Nibbles: European agricultural origins, Drought, Native American ranching, Sorghum, Anthocyanins in apples, Dog coat, Pear cider

Farmers headed into Europe. As it were.
BBC slideshow on drought in NE Kenya and its effect on pastoralists.
Might they have something to learn from the Sedillo Cattle Association at Laguna Pueblo, NM?
The script of a radio programme about drought-resistant sorghum in Karamoja, northern Uganda. I can’t find the programme itself.
The genetics of red-fleshed apples.
Just 3 genes account for all dog fur phenotypes. But “[w]hat’s important for human health is the way we found the genes involved….rather than the genes themselves.”
Pear cider makes a comeback.

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.