- New Zealand supports SPC regional crops and trees genebank in a big way.
- Some of those trees are wild species that contribute to food security, and more must be done to conserve them.
- Some trees are crops of course, like mangoes, and scientists are doing their bit for them in the Philippines.
- Wait, isn’t it too early for the usual BBC saving-the-apple story? Usually comes in the autumn.
- Who needs genebanks when you can inscribe landraces in a National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- Maybe try it with fonio next?
- Or just send seeds into space?
- Maybe including macadamia, or is space not cold enough for them?
Brainfood: Rice domestication, Roman wine, Dog domestication, Earth ovens, Forest orchards, Saffron origins
- The Fits and Starts of Indian Rice Domestication: How the Movement of Rice Across Northwest India Impacted Domestication Pathways and Agricultural Stories. While cultivation of (indica) rice in South Asia began in the Ganges around 6500 BC, its domestication really speeded up 3000 years later in the Indus.
- Archaeobotanical and chemical investigations on wine amphorae from San Felice Circeo (Italy) shed light on grape beverages at the Roman time. In the second century BC the ancient Romans may have traded a medicinal wine made from wild or semi-domesticated grapevines. I wonder how it would have gone with a nice risotto.
- Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs. Either dogs were domesticated independently in E and W Eurasia and then the two lineages merged, or they were domesticated in the E and then there was geneflow from wild dogs. Sounds a bit like rice actually. ((No, really, check it out. Japonica gets domesticated in one place, then taken to another place where it gets into geneflow with indica, which is being domesticated elsewhere. Only difference is that 2 different wild species are involved, rather than just a single wild wolf species. Also maybe echoes of what happened in tomato too?))
- Bulbs and Biographies, Pine Nuts and Palimpsests: Exploring Plant Diversity and Earth Oven Reuse at a Late Period Plateau Site. For 2000 years Native Americans returned to specific food processing sites dug into the soil to cook up a storm. No word on the use of wild grapevines.
- Coupled archaeological and ecological analyses reveal ancient cultivation and land use in Nuchatlaht (Nuu-chah-nulth) territories, Pacific Northwest. Native Americans nurtured forest gardens to enrich them with edible species. Including wild apples though again not wild grapevines apparently.
- Ancient Artworks and Crocus Genetics Both Support Saffron’s Origin in Early Greece. Ok now everything is in place for a nice risotto alla Milanese with a Falanghina at the House of the Tragic Poet.
Nibbles: Animal genebanks, Wild pigeon, Uganda genebank, Biodiversity value, W African cooking, Indigenous cafes, Climate crisis & food, Reforestation
- FAO webinar series on animal genebanks.
- Quick put this wild pigeon in a genebank before it’s too late. No, really.
- Yeah but how much is a wild pigeon worth?
- Maybe if you could cook it, it might be worth more? No, really, I’m serious.
- Would be terrible to have a wild pigeon shortage.
- In fact, we need to be able to re-pigeon.
Brainfood: Ecological intensification, Green Revolution narrative, Agroecology, Livelihood diversification, Eating wild species, Seed systems, Improved peanuts, PGRFA school curriculum
- Long-term evidence for ecological intensification as a pathway to sustainable agriculture. Meta-analysis of 30 long-term experiments from Europe and Africa comprising 25,565 data points shows that increasing crop diversity and adding fertility crops and organic matter are as good for the yield of staple crops as N fertilization, but don’t add much if you already have the latter, and vice versa.
- Revisiting the adequacy of the economic policy narrative underpinning the Green Revolution. If only the Green Revolutionaries had know the above, eh? Anyway, remember institutions, people.
- Agroecological practices increase farmers’ well-being in an agricultural growth corridor in Tanzania. Higher awareness of the benefits of nature plus more engagement with extension services mean more adoption of agroecological practices means farmers are better off. Green Revolutionaries unavailable for comment. Institutions rejoice.
- Intangible links between household livelihoods and food security in Solomon Islands: implications for rural development. Diversifying livelihoods isn’t always associated with better food security.
- Access to and Utilization of Wild Species for Food and Nutrition Security in Teso and Acholi Sub-regions of Uganda. Wait, does the above mean that decreasing access to wild foods may not necessarily matter? Why does this stuff have to be so hard?
- Climate Change and Seed System Interventions Impact on Food Security and Incomes in East Africa. More crop diversity on farms “helps farmers cope with climate change and increases productivity, food availability, incomes and food security.” Not so hard after all.
- Welfare impacts of improved groundnut varieties adoption and food security implications in the semi-arid areas of West Africa. Adopting new peanut varieties is good for farmers. Wait, so the opposite of more crop diversity? Why does this stuff have to be so hard?
- Situating Plant Genetic Resource in the K-12 Curriculum: A Critical Review. Maybe we should all go back to school.
Nibbles: Livestock genebank, Purple grain, Traditional Hawaiian farming
- Call to set up a sheep genebank in Australia. Kinda surprised there isn’t one already, frankly.
- Bringing back purple wheat in the US. Spoiler alert: genebanks were involved.
- Going back to “organized chaos” in Hawaiian farming. There’s probably room for genebanks too, though.