very real threats, but the media leeching
off of the mass fear surrounding possibilities with such far-reaching
consequences really desensitizes people. Such reporting makes it hard to sort
out which are real threats and which are not. Not only that, it makes it hard
to figure out what the _real_ consequences are if these threats are realized.

Questions like, "How does this affect wheat-related grains such as spelt?" are
not presented to the reader. So what happens if wheat production takes a major
hit? Will we be able to deal with it? Will other crops pick up the slack? Will
grains such as oats, kamut, spelt be unaffected? Are there practical
considerations related to growing such alternative grains in different
localities (the article _does_ mention that there are many varieties of wheat
bred to local conditions)?

