Trade and germplasm

Want to know why New Zealand has a huge collection of temperate forage diversity in its Margot Forde Forage Germplasm Centre, part of AgResearch Ltd? Just check out its exports on the OEC website.

I learned about the OEC’s snazzy visualisations of economic data via their addictive daily game Tradle, which invites you to guess the country based on its exports.

I think we should do a version where you guess the country based on its genebank holdings, but that’s another story.

Brainfood: Trade double, Organic farming, Food vs non-food, Wild plants, Wheat yields, CWR in S Africa, Gene editing, European seed law, Farm diversity

Nibbles: Breadfruit, Cryo, Svalbard poem, Mustard, Ancient diets, Hopi seeds, Aztec houses, Invasives

  1. Your regular reminder that breadfruit could be used a lot more.
  2. Your regular reminder that cryo could be used a lot more in conservation.
  3. Your regular reminder that Indigenous knowledge could be used a lot more.
  4. Your regular reminder that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault could be used a lot more.
  5. Your regular reminder that climate change is getting personal.
  6. Your regular reminder that ancient people weren’t stupid. At all.
  7. Your regular reminder that invasive species are a big problem.

Bean there, done that

I don’t think we’ve mentioned the Global Bean Project, but it sounds like fun.

More than 40 partners across Europe, as well as in Kenya and India, share and showcase inspiring experiences and practical knowledge about legume cultivation and consumption: public gardens and seed exchanges, monthly meetings and lectures, information sheets and promotional media.

Thanks to the always useful Seeds4All Newsletter for the headsup.

Brainfood: Landrace gaps, Musa gaps, Teff use, Wheat evolution, NUS services, Phenotyping, Harappan residues, Food trade