…and you can download the discussion document and comment on it here. Via Non-Wood Forest Products Newsletter((FAO’s link is broken.)).
Archaeo-agrobiodiversity discoveries highlighted
Squash seeds and chickens feature among the Top Ten discoveries of 2007, according to Archaeology Magazine. I believe we linked to both of these stories when they first appeared. The article on Polynesian breakthroughs also mentions work on pigs that we blogged about.
Rice maps
I’ve linked on a couple of occasions to Robert Hijmans’ rice maps, as published in IRRI’s Rice Today magazine. Robert has now put these all together on a single webpage. Good idea.
FAO highlights giant swamp taro
A press release by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has highlighted a paper in the latest edition of the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, sponsored by FAO.  The study reveals the potential health benefits of giant swamp taro, an increasingly neglected crop in Micronesia, where there are serious nutrition problems, as traditional foods are being replaced by imported foods of lower nutritional content. The release points out thatÂ
… a group of researchers from the Federated States of Micronesia, Switzerland, Fiji, Australia, USA, and Palau have generated new data, and confirmed previous findings, showing that Micronesian giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma merkusii) varieties are rich sources of nutrients. For the first time, the researchers present data on carotenoid and mineral content of many varieties of giant swamp taro, in addition to dietary characteristics of Micronesian citizens. According to lead researcher Lois Englberger, certain varieties contain high amounts of micronutrients, including beta-carotene and essential minerals such as zinc, iron, and calcium.
The full press release can be found here. ((Thanks to Lois Englberger for this information.))
Grapes of wrath, Italian style
You may recall a number of posts over the past few months about how Europe intends to protect traditional farmers and producers — and the agrobiodiversity which underpins their livelihoods — in the face of globalization through, for example, the use of appellations of origin. A recent article in The Economist told the success story of one such appellation — prosecco, a sparkling wine made from the grape of the same name in a restricted area north of Venice. It seems to be taking off in a big way, and I’m not surprised: a chilled glass of good prosecco on a summer evening can be pretty much guaranteed to hit the spot. There is, however, a cloud on the horizon, in the unlikely shape of Paris Hilton. You see, everyone’s favourite socialite has been appearing in ads for a down-market prosecco (sold in cans!), and the president of the wine growers association of Treviso doesn’t like it at all: “Paris Hilton is sensationalism. It’s not good. It’s not adequate for Prosecco.” ((Thanks to Michael Hermann for pointing out this story. I don’t google Paris Hilton much so I doubt I’d have ever found it.)) Meetings will be held, fingers will be wagged, strong letters will be written: it’s pretty clear no stone will be left unturned by the good vintners of Treviso in their effort to protect the good name of prosecco. ((BTW, this post is further proof — if any were needed — of a very acute observation about Paris Hilton made by the great Rex Sorgatz some months ago now.))