A bumper harvest of a traditional, well-adapted crop for which there is a huge international market has led to the resignation of a government minister. Meanwhile, other countries — where livelihoods are, shall we say, less precarious — benefit. There’s so much irony there, it could be a case study in modernist narrative. I know I’ve said it before, but if it wasn’t tragic, it would be funny. Legalize it, already!
Absinthe explained
One of the more interesting uses of agricultural biodiversity.
Non-Wood Forest Products
The new NWFP-Digest is out.
Herbal Viagra?
All you ever wanted to know about maca (Lepidium meyenii)?
World diet photos
“One picture is worth a thousand words” department: The Time feature I linked to in an earlier post has a fascinating photo essay associated with it, showing the weekly food consumption of 16 families around the world. I hadn’t noticed it until Jeremy pointed it out to me. Seems to me that if you’re trying to stay away from processed foods and have a nice, healthy, balanced diet you’re best off living in Sicily, Egypt, Mexico or Bhutan. Would be great to do something similar at the variety level, for example looking at the diversity within potatoes or wheat used by different families around the world.