It is easy to forget sometimes that The Origin of Species actually starts with a lengthy discussion of genetic diversity in crops, ornamentals, livestock and pets, although of course Darwin doesn’t call it that. He calls it “variation under domestication,” and you can now hear his seminal words, by downloading 24 hours’ worth of audio files from here. There’s a also a link to an e-text of the book.
Mapping food and drink
I think we can all agree that it is better for all concerned – from farmers to consumers – for there to be lots of different types of beer. Problem is, some of these beers will be hard to find, and that means that they might not last in the market. Fear not: the Beer Mapping Project will show you where to go for your favourite amber nectar, at least if you live in the US. Here’s an article about the man behind the project, and the same author has also done a review of other food mapping sites here.
What farmers need to learn
Tomato farmers in Ghana have committed suicide after they failed to sell their crop, according to Ghanaweb.com. Apparently a new factory promised to buy all the tomatoes they could grow, and then failed to start on time. I’m sorry for those farmers, but I’m horrified that anyone could put their faith in one buyer — not yet functional — and one crop. I thought it was only modern, high-tech farmers who failed to appreciate the buffering benefits of agricultural biodiversity.
To cork or not to cork
Well, I’m officially in a quandary. On the one hand, with the risk of TCA-induced (that’s 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, a by-product of microbial activity) taint so high, there’s no reason except snobbishness for jettisoning natural cork for screw-tops and other ways of stopping wine bottles. On the other hand, as this article points out, producers are addressing quality concerns and cork is biodegradable, recyclable, and sustainably harvested from woodlands whose management over centuries has led to high levels of biodiversity. Pass the bottle.
Pirates of Lake Victoria
I mentioned a few days ago that the water hyacinth is making a comeback on Lake Victoria, after being almost eradicated by biological control. That’s sparked a small-scale furniture-making industry, but is obviously bad news for fishermen, who are forced to venture further out into the lake to get good catches. That’s far more than just a nuisance, according to an article in The Nation today. The further you go out from shore, it seems, the greater the danger of falling foul of pirates! The veritable heart of darkness that is the nile perch fishery on Lake Victoria is the subject of a very well-reviewed documentary, “Darwin’s Nightmare,” which I hope to see soon. Have you?