Jeremy Cherfas

January 13, 2012April 10, 2024

Erna Bennett papers

8 September 1971: Erna Bennett receives the Meyer Medal from Ralph Phillips, watched by FAO DG A.H. Boersma.

Thanks to Helmut Knüpffer of IPK Gatersleben, for his comment pointing to two important papers relating to Erna Bennett.

Erna Bennett: Her Career and Convictions and An Interview with Erna Bennett by IS Cunningham provides an insight into some aspects of her personality and drive. (Diversity 5(2 & 3), 60-63, 1989. As with the Ceres article reprinted by The Ecologist, if you do download and skim through the whole issue, you might, like me, wonder what on Earth we’ve all been doing for the past 40 years.)
Award of Meyer Memorial Medal to Erna Bennett of FAO, including Presentation by Dr. Ralph W. Phillips, Miss Erna Bennett’s Acceptance, and Statement by Dr. A. H. Boerma. 1971. (J. Heredity 62(5), 277-279. That one’s behind a paywall, although I reckon snagging the photo above constitutes fair use.)

Helmut also wrote: “I just went to the Mansfeld Library. There are 2292 reprints in the “Reprint Collection Erna Bennett” sorted alphabetically by author and then numbered 1-2292.” Good to know.

And a couple of other links. Grain, the NGO, published its own tribute. Grain’s archives contain a piercing essay from Erna on The Summit-to-Summit Merry-go-Round, which should be on the reading list of everyone with an interest in agricultural biodiversity and the context surrounding its conservation and use.

January 13, 2012January 13, 2012

Nibbles: Citizen science! Apples in Vietnam, Pyramid builders, Ecosystem services, Vegetable network, India’s shame, Dryland diversity

Unlike spring, we’re late to The Guardian’s citizen science map of “weird nature”. Please Sir, can we have one for agriculture?
Apples in French Indochina; more histoire des pommes française, or something.
Scaling up food supplies — in ancient Egypt.
“Conserving biodiversity could benefit the world’s poor,” it says here.
South Asian boffins launch regional vegetable research network. Only 5 crops, but open-pollinated varieties will be included in the trials.
“Ending malnutrition is a matter of political will. If India wanted to address childhood malnutrition in any serious way, it could.” Marion Nestle lays it on the line.
Diversity in drylands linked to greater resilience. A press release, and a news report.

January 12, 2012January 17, 2014

Nibbles: Beetle diets, Seed hunters, NUS, Food security, Indian malnutrition, Craft Irish beer, Nordic livestock, Prosecco DOC, Artemisia, CGIAR

Predators hunt for a balanced diet. So it’s not just people?
Seeds of High Asia. Saudi Aramco World gives respect to the seed hunters.
Obscure crops and an obscure book. Dorian Fuller gives respect to the neglected.
“For the time being, I genuinely believe we must maintain yield growth, but we need to ensure that we preserve the natural capital for the future.” UK Food Security Czar speaks.
Indian PM mea culpa on malnutrition. Will he listen to the above? Would it help?
Beer in Ireland. Not Guinness. I may be gone some time.
Nordics discuss AnGR and climate change. Successfully, natch.
Prosecco runs to the IPR ramparts.
Video on growing Artemisia to fight poverty.
Help the CGIAR with its tagline. Beyond irony.

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012

Become a plant breeder, online!

News to me. Something called Extension “is an interactive learning environment delivering the best, most researched knowledge from the smartest land-grant university minds across America.” And next week, on January 21st, you can take part in 2 webcast workshops. Here’s the blurb:

This webinar is two 90-minute sessions with a 30-minute break between sessions.
Breeding for Nutrition: Organic eaters want nutritious food, but some modern breeding programs may be increasing yields at the cost of nutrition. Learn about breeding programs working with classical breeding methods (non-GMO) to breed nutritionally superior crops.

Breeding for Microbial Interaction: Many beneficial soil microorganisms provide plants with access to nutrients, improve water uptake and even have the potential to suppress certain soil borne diseases. The ability to breed plants to optimize their interaction with the soil microbiology holds great potential to enhance organic farming systems. Hear about the latest studies in this important and expanding field.

Loads more at the Registration and further information page.

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012

Nibbles: Brazil, Canada, Book, Lebanese food, Threatened dispersal, Jeanne Baret, Avinoam Danin

In Mato Grosso, deforestation rates fell as agricultural production rose. I know.
“Imagine Ontario without … a maple leaf.” It’s easy, if you try.
Got a case study in Community Based Adaptation (to climate change)? A book author wants to hear from you. h/t CAPRi.
And here are some case studies on local foods and nutrition, from Lebanon.
BBC reports on an Indian study: Plants at risk from seed dispersal threats. No mention of seed systems, formal or informal, that support agricultural plants.
First woman to circumnavigate the world was a botanizing French herbalist.
Veteran Israeli botanist interviewed, mentions crops wild relatives without actually calling them that.