- Spud War-of-words hots up.
- Meanwhile, in the real world, Irrawaddy delta farmers head back to their seawater-covered fields. Thank goodness for all those salinity-tolerant rice varieties, eh?
- Partake of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
- Hairy boffin breeds hairy vetch.
- Complex rotations better for yields. Diversity is good in time as well as space!
Put another shrimp on the barbie
Old cookbooks are a great way of documenting changes in taste, eating habits and diets, but I wonder if they’ve ever been used in a systematic way to track changes in biodiversity in a country’s landscape, or agricultural biodiversity — either at species or genetic level — on its farms. Such thoughts are prompted by news of an exhibition of historic Australian cookbooks, with their recipes for things like parrots and kangaroo brains. Beer is a crucial complement to much Aussie grub, of course, and I hope the hop procurement problems being encountered by the brewing industry in the US are not being experienced Down Under.
Nibbles: Maize, CWRs, CBD, Icelandic food, Coffee, Incense, Biodiversity Day, Medicinals, Farmers’ rights
- The history of tejate in Mexico illuminates “central irony of globalization.” Cheers!
- WWF says crop wild relatives and landraces in centres of diversity are threatened. Right.
- Danny Hunter reports along much the same lines from COP9, and then reports some more. Such a workhorse!
- The intricacies of Nordic food preparation. Would you say this was cooked, Jeremy?
- Today’s how-x-changed-the-world story brought to you by coffee. Great after rotten shark too.
- Frankincense is good for you. Hippies comment at length.
- Jeremy earns his keep.
- TRAFFIC promotes project ‘Saving Plants that Save Lives and Livelihoods’ at COP9, including with video.
- And the websites just keep on coming. One on Farmers’ Rights launched too.
Not just what you cook, but how you cook it
An article in the New York Times explains that different cooking methods change the nutritional value of different vegetables. There are some surprises there, which may be of interest to people aiming to get the maximum benefit from their veggies. Overall, though, I suspect those who can afford to decide whether to bake, boil or microwave are least likely to need their micronutrients, while those who have no choice also have the greatest need.
Nibbles: Fungi, Cacao, Neolithic, New fruits
- Blogger waxes lyrical about African mushrooms.
- Nigeria’s cacao tree need replanting. Will they be? And if so, which varieties will be used? And will they be grown organically?
- Arabidopsis followed farmers into Europe.
- “With the kiwi, there is adventure.“