Most of what you ever wanted to know about soybeans in one handy lump.
Another agricultural blogger
Rafael Merchan is a native of Cali, Colombia — where I lived for a few years, and very nice it was too. He lives in the US now but seems to travel the world a lot, checking out the local agriculture, and writes interestingly about it in a blog he calls International Agriculture and Development. His latest entry has some cool pictures of agricultural biodiversity in West Africa. I couldn’t find an RSS feed but I’ll be checking in regularly.
Not so cool cartograms
Worldmapper has a new series of cartograms out, and very depressing they are too. 1 They show the size of territories scaled in proportion to the absolute numbers of deaths from various causes. Look in particular at the nutritional deficiencies map. But for a real shock, check out the specific map for vitamin A deficiency. Remember, this is something that is totally preventable, thanks to agrobiodiversity. No wonder that scientists working in Africa have highlighted the importance of high beta-carotene sweet potato cultivars in the recent global survey of sweet potato research priorities carried out by the International Potato Centre (CIP). 2 Coincidentally, I also found today a report on an attempt to promote sweet potato (and other root crops) on the ground in Africa, focusing on women and homegardens. 3 The researchers say that one of the things that can be useful in encouraging adoption is providing information on nutritional benefits.
Food data online at NAL
Historic USDA food composition tables digitized.
Community-based gardening for yoofs
How to interest children in gardening: weeding doesn’t cut it.