It’s a great pleasure to help Jeremy’s latest newsletter amplify the work of the Culinary Breeding Network. There’s other interesting stuff in there, so check it out.
A very different approach to adding value to plant varieties can be found at the Culinary Breeding Network. They unite plant breeders, farmers, chefs and eaters to select varieties that fulfill everyone’s expectations while also creating marketing campaigns for new crops and varieties. (I spoke to Lane Selman, founder of the CBN, in 2016 and am looking forward to doing so again for the next season.)
The CBN shares information freely in many different ways, including a series of zines, small publications intended to “make crop science accessible, practical, and enjoyable for everyone”. Joining the series are three new zines, on tomatoes, naked barley 2.0, and breaking vegetable boundaries. All of them are packed with fascinating insights about the open, transparent pipeline that results in improved varieties and whole new crops being available. Highly recommended.