- “…for many for many smallholder farmers little has changed over the decades in terms of the methods and tools they use.” Geoff Tansey would seem to agree. Nobody has told ACIAR, though.
- Cherfas favourite spread bog butter among oldest food finds.
- Why it is silly to say that GMOs are always bad.
- The Star Trek tricorder-type DNA widget comes a step closer.
- Which will make it easier to do things like working out the evolution of palms. Before it’s too late. Because of all that nasty agriculture. Anyway, read about it on page 3 of Kew Scientist, along with lots of other stuff.
- Like the taxonomy of herbal medicine, for instance, which coincidentally also comes up in a newspaper article from Australia today. Maybe some of the plants involved will go into the Kimberly Ark, whatever that is.
- Passion fruit is the next big thing in Costa Rica.
- Colombian peasant organizations go to market. Including, I bet, with passion fruits.
- Even in the struggle between man and steer, the issue is uncertain.
- Is it time for Plant Cuttings again? Thank goodness.
- I think I’ll read it with some Danish wine at my elbow. Or maybe Vietnamese coffee.
Nibbles: Livingstonia, Fertilisers, Pineapples
- Dr Livingstone’s collection, I presume?
- Friday will be World Water Day. Use fertilisers more sensibly for a win-win.
- Catching up with old news — the coconut-flavoured pineapple — Nigel Chaffey has only one question: Yes, but WHY?.
Nibbles: Phylloxera, Nitrogen fixation, Famine, Biofortification, Heritage
- What more do you need to know about Phylloxera?
- A dangerous fixation? Not us. Slate does nitrogen.
- What do zombies eat when they run out of brains, and other responses to famine.
- India’s government does the needful and embraces biofortified staples. Wish them luck.
- “Let’s turn the clock back 4,000 years.” Good idea. Now we have the time to read Agricultural heritage across the millennia.
Peas that surpasseth understanding
Today is Carlin Sunday. That’s a Carlin Pea up there. There is a lot more one could say about carlins. Indeed, I’ve said some of it myself. For now, let them be a reminder of all the choices we’ve been denied as a result of EU legislation.
Is this really a Roman mosaic of a pineapple?
Originally from the environs of the Villa Rufinella. Is it legit? And if truly ancient Roman, what is that in the upper right hand corner if not a pineapple?
LATER: I should add that I was pointed in the direction of that mosaic by a long, but fascinating, talk on “Mapping the Ancient Environment: The Contribution of Manuscripts and Texts,” 1 which in turn came to me thanks to a tweet from @mem_somerville.