Nibbles: Business, CGIAR & FARA, Agrobiodiversity Index, Beans, Artisanal sake, Nabhan on mezcals, Kernza anniversary, Fish diversity, Amazon trees, Dark extinctions

  1. Gardening pioneer says “Be as diverse as possible!
  2. Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, says businesses should be as biodiverse as possible.
  3. CGIAR and FARA launch an initiative to transform agriculture in Africa but the role of biodiversity is unclear.
  4. Maybe they should embrace the Agrobiodiversity Index, now that it has won a big prize.
  5. Speaking of agricultural biodiversity and prizes, here’s a podcast on the EXARC Experimental Archaeology Award winning project “Investigating the Origin of the Common Bean in the New World.”
  6. A trio of pieces on agrobiodiverse products: sake, mezcal, Kernza.
  7. Don’t forget fish need to be as diverse as possible too.
  8. Ok, not agriculture-related, but this visual essay on finding the tallest tree in the Amazon is really cool.
  9. Not so cool: some species you can only see in natural history collections. The world is not as diverse as possible.

Brainfood: Domestication treble, Introgression treble, Biodiversity mapping double, Oak conservation, Niche modelling double

Brainfood – Nutrition Edition: Sweet potato double, Seaweed, Fruits & vegetables, Chickpeas, African Indigenous crops, Vegetables, Grapes, Meat

Are rare breeds important for the conservation of genetic diversity?

Today is the International Day of Biological Diversity. As it happens, Eat This Podcast today published an episode that raises a question I have seldom seen given any serious discussion. Are rare breeds important for the conservation of genetic diversity?

Like all headline questions, the answer is probably “No”. Let me explain.

Continue reading “Are rare breeds important for the conservation of genetic diversity?”

Brainfood: Vanilla diversity, Moth bean diversity, Lablab genome, Wheat allergens, Strampelli, Core collections, Collection structure, ITK, Sambal diversity