Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog
Agrobiodiversity is crops, livestock, foodways, microbes, pollinators, wild relatives …
My recent trip to Russia allowed me to get culinarily acquainted — albeit all too cursorily — with a bit of agricultural biodiversity I don’t know much about: buckwheat (греча). Russia used to be its largest producer. I saw it in its raw state in the market:
There was kasha for breakfast at the hotel. And I think I had the blintz too, though I’m not sure. Not spectacular, taste-wise, but pleasant enough.
Sure, the story of the sinkhole with 12,000 years’ worth of clues about the life of some of America’s first residents is fascinating. But what we all want to know is what kind of gourd is it, exactly?
Is there any ethnic food concoction that says (agro)biodiversity quite like smörgåsbord?
LATER: With vodka, of course.
All of these variants in color should be noted and celebrated, but should also be guarded by the breeders to be certain that all of them can be available to future breeders. Past breeders bequeathed this wealth of variation and adaptation to the present generation – and it is important that each generation guard the resource and present it to the next generation as a useful and viable genetic resource.