Brainfood: GBIF, CWR hotspots, Feralization, Gene editing, Japanese seeds, Campesino maize, Tunisian wheat, Dietary diversity, Seed storage, GHUs
- Data integration enables global biodiversity synthesis. Biodiversity data is not enough.
- Review of congruence between global crop wild relative hotspots and centres of crop origin/diversity. Vavilov is enough.
- Feralization: Confronting the Complexity of Domestication and Evolution. Centres of diversity are not enough.
- De novo domestication of wild species to create crops with increased resilience and nutritional value. Conservation is not enough.
- Evaluating plant genetic diversity maintained by local farmers and residents: A comphrehensive assessment of continuous vegetable cultivation and seed-saving activities on a regional scale in Japan. Economic incentives are not enough.
- Beyond subsistence: the aggregate contribution of campesinos to the supply and conservation of native maize across Mexico. Small farmers could be enough.
- Unlocking the Patterns of the Tunisian Durum Wheat Landraces Genetic Structure Based on Phenotypic Characterization in Relation to Farmer’s Vernacular Name. Small farmers could be enough.
- Linkages between dietary diversity and indicators of agricultural biodiversity in Burkina Faso. Production of diverse crops could be enough.
- Seed longevity of two nutrient-dense vegetables (Amaranthus spp.). 5°C and aluminium packets are enough.
- Phytosanitary Interventions for Safe Global Germplasm Exchange and the Prevention of Transboundary Pest Spread: The Role of CGIAR Germplasm Health Units. Genebanks are not enough.
Nibbles: Ube again, Ugandan coffee, USDA job, Genebank data, Transformation
- Still have no idea whether “ube” is a yam or sweetpotato.
- Uganda breeding its way to higher coffee production.
- Wanna help USDA collect germplasm?
- But what data are you gonna record on all that new stuff?
- Chatham House says change diets, protect nature and practice sustainable farming for a better food system. Gonna need genebanks in support of all those.
Nibbles: Biofortification, Sweetpotato, Rare breeds podcast, Zooming goats, Farmers market, Three Sisters, Amazon, Grapevine resistance, Zostera
- Pretty much the last thing biofortified crops do is empower farmers to be food system change agents. But they’re still a pretty good idea.
- Same for the sweet potato in the Caribbean. On both counts.
- Jeremy’s latest on saving rare livestock breeds. Now, that would change the food system a bit.
- But would those rare breeds work on Zoom?
- Maybe this farmers market in Nairobi could stir things up a bit.
- Learning from Native American farming practices is always a good idea.
- Rethinking the Amazon development model could do with some of that too.
- Grapevine wild relatives are pretty empowering too.
- And, for at least one chef, so is eelgrass.
Nibbles: Roman cuisine, Jewish cooking, Seed sources, Prof. Moreno, English gardens, Cassava
- Very expensive new book on Roman and old reasonable one on Jewish cooking for that special person in your life.
- Places you can buy heirloom seeds for that special person in your life.
- The special person that is the new head of the UPM Plant Germplasm Bank in Spain.
- I learned from this article on a newly excavated Tudor garden about a pretty special grapevine.
- Cassava is pretty special, despite its reputation.