- Rethinking rice-based agriculture in Assam.
- And China, maybe?
- By breeding your way out of the problem, maybe?
- And then patenting the result? Well, maybe not.
- Here comes fair-trade quinoa.
- Nordic cheeses to go with those insects from a few days back. Lack of Norwegian representation pointed out, as well as a remedy.
- I wonder how many Italian cheeses are made from the milk of endangered breeds. Well, now the relevant association has a Facebook page, so I can ask them.
Nibbles: Fertilizer taxes, Sustainable brewing, Naked oats, New potatoes, White veggies, EU seed law, CGIAR policy, Grassland connectivity, Llama meat, Seed eating, Agroecology
- Intriguing: how about a sliding scale for fertilizer taxes?
- Dubious: sustainable brewing in Bogota.
- Surprising: naked oat seeds in Canada.
- Challenging: new coloured potato varieties are nutritious and pest-resistant.
- Illuminating: white veggies are nutritious too.
- Important: EU seed vote coming up.
- Belated: CGIAR goes open access.
- Intoxicating: Japanese drink fermented hydrangea leaves.
- Obvious: Cars move grassland seeds.
- Freaky: interspecific grass hybrid for flood prevention.
- Tasty: Fine carnivorous dining in Bolivia.
- Metaphysical: granivory is murder.
- Political: UK government supports agroecology.
Nibbles: Biofuels, Edible soybeans, Food policy, Nutrition rules, Seed course, TEK index, Doubled haploids, Pigeon fanciers, Gum arabic, Livestock goods & bads, Spanish genebank, SADC seed law, Heirloom tomatoes
- Big Oil vs Big Corn. The Economist says End the ethanol tax.
- Grow edamame, young farmer.
- Agri experts call for a comprehensive food policy in Pakistan. Not gonna happen. There or anywhere else.
- But is this where it would start?
- Utterly confused by second-hand sources, I’m sending you straight to the horse’s mouth for information on Plant genetic resources and seeds: Community resilience in the face of change, a three week course in November 2013.
- Yeah, but will they teach you about Terralingua’s Vitality Index of Traditional Environmental Knowledge?
- CIMMYT doubles its haploids centrally now, at least in Africa.
- He coulda been a contender, but instead he breeds pigeons. Which is just as good, in my estimation.
- Photo essay on Sudan’s gum arabic industry.
- ILRI spell out the pros and cons of livestock. Always good to have the data.
- Who needs a national seed bank when you can have local ones like this one in Spain?
- Remember that draft SADC seed law RAFI didn’t like yesterday? Well, they’re not alone.
- Remember that Syngenta tomato that won that award yesterday? Well, now try these.
“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.
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.