Markets

July 8, 2009July 8, 2009

Obligatory photos of agricultural biodiversity in Thai floating market go online to stifled yawns

I’m very ignorant about SE Asia, so I assumed that the famous (or infamous) “floating market of Bangkok” would be in Bangkok, rather than over 100km away. I also didn’t really expect it to be quite the tourist trap it is. Oh well. But they do sell a remarkable variety of fruits, vegetables and other assorted agrobiodiversity there. Go to my Flickr page and leave as many identifications as you can.

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July 8, 2009July 8, 2009

Nibbles: Kerr reports, Monsanto shares, Thailand patents

Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture mourns loss of agricultural biodiversity, issues report.
Monsanto “shares with farmers the science behind the technology.” Nice of them.
Thailand patents (transgenic) jasmine rice to “keep foreigners out of our paddy fields.” So much to say about this, so little time.

July 7, 2009July 7, 2009

Nibbles: Traditional knowledge, Opium poppy, Fish, Bees, Earthworms, Wild horses, Camel, Fearl rabbits, Guinea savannah, Kava

“In the face of climate change, keeping diverse, resilient ecosystems is one of the strongest tools for adaptation.”
Getting high in Eden.
Chinese ate freshwater fish 40,000 years ago.
British MPs finish cleaning their moats, decide to save the honeybee.
Worm power!
LEISA 25:2 is out.
Przewalski’s horse gets first ever reverse vasectomy.
Early farmers used camel-drawn carts.
Using Google Earth to map bunnies in Australia. And then kill them.
Farming the savannah. What could go wrong?
Stressed out? Try kava. With audio goodness.

July 6, 2009July 6, 2009

Nibbles: Rice breeding, ICRISAT, Arkansas heirlooms, Rice domestication, Livestock products

Oldest rice research facility in Western Hemisphere turns 100.
ICRISAT DG plugs his genebank, says “India should start investing for the long-term sustainability of the farming sector particularly in dryland agriculture.”
Seed-saving in Arkansas.
The Archaeobotanist reviews rice domestication. And again.
Nordics to discuss how to develop products based on local livestock breeds.

July 2, 2009July 2, 2009

Nibbles: Grains, Cuba, Wine, Raspberries, Film, Bio-char, European market regulations

Perennial grains need your help.
“In Cuba no one is helpless or dying of hunger.”
Biodiversity in wine champion. But what about other cultivated species?
“It’s called Ukee and it is a very special red raspberry“. Jeremy says “BTDTGTTS.”
A sceptic evaluates “Food, Inc.”. Jeremy says “we shall see”.
“I hope that the charcoal fever passes and the zealots and rent seekers move on to the next big fantasy”. May they pyrolize in Hell.
Welcome, “curly cucumbers, crooked carrots and mottled mushrooms“!