Neglected species

Nibbles: Dog, Beer, Human Planet, Entomophagy, Food Atlas, Pepper, Barley

When dog was on the menu.
Going far, and far back, for beer. And indeed yeast. Always worth the effort.
BBC launches Human Planet, focusing on “man’s remarkable relationship with the natural world.” Which apparently doesn’t include agriculture.
Mexicans eat many moth species, and not just the larvae.
Amazing interactive food atlas for the US. wish I had a use for it, but someone surely does.
Breeding a “better” Jalapeño pepper — to hold more cheese, natcho.
Food as politics; the tsampa-eaters of the TAR. h/t GOOD.

Rhizowen does DIY tissue culture to clean up his tubers. And fails. This time.
Farming First endorses biofortified sorghum.
Good fences make good farmers.
Is intercropping banana and coffee worthwhile in Uganda? “It depends,” sez Jeremy.

The Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity has been up to something, but it is hard to be sure what.
IRRI is also up to something — Green super rice — but again it is hard to be sure what. Not golden at any rate.
CIAT picks its favourites from the State of the World 2011 report.
More than anyone has any right to want to know about the history and future of agricultural experimentation, but fascinating nonetheless.
The nutritive value and toxicity of grasspea and its relatives.
Milk may or may not provide some protection from malaria.
Nutrition advice, filtered for you. Jeremy sez “I like No. 6.”
Irish launch crop wild relatives website.
The feed quality of crop residues gets the treatment.

Celebrating Charles Heiser and Bob Chambers.
Quinoa coming into its own in Bolivia.
Earthscan and Bioversity International team up for new Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity book series.
Crop wild relatives not just useful to breeders, eggplant edition.
Vitamin D 101 in pictures.
Improving pitaya.
Cassava production trends in Africa in 28 slides. Twenty slides too many, but it’s always good to have the data.
Beetroot’s colour deconstructed.
Worldwatch’s 2011 State of the World was released yesterday. Gives a “compelling look at the global food crisis, with particular emphasis on global innovations that can help solve a worldwide problem.” At $19.95 a pop. But supporting material available. Here comes the commentary.
The genebank at the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council gets its 15 minutes of fame.

Interesting take on Sudan’s vote; the South has the water, and yet, currently, the food insecurity. What next?
Quinoa “isn’t lifting us out of poverty … But we are living better.”
Agrobiodiversity Management for Food Security: A Critical Review. Book, due in April. h/t PAR.
US seed industry concentration continues. Through an intellectual property lens.
New IFPRI publication on agriculture, nutrition, health. “Agriculture is the only realistic way for most people to get the nutrition they need.” Can I get a “ramen”?
USD32 million “to harness science to improve food security for millions of people in the developing world”. Get some while it lasts.