Mainstream

October 28, 2007

Toadstools hunted in UK

Brits record waxcaps. World holds its breath.

October 27, 2007

Cloning equines

Cloned racing mules. Cloned racing mules?

October 27, 2007October 27, 2007

My friend Tony Jansen and his friend Jon put together this fun video on the Solomon Islands. It’s ostensibly about surfing, but there’s stuff in there about agricultural biodiversity too. I met Tony when he was working at Kastom Gaden Association, a great local NGO working on sustainable agriculture and nutrition issues. We worked together on the livelihoods assessment of the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal.

October 26, 2007

Agrobiodiversity trade route could attract tourists

Travel the Frankincense Route. Three Wise Men unavailable for comment.

October 26, 2007October 25, 2007

Pumpkins are good for you

Happy (and nutritious) Halloween!

1. Ancient farmers didn’t have to wait for the genetic diversity that made domestication possible. They selected from variation already present in wild plants, including the ancestors of rice and maize. Domestication was as much about spotting (or happening upon) useful differences as creating new ones.
2. English colonists in America called Indigenous dogs “wolves,” revealing as much about colonial perceptions as about the animals themselves. This history of Indigenous dogs shows how unfamiliar animals were classified through peculiarly European ideas about wildness.
3. Austria is bringing forgotten apple varieties back to life. Saving old varieties in genebanks is one thing: getting people to grow, sell and eat them is another, but it can be done. Or at least tried.
4. Jordan’s olive-oil heritage centres on traditional varieties such as Nabali and ancient Rumi trees, but most production is consumed locally, leaving exports limited and making provenance, cultivar and harvest date important indicators for buyers. Compare and contrast with Austrian apples.
5. Small island developing states have distinctive food cultures and ingredients, but face particular challenges in building sustainable and resilient food systems. FAO’s A Taste of SIDS explores the connections between island food, biodiversity and culinary heritage. Nice to see diversity within crops considered, though a few local variety names would have been nice.
Published on October 21, 2026

Category: Mainstream

Toadstools hunted in UK

Cloning equines

Surf’s up in Solomons

Agrobiodiversity trade route could attract tourists

Pumpkins are good for you