Neglected species

September 24, 2007September 26, 2007

Giant swamp taro analyzed

More of one of our favourite leitmotifs. Lois Englberger tells me her team’s latest paper on variety-level nutritional composition has been accepted by the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis ¹.Â It won’t actually be out for a few months, but here’s the abstract to whet your appetite:

Continue reading “Giant swamp taro analyzed”

September 24, 2007September 24, 2007

NTFP and poverty

Collecting wild foods an “efficient method of subsistence.”

September 23, 2007

Root crops vs grains

Do we need more vegeculture? Via Tucsonivores.

September 15, 2007September 16, 2007

Pachyrhizus power

Yam bean a major high-proteinÂ starch staple?

September 13, 2007

New Agriculturist

Latest New Agriculturist: focus on non-wood forest products.

1. Ancient farmers didn’t have to wait for the genetic diversity that made domestication possible. They selected from variation already present in wild plants, including the ancestors of rice and maize. Domestication was as much about spotting (or happening upon) useful differences as creating new ones.
2. English colonists in America called Indigenous dogs “wolves,” revealing as much about colonial perceptions as about the animals themselves. This history of Indigenous dogs shows how unfamiliar animals were classified through peculiarly European ideas about wildness.
3. Austria is bringing forgotten apple varieties back to life. Saving old varieties in genebanks is one thing: getting people to grow, sell and eat them is another, but it can be done. Or at least tried.
4. Jordan’s olive-oil heritage centres on traditional varieties such as Nabali and ancient Rumi trees, but most production is consumed locally, leaving exports limited and making provenance, cultivar and harvest date important indicators for buyers. Compare and contrast with Austrian apples.
5. Small island developing states have distinctive food cultures and ingredients, but face particular challenges in building sustainable and resilient food systems. FAO’s A Taste of SIDS explores the connections between island food, biodiversity and culinary heritage. Nice to see diversity within crops considered, though a few local variety names would have been nice.
Published on October 21, 2026