- Global seed searcher Adam Forbes check in.
- Filipinos greet new squashes.
- Smithsonian special feature on the American Indian. Not much agrobiodiversity, but still.
- Reviews of a couple of interesting gardening books.
- Asian Buffalo Congress 2009.
- Policies that work for pastoral environments.
- “Farmers are being encouraged to graze fewer, rarer animals, and that means the fields can sustain traditional wild flowers. It is a sweet-smelling plant and cattle and sheep love to eat it.” It is the cowslip.
- Case studies on intellectual property in agriculture and forestry.
High-altitude honey
Timothy Allen, a photographer for the BBC’s Human Planet programme, has some wonderful pictures on his site showing people and their activities in all their diversity. Last week was the turn of honey-gathering by the Bayaka people of the Central African Republic. Let’s just say you need a head for heights.
Fungus flavours fermented food
Did you know that…
[t]he edible fungus Monascus purpureus imparts a distinct flavor and red color when added to fermented rice dishes such as those served in Asia.
Neither did I. But the boffins at USDA do.
Nibbles: Slow evening, Chillis, Wild potato, Thresher
- An Evening of Conversation with Carlo Petrini: “I found it both inspiring and frustrating.”
- A retired employee of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lopez, 70, is not your typical chile farmer.
- Wild potato confers resistance to root-knot nematode. Ask for it by name: PA99N82-4
- A simple machine for threshing sorghum and millet in developing countries. Go team!
Happy 25th, LEISA!
LEISA Magazine has chosen a fitting theme to celebrate its jubilee: diversity.
It expresses itself in many ways. There are diverse landscapes and ecosystems, diverse ways of life, diverse crops and agricultural systems. Small farms have been naturally benefiting from the diversity in their natural environment.
I wont even try to summarize. The contents are here. To the next 25 years!