- Useful roundup of the application of modern analytical techniques to archaeological food residues.
- Medieval “greek wine” was not greek wine. No modern analytical techniques used.
- Phoenicians traded wine. Some modern analytical techniques used.
Nibbles: Genebanks in Brazil, Tunisia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Goan rice, Wheat adoption, Peruvian hot peppers & cacao, Amazonian fruits and nuts, Dates, Great Hedge of India, Conservation genetics presentation
- Safety duplicating a chickpea collection.
- Tunisia’s genebank in the news.
- Ghana’s genebank trying to save taro.
- Using a genebank to improve Elephant grass.
- On-farm conservation of rice in Goa.
- Molecular tools show that a couple of varieties account for about half the wheat acreage in Bangladesh and Nepal. Hope all the landraces are in genebanks, and safety duplicated.
- Celebrating Peruvian pepper diversity.
- Peru’s cacao diversity doesn’t need help, apparently.
- However, the Amazon’s wild-extracted fruits (including cacao and a wild relative) could be in trouble. Hope they’re in genebanks, just in case.
- How the date came to the US. Including its genebanks.
- India had a precursor of the Green Wall of Africa but nobody remembers it. Glad it wasn’t used as a genebank of sorts.
- Conservation genetics (i.e., most of the above) explained in 48 slides.
Nibbles: Missouri wine, Ancient Chinese beer, UNFSS, Biodiversity & agriculture & diets, Container genebank
- Missouri has been important to wine. Very important.
- And China to beer.
- 7 things that are important for future food systems. Spoiler alert: diversity underpins all 7.
- Why biodiversity is important to diets. And vice versa.
- Why biodiversity is important to agriculture. And vice versa.
- No worries, now anyone can have a genebank.
Nibbles: New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute, Olive genebanks, Saving old grapevines
- New institute to restore ecosystems, including agricultural ones, gets money.
- Some olive-based ecosystems certainly need restoration, good thing there are genebanks.
- Sometimes, restoring ecosystems means digging up old grapevines and moving them down the road.
The baobab infographic we’ve been waiting for
The International Year of Fruits and Vegetables is as good an excuse as any for another baobab factsheet, and infographic.
Not that an excuse has ever been needed. Anyway, this particular latest example of the genre is courtesy of From Tree to Fork, and the first of many, it seems. No mention of using the fruit to make booze, though.