Intellectual property rights

March 13, 2013March 13, 2013

“Expert” admits: I don’t know the story of the Enola bean

A couple of days ago, when I Nibbled Steve Savage’s “robust defence of plant patents” I said that I did not agree, and that this would never stop me linking to things. I also left a brief comment on the blog post in question. Matthew went far further in challenging Savage’s view in a lengthy, detailed and deliciously snarky comment here. Matthew also cross-posted his comment at Applied Mythology, Savage’s blog, where Steve kinda sorta replied to the points Matthew raised. You can read the exchange there and make your own mind up. But what really, really struck me about Savage’s replies was this:

I don’t know the story of the Enola bean. Perhaps you could summarize that so I and others don’t have to go searching for that information.

I’m sorry? You set yourself up as having some sort of authority in the matter of plant patents, value of, and you “don’t know the story” of one of the most important cases in plant patent lore in recent years? Forgive me if I perhaps don’t take some of your views too seriously.

March 11, 2013March 11, 2013

Nibbles: Spelt, Fonio, Monitoring, Patents, Naked oats

Britain rekindles its love affair with spelt.
ICRISAT hopes to do the same for West African women and fonio, with a machine that grinds faster.
If you care about whether what you do has any effect on, say, agrobiodiversity, you’ll want to digest a Review of the Evidence on Indicators, Metrics and Monitoring Systems.
A robust defence of plant patents; not that I agree, which never stops me linking to things.
This is meta: Mike at One Thing Leads to Another relates how we led him to naked oats. Well, our role was pretty minor.

February 26, 2013February 26, 2013

Nibbles: Fruit hunters, Organic interview, Hunger review, Jamaican seeds, Project evaluation, Horse domestication, Maize then and now, Impact studies, Seed kits, Amazon ranching, Habitat restoration, Native potato manual, SRI

CBC documentary on collectors of fruit diversity. Anyone seen it?
Matthew Dillon of Seed Matters on organic seeds.
IFAD bigwig deconstructs Conway’s One Billion Hungry. Great summary of 400+ pages. Diversified farming systems are in there, kinda sorta.
Jamaican bill calls on someone or other to “maximize internal intra and inter-species variation to boost benefits.” They need to fix the title too. It has something to do with the ITPGRFA.
How to evaluate fisheries and aquaculture projects. Nothing in there about the importance of genetic diversity in these systems, or indeed their possible effects on the biodiversity around them.
Sculptures of horses with tack from middle of Saudi Arabian desert may push date of domestication way back.
Maize a staple, not a ceremonial condiment, in early Peruvian coastal civilizations. And also in Timor Leste for that matter. One does worry about those local landraces, though.
Latest examples of impact of investments in agricultural R&D from EIARD. Includes African indigenous veggies!
AVRDC sends vegetable seed kits to Mali. Including indigenous species, but apparently only improved varieties.
Anthropologist goes to Amazon, learns not to look down his nose at ranchers.
Millennium Seed Bank helping to restore Falkland habitats. That sort of thing can be a business, you know?
Manual for the conservation and improvement of Chiloe’s native potatoes. Should have something similar for maize in Timor, eh? And African indigenous veggies too?
You remember yesterday’s Nibble about SRI? Here’s more oil on the fire.

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013

Nibbles: Farm size, Evidence-based policy, Priority sites, Tibetan grasslands, Sustainable intensification, Lipid improvement, Medicinal plants, Local fish, Wheat access, Purple yam,

Small is beautiful. No, wait… And more from where that came, ahem, from.
Evidence? We don’t need no stinking evidence.
CIAT blogs about a workshop about a model about prioritization about populations about breeding about beans. While its peach palm thing gets picked up.
Tibetan grasslands feel the heat. Not entirely certain why ICRAF should care, but it’s good to know.
Peaches compatible with maize in Bolivian agrobiodiversity hotspot. Not nearly enough info in this release, will need to chase it up. And here it is.
Rothamstead engineers lipids. But it’s for better nutrition, so that’s ok.
Trad med in RSA.
Fish as an ingredient of complementary foods. Nutritious, I’m sure, but I suspect Crocodile Dundee’s comment on the iguana applies.
US wheat breeders worried about access. Maybe if the country ratified the ITPGRFA?
Filipinos really like purple sweets, apparently. Here are some made of purple yam, ube, Dioscorea alata, call it what you will.

January 28, 2013January 22, 2014

Brainfood: Peanuts, CC and biodiversity data, Climate change and vegetables, Biodiversity indicators, Lettuce diversity, Brazilian intensification, Brazilian natural products, English organic, Bolivian traditions, Protecting sea cucumbers, Urban meadows, Crop expansion, Chinese forests, Peach palm, Ancient RNA, Sweet potato movement, Date conservation

A study of the relationships of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and its most closely related wild species using intron sequences and microsatellite markers. It’s a wise peanut that knows its parents: A. duranensis and A. ipaënsis, apparently.
Creative Commons licenses and the non-commercial condition: Implications for the re-use of biodiversity information. The devil is in the detail. But basically, the Non-Commercial CC license is not what it sounds like.
Projecting annual air temperature changes to 2025 and beyond: implications for vegetable production worldwide. The devil is in the detail.
Essential Biodiversity Variables. There are even some on genetic diversity, and domesticated species get a mention. And no, not this sort of thing, do be serious.
Genetic composition of contemporary proprietary U.S. lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars. Romaine and crisphead much less diverse than leaf types. About 10 cultivars main ancestors. Couple wild species used. Lots of other cool stuff in this issue of GRACE. Maybe one day we’ll do a Brainfood on a single issue of a journal? Would people like that? Is anyone listening?
Insights into Brazilian agricultural structure and sustainable intensification of food production. That insight is spelled GMO. Ah, but with added agroecological and educational goodness.
Development of a Natural Products Database from the Biodiversity of Brazil. No doubt soon to be patented. See above.
Food production vs. biodiversity: comparing organic and conventional agriculture. There’s a tradeoff between biodiversity (off-farm) and yield (on farm), at least in lowland England.
Laggards or Leaders: Conservers of Traditional Agricultural Knowledge in Bolivia. Abandonment of traditional practices, including crop diversity, more to do with getting work off-farm than with age or education.
Sea cucumbers in the Seychelles: effects of marine protected areas on high-value species. They are positive.
Creating novel urban grasslands by reintroducing native species in wasteland vegetation. Seeding can create diverse native meadows in urban settings, even if people use them. I don’t know why this should make me feel so happy.
Crop Expansion and Conservation Priorities in Tropical Countries. So much for peak farmland.
Role of culturally protected forests in biodiversity conservation in Southeast China. They’re important, especially for tree diversity.
Peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) in tropical Latin America: implications for biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and human nutrition. They’re good for nutrition and income, but could be even better.
Deep Sequencing of RNA from Ancient Maize Kernels. That’s right — RNA! It confirms previous ideas, and offers a new tool to look at domestication.
Historical collections reveal patterns of diffusion of sweet potato in Oceania obscured by modern plant movements and recombination. Speaking of which, the old tools are not that bad. Yes, the sweet potato did come to Polynesia in prehistoric times from South America. But not only.
On-Farm Diversity of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L) in Sudan: A Potential Genetic Resources Conservation Strategy. Yup, there’s potential alright. Now can we see made real?