Just because nostalgia for the foods of the past isn’t a new development, doesn’t mean there aren’t real problems with the food we eat today.
Unpack that, if you can. Better yet, read the whole thing. h/t James.
Anyone know more about E.N. Sinskaya
Our friend Danny is continuing his indefatigable search for information about Erna Bennett over at his new blog. He asked for information about “Suiskaya” and lo, another friend replied that this was probably E.N. Sinskaya, (1889-1965). Danny needs more info, if you have anything about her.
Nibbles: Breeds, Briefing, Risotto
- Breeds of Livestock. All of ’em?
- Happening now! Brussels Briefing on Biodiversity. Wot, no stream?
- The first rice farm in Italy? C’mon.
The Viking in the wheat field on the radio
Alerted by a colleague I listened to a little bit of a long radio programme featuring Susan Dworkin, author of The Viking in the Wheat Field, and assorted luminaries. The Viking in question was Sir Bent Skovmand, a plant breeder extraordinaire, and what I heard of the programme indicated that there is still profound ignorance out there about plant breeding, about agriculture, about genebanks, about GMOs, about the Global Crop Diversity Trust, about just about everything.
Of course, I have no idea what to do about any of that (other than to keep plugging away). I did like one metaphor that Per Pinstrup Anderson, former director general of IFPRI used when asked about the “problem of hunger”. Imagine yourself in a room of seventy people, he said. Ten of those won’t have enough to eat today. That’s pretty good. To which I’d add that another 10 are obese or overweight. And 20 suffer the hidden hunger of missing micronutrients.
Nibbles: Home Gardens, Seed saving, Apomixis
- Home gardens in Oaxaca, Mexico, conserve diversity and improve resilience. Good to know.
- Seed saving symposium to take place in Hawaii, April 17-18. Good to know.
- Apomixis for plant breeding a step closer in experimental systems. Good to know?