Worldmapper has a new series of cartograms out, and very depressing they are too. 1 They show the size of territories scaled in proportion to the absolute numbers of deaths from various causes. Look in particular at the nutritional deficiencies map. But for a real shock, check out the specific map for vitamin A deficiency. Remember, this is something that is totally preventable, thanks to agrobiodiversity. No wonder that scientists working in Africa have highlighted the importance of high beta-carotene sweet potato cultivars in the recent global survey of sweet potato research priorities carried out by the International Potato Centre (CIP). 2 Coincidentally, I also found today a report on an attempt to promote sweet potato (and other root crops) on the ground in Africa, focusing on women and homegardens. 3 The researchers say that one of the things that can be useful in encouraging adoption is providing information on nutritional benefits.
Food data online at NAL
Historic USDA food composition tables digitized.
Herbal remedies
Aromatic agrobiodiversity was in the news and the peer-reviewed literature today. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) got a good write-up in ScienceDaily. It turns out that one of chemicals found in its spiky leaves — carnosic acid — can protect the brain from free radicals, but is only activated by the damage caused by these compounds. Otherwise it just sits there doing nothing, which is what you want in a drug. Anyway, there are lots of different varieties of rosemary, and different levels of carnosic acid among them. There are also wild populations in the Mediterranean, as of other herbs as well, and people who make a living harvesting them from the garrigue. That can sometimes be overdone, resulting in damage to the plants, and to the environment, due to increased soil erosion when it rains. So a study from Spain just published in the journal Catena is welcome. It quantified how much harvesting of various aromatic shrubs (lavender, oregano, sage and santolina) you can do before the soil starts to suffer. The recommendation is to leave 50% of the plant biomass in the field.
Human and baobab distribution in Mali
People and baobabs are kinda symbiotic.
More on SRI
Remember the somewhat controversial System of Rice Intensification (SRI)? Well here’s a video of it being taught in farmer field schools in Thailand. The work is being done by the Asian Institute of Technology and Thai Education Foundation on a small grant from the CGIAR Challenge Programme on Water and Food. I found a report on the project from mid-2006, but it seems only preliminary.