Nibbles: Ancient oils, “AGRA”, Seed libraries, Tonka bean, MGIS, Wild Arachis

  1. Remember the book on ancient Mesopotamian cookery in the last Nibbles? Ok well here’s a website on Vegetable Oils And Animal Fats In Early Urban Societies Of Syro-Mesopotamia. Esoteric? Moi?
  2. To come back down to earth, you could always read this hot take on the AGRA rebranding.
  3. Couldn’t be more down to earth than community seedbanks, aka seed libraries.
  4. The seeds of Dipteryx odorata will make your head float.
  5. The latest news from the Musa Germplasm Information System may float your boat. It did mine. But I’m into esoterica, didn’t you know?
  6. Nothing esoteric about wild peanuts any more.

Brainfood: Indigenous crops, Indian vegetables, Local breeds, Wheat identity, Date names, Food security & heritage, Peruvian cuisine, Food sovereignty, Palestinian seeds, Tea culture, Sacred groves, Food system transformation, Diverse landscapes

Nibbles: Tree planting, Restoration genebanks, Breadfruit Summit, Rice diversity demand, Irish Seed Savers, Jordan bread, Peanut recipes

  1. Rules for tree planting.
  2. Where those trees will have to come from: thousands of seed banks.
  3. Not if the tree is breadfruit, but that’s ok, there’s other ways to conserve the stuff.
  4. The impact of a single seed bank on rice improvement measured.
  5. The impact of Irish seed banks recognized.
  6. No need for genebanks to save heirloom wheats in Jordan.
  7. Lost opportunity to mention peanut genebanks, but that’s ok there’s other ways to conserve the stuff.

Nibbles: Old olive, Silphion, Heirloom watermelon, Calabrian chili, ICARDA genebank, Jamaica genebank, Tamil community seedbank, Forestry seeds

  1. Really old olive tree in the gardens of the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba is a lost variety.
  2. Long extinct medicinal spice plant not extinct after all?
  3. The next nearly extinct heirloom on our list is a watermelon from Virginia. Who knows, it may originally have been grown in Cordoba or Cyrenaica…
  4. And moving in the opposite direction, a really hot Calabrian chili pepper beats the heat.
  5. The ICARDA genebank is trying to find stuff that will beat the heat too.
  6. Jamaica is looking to beat the heat by establishing some new genebanks.
  7. Tamil Nadu going the community seedbank route, and why not? Jamaica please take note.
  8. An alliance of forestry outfits is pushing for a global seedbank infrastructure to support woodland restoration. Nothing if not ambitious. And much needed.