- Internets all aglow today, so hang on to your hats, here we go. Drought forcing Kenyans out of maize, towards indigenous crops, wheat and rice. Wait, what?
- Making money from tree seedlings in Uganda. Including indigenous stuff. Damn you, allAfrica, why are you so good?
- ‘Turkey’ Hard Red Winter Wheat, Lake Michigan Whitefish, the Hauer Pippin Apple, and the St. Croix sheep, among others, added to Ark of Taste. Ok, I’m gonna have to see some explanation for that wheat one.
- Singing the praises of pulses. Even Virgil gets a namecheck.
- Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century? Seriously, who writes these titles?
- nth study on bees announced. And n+1st reports. And n+2nd called for. CABI does a bit of a roundup. Bless you.
- Declaration calls for “…the creation of democratic spaces for intercultural dialogue and the strengthening of interdependent networks of food producers and other citizens.” Interesting.
- Small scale farmers produce most of what Brazilians eat. And no doubt manage most of the country’s agrobiodiversity. And Cuba?
- Chinese aquaculture goes green? Riiiiight.
- “Earlier this year, farmers from the north who had benefitted from previous improved seedling activities by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) demanded for more improved seed varieties from scientists.” Oh come on, gimme a clue. What crop? Improved how?
- Medieval Bruges palace cesspit reveals dukes ate Mediterranean honey. Sybarites even then, the Belgians.
- Scientific American says IFPRI says “traditional seed varieties and livestock breeds that might provide a genetic resource to adapt to climate change are being lost.”
- Late Blight 101.
Taxonomists to keep jobs until 2515
The second edition of Arthur Chapman’s report “Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World” was launched this week.
The total number of described species in the world is estimated at just under 1,900,000 — well above the 1,786,000 in the previous report that was published in 2006 1. Chapman’s estimate of the total number of species is close to 11 million. A staggering 83% remain undescribed.
And not because taxonomist aren’t beavering away:
About 18,000 new species are being described each year (16,969 in 2006 and 18,516 in 2007). About 75% of the new species described in 2007 were invertebrates, 11% vascular plants and nearly 7% were vertebrates.
That is an impressive feat. But at this rate it will take until 2515 to describe all the species currently alive. Unfortunately, many of them will be extinct by then.
Featured: Neotropical fruits
Xavier sets Jeremy right on that carob-like fruit in Ecuador:
Must have been an Inga species (called guaba in Ecuador, not to be confused with guava, the English name for Psidium guajava, or guayaba (its Spanish equivalent). In English the species is referred to as pacay or, more attractive, ice-cream bean (I hope you had a chance to try it…)
Kew on the tubes
Kew Gardens has a new YouTube channel. Here’s the introductory video on the Millennium Seed Bank. Check out also the Facebook page. And, apparently, a new website is coming very soon. Part of the 250th anniversary hoopla? Whatever the reason, great public awareness work by Kew.
Nibbles: Future farming, Chicory, Chickens, Hungarian food museum, USDA on Facebook, Ugandan discussions, Livestock food
- Solutions for a Hungry World from PopSci: supercrops, C4 rice, remapping Africa and robots. But no agrobiodiversity.
- The symbolism of chicory.
- The backyard poultry value chain deconstructed.
- The Dobos Memorial Gastronomy Museum sounds fun.
- Join USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan at 3:45 pm ET on 1 October for a LIVE Facebook chat about local food systems.
- One-Village-One-Product in Uganda. I call that a hostage to fortune.
- Ndara, mathunzu and ngaa all that stand between drought-hit Kenyan livestock and starvation in Ukambani.