- “The mysterious extract soon worked its neurotransmitter magic. We gazed enraptured into each others now-blazing eyes, and fell madly in love.”
- Identifying Darwin’s gourd. Both via.
- When are genetic methods useful for estimating contemporary abundance and detecting population trends?
- CGIAR going to evaluate the impact of their varieties. Again.
Science does food security
You’ll remember Jeremy waxing lyrical a few days back about a Science paper on “the challenge of feeding 9 billion people.” That paper now finds itself part of a special issue on food security. ((Which is also the subject of a NY Times blog post.))
In the 12 February 2010 issue, Science examines the obstacles to achieving global food security and some promising solutions. News articles introduce farmers and researchers who are finding ways to boost harvests, especially in the developing world. Reviews, Perspectives, and an audio interview provide a broader context for the causes and effects of food insecurity and point to paths to ending hunger. A special podcast includes interviews about measuring food insecurity, rethinking agriculture, and reducing meat consumption.
A lot of it is behind a paywall, but something that isn’t is Radically Rethinking Agriculture for the 21st Century. That radical rethink, in case you’re wondering, consists of using more biotechnology and saline water. Right.
Nibbles: Haiti, Talets, Burukutu, Citrus diversity, Fish
- Rebuilding Haiti’s agriculture on the back of diverse tissue-cultured banana plantlets.
- Rhizowen’s hidden talets. And no, that’s not a misprint.
- “The age long drink, also known as BKT, serves as a source of alcohol for those who lack the financial means to patronise refined brew like beer and other foreign or imported drinks.” Count me in.
- Citrus diversity — is the genetic blueprint the only way to enjoy it?
- The collapse of wild-caught fish. In brief.
Nibbles: Farmers’ Rights, Seed Breeder, Genebanks, Pigeon Pea, Cheese
- Farmer? Know your rights.
- If you like long unexpurgated interviews, you like this one with organic breeder John Navazio. h/t Bishop.
- Cropgenebankknowledgebase’s blog seeks feedback. Let ’em have it.
- What is Crop Genebank Knowledge Base? A presentation reveals all.
- ICRISAT set to release three new hybrid pigeon pea varieties.
- “Cheese has an almost limitless variety. Thank goodness.“
Patenting systems good for vegetable diversity
Here’s a turn-up for the books. Our friends at the CAS-IP blog link to a couple of papers that examine the influence of intellectual property rights on vegetable diversity. I’m going to come right out and admit that I haven’t read the papers. But like CAS-IP, I’m intrigued by this quote:
More than 16% of all vegetable varieties that have ever been patented were commercially available in 2004.
Or, to put it another way, less than 84% of all vegetable varieties that have ever been patented were no longer available in 2004.
The primary argument for maintaining crop diversity ((I’m not sure that that would be my primary argument, but let that be.)) is based on the need to maintain a safety net of genetic diversity, to have a broad supply of genes available to breeders who can create more productive, weather-hardy, insect resistant, fungus resistant, and better-tasting crops. … If the meaning of diversity is linked to the survival of ancient varieties, then the lessons of the twentieth century are grim. If it refers instead to the multiplicity of present choices available to breeders, then the story is more hopeful.
The crucial part, of course, is how to measure diversity, and how you interpret it. I deliberately snipped out what I consider the money quote from the passage above. Here it is:
We hope our findings stimulate a discussion about the proper measure for that diversity.
Off you go. Discuss away.