Well I must say I never thought breadfruit would make it to Newsweek, but it has. Well done, Diane!
Traditional tattoo dye to go mainstream
The report in FoodNavigator seemed pretty boring at first sight:
EcoFlora has developed a natural, acid-stable blue coloring for foods, beverages and cosmetics and it says the creation of a sustainable supply chain differentiates it from other colors on the market.
But then I googled the plant involved (“edible jagua fruit, which grows in the Chocó rainforest” of Colombia). It turns out jagua is Genipa americana, which is cultivated for its edible fruit, but also has other traditional uses.
South American Indians bathe their legs in the clear liquid obtained from the fruit. The liquid has an astringent effect. When the liquid oxidizes, it stains the skin black. These stains are permanent, but only color the top few layers of skin, and thus disappear after about a fortnight, when the skin is naturally shed. As South Americans Indians went into battle, they used to paint themselves with Genipa juice and annatto.
The active compound is called genipin. Apparently, there’s been a “recent explosion in the popularity of Jagua body art.”
There’s nothing in the FoodNavigator piece about where the idea for this “natural, acid-stable blue coloring for foods, beverages and cosmetics” ultimately came from. However…
EcoFlora says it is committed to working with some of the poorest communities in the region to harvest the fruit in a manner which is environmentally sustainable and beneficial to the local economy.
Well, that’s something, I suppose.
Cherries come and go
The FreshPlaza newsletter is a veritable treasure trove of information on fruit & veg around the world. Yesterday’s issue was particularly rich in agrobiodiversity articles. Among other things, it pointed to pieces about how the British are losing their cherry varieties, and about how a Washington State farmer found a new one. There was also an appreciation from Pakistan of the local fruit known as “jamun“, which is probably Syzygium cumini.
Nibbles: Potatoes, Tortillas, EU agricultural promotion, Human diversity, Children
- Potato fest at the Vavilov Institute next week. Report for us!
- Gary Nabhan on tortillas made of “mesquite pods, the flour of ground, popped amaranth seeds, wheat flour and olive oil.”
- EU to fund promotion of agricultural products, including information campaigns on the EU system of PDO, PGI, TSG, QWPSR et al. Via.
- Diversity good even within individuals.
- Engaging children in Sahelian agriculture and agrobiodiversity.
Climate change and fruit
A long report in the LA Times reminds readers that climate change is not all about droughts and floods. It’s also about winter chill. Many fruit trees absolutely must have a certain number of cold days in the winter to prepare them for spring blossom and summer fruit. Those chill days are declining fast in California’s Central Valley.
“Climate change is not just about sea-level rise and polar bears,” said UC Davis researcher Eike Luedeling, lead author of the study. “It is about our food security. Climate change may make conditions less favorable to grow the crops we need to feed ourselves.”
Can’t argue with that. But are California’s fruit farmers likely to experiment, as the farmers of Kazakhstan have done, with planting different varieties, maybe even seedlings, to see whether any of these are better able to produce under different conditions? Somehow, I doubt it.
HT: The Ethicurean.