Nibbles: Taro, NTFP, Maca, Perils of new crops, Nabhan, Cockfighting, Old wine, Maya nut, Cassava Brown Streak Virus

University of Hawaii’s work on taro summarized.
Watch out for FAO’s new NWFP-Digest. Non-timber, non-wood; what’s the difference?
The transition of maca from neglect to market prominence. Free download.
Maize and malaria in Ethiopia.
Gary Nabhan interviewed. Again.
NPR on the limits of the Green Revolution.
Cocks still fighting in India.
The early Egyptians “…were very aware of the benefits that natural additives can haveâ€”especially if dissolved into an alcoholic medium, like wine or beer.”
Brosimum alicastrum to the rescue.
Uganda’s biofuel hopes dashed by virus? Say it aint so.

A paean to diverse diets is just what we all need.
And another one, from the MIT Technology Review of all places.
Menawhile, there’s only one reference to dietary diversity in the World Bank’s investment framework for nutrition.
Maybe you have to quantify that diversity before you can save it? Now where have I heard that before?
Meanwhile, Europe reports on biodiversity-friendly farming practices. Does that include the biodiversity of the actual crops? Perhaps surprisingly, yes!
You want biodiversity-friendly farming practices? Talk to Indigenous people. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has launched an e-consultation on “Preserving, strengthening and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems and traditional practices for sustainable food systems.”
There’s diversity in asparagus too.
Genebanks can help with those biodiversity-friendly practices, diverse diets and rops and Indigenous practices.
Even big international genebanks.
Even the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
But some are in trouble.
Though others are coming back.