- More carbon dioxide means more cyanide in cassava, relative to protein. Will the good news never end?
- Pollinators like diversity too.
- Another day, another genome.
- FAO surveys livestock conservation community “to evaluate the current status of existing national and multicountry conservation arrangements and reveal the possibilities for regional collaboration in the future.”
Nibbles: Indian buffalo, Indian local crops, CBD, AgricultureBridge, Kew, Geo-referencing, Cyprus, China and climate change, CC icons, Chinese AnGR, FAO information, Rose symbolism, Pacific ethnobotany, Grape history and genetics, Taraxacum
Hold on to your hats, this will make up for lost time. Hope you all had a nice break, Happy New Year!
- Video on the “Night Queen of Chilika.” Not what you think: it’s a buffalo breed.
- Indian jury calls for more work on local crops. Wait, a jury?
- Indian NGO says “[n]ational sovereignty over genetic resources could undermine food security.” Wow.
- AgricultureBridge “connect[s] practitioners to each other and to leading universities to help resolve some of the world’s most pressing questions in agriculture and conservation.” We’ll see.
- Big year for Kew: many new species described, including CWRs; many blogs launched; much geo-referencing done.
- Not agrobiodiversity, but speaking of geo-referencing and the like…
- Cypriot no man’s land good for biodiversity. Including crop wild relatives? I think we should be told.
- Chinese farmers struggle to adapt to climate change. Plenty more of this kind of thing out there, no doubt. Like this, for instance?
- And yet list of “climate change icons” only includes one plant. Something should be done.
- Chinese researchers talk about animal genetic resources conservation. If you’re frustrated at missing that, get ready for Europeans talking about the Mediterranean pig. But meanwhile, get to grips with the FAO Animal Genetic Resources Information Bulletin.
- Speaking of FAO info bulletins, feast on the ones on non-wood forest products and plant breeding.
- A rose is a rose is a rose. But for the Romans?
- Carcinogenic bark of endemic Pohnpei cinnamon not bad for you after all. If you boil it.
- “It is ironic that the despised grape Gouais blanc was not just a parent for several of the world’s best-known and most important varieties, such as Chardonnay and Gamay noir, it was the maternal parent, providing additional DNA and potentially determining important characteristics of the offspring.” Oh, so, so ironic.
- Natural rubber from weird dandelion? No, really, all kinds of boffins are working on it.
Nibbles: Quince, Coffee, Chocolate, Nutrition, Africa
- Speaking of Cinderella fruits, quince gets a good going over.
- Coffee prices and more — from the market marker’s mouth. h/t cas-ip.
- Some chocolate might help distressed coffee growers.
- IFPRI milking its Millions Fed. We highlight Improving diet quality and micronutrient nutrition and The mungbean transformation diversifying crops, defeating malnutrition.
- China gets cracking in Mozambique. Maybe they’ll be waking up exhausted seeds.
Nibbles: Fruits, Herbal remedies, Assisted migration
- Cinderella fruits hit the limelight.
- Deconstructing rainforest shamanism.
- The assisted migration debate rages on.
Niche products from Bengali cows highlighted
There’s a wonderful message just in from Dr Sandip Banerjee to the DAD-Net discussion list on domestic animal diversity. After sounding the alarm for the Rumpless Fowl and various local goat breeds of Bengal, which he says require urgent conservation efforts, he has this to say about what’s happening with the cattle ((I’ve added the links.)):
…I was overwhelmed when I saw a herd of indigenous cattle being maintained at the International Society of Krishna Consiousness (ISKON) farm at Mayapur. The herd they maintain comprises of Gir, Kankrej and Sahiwal breeds. The animals are very well maintained and it was really pleasing to see the magnificent animals and their calves. They are also marketing clarified butter (ghee) prepared from the cream obtained from the native Indian cattle, Go Ark (a traditional Ayurvedic medicine developed from the urine and medicinal herbs which has been patented Number US patent-6410059, dt 25/06/02), the other products are Pachamrit (for gastric troubles) and Ghanabati (tablets of dried cow urine). These product are developed according to the traditional Ayurvedic principles and are marketed through their outlets.
I had no idea that it was possible to obtain quite this range of products from cattle. This is how Dr Banerjee signs off:
If such good activities are carried out by societies throughout India then why are the Government Farms (which are well established and staffed) fail to deliver, I can only conclude it by saying that there is lack of serious willingness to do so at all levels.
Sounds like a gauntlet being thrown down.