- Drink vegetable diversity for better nutrition. Jeremy sez: “Too salty”. And asks: “Who paid?”
- “So why isn’t everyone living this locavore dream of having organic, free-range eggs for nearly nothing, right from their own backyard? Well, for one thing, it’s illegal.”
- Blogger Seed Network. Explained. Make it grow.
- Terra Madre, more notes from the Gristmill.
Nibbles: Cereal, Bushmeat, Aquaculture, Olive oil
- Neolithic parboiled bulgur wheat.
- Applying “catch shares” to bushmeat.
- The pros and cons of fish farming in Latin America.
- “It’s a masochistic business. Masochistic.”
Water hyacinth not so bad after all
Sure, the water hyacinth is a terrible weed on Lake Victoria. But, as I blogged last year, it does have some redeeming features, for example it can be used to make furniture. Now comes news that it can also be fed to animals, and that it shelters catfish fingerlings. ((Coincidentally, there was another heartwarming aquaculture piece from Africa in the news today.)) One man’s invasive weed is another woman’s income-earning opportunity. How long before it is officially classed as agrobiodiversity?
LATER: Ok, apologies. A comment alerted me to the fact that I had misread the article, and that hippo grass is not water hyacinth, but rather (probably) Echinochloa stagnina. The perils of common names. But the fact remains that people are making use of a plant that to many is a pest. The dividing line between useful agrobiodiversity and noxious weed can be hard to define. Thank you, Inoculated Mind.
Nibbles: Milk, Capsicum, Beef, Fruits
- Adventures in Food No. 1: Camel milk chocolate.
- Adventures in Food No. 2: Hawaiian Chili Water.
- Adventures in Food No. 3: Beef.
- Adventures in Food No. 4: Fruits from abandoned orchards.
Nibbles: Funding, Cow Gods, Ãœber Bee, Rice, Bushmeat, Oaks
- $50 million for climate change. Must be some for agricultural biodiversity. Via, which has the application forms.
- How the Egyptians came to venerate cattle.
- Building a better bee.
- Official US rice harvest forecasts 20% too high. Chinese comment: “Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.”
- How about without bushmeat?
- IUCN lists endangered oaks. Know any ex situ collections? Tell IUCN!