Open data, open germplasm

In opening remarks at #openagdata Vilsack mentions GRIN-Global, terms NPGS and other genebanks “keystone to international sustainable ag.”

— AgroBioDiverse (@AgroBioDiverse) April 29, 2013

And that’s not all…

Bill Gates tells #openagdata now is time for big data to solve big problems. Genomic data powers accelerated breeding. Concrete steps key.

— Trevor Nicholls (@trevornlifesci) April 29, 2013

We wait to see what those concrete steps might be. But I hope Mr Gates and Sec. Vilsack talked to each other. Or at least listened to each other’s talks. And joined up the dots.

Fresh Nibbles

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.

Published on November 7, 2024

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