Nibbles

November 3, 2008November 3, 2008

Nibbles: Orwell, Vaccines, Turkey

Orwell summarizes; ownership, ploughing, crop diversity, livestock.
Broad spectrum immunisation for plants.
Turkish agriculture blog.

November 1, 2008November 1, 2008

Nibbles: Anthrax, Sheep

The perils of working with agrobiodiversity products.
“The Nejdi sheep of today are much more beautiful than those of 10 years ago.”

October 31, 2008October 31, 2008

Nibbles: Toms, Virus, Svalbard, CIRAD

More on those purple tomatoes. And there’s lots more where that came from.
Virus weakens the response of genes that normally boost defense against pest.
“Superman had it right.”
Yeah, but France has genebanks too.
Dispatches from Terra Madre: “How are you fighting racism in your food community?”

October 30, 2008October 30, 2008

Nibbles: Wild food, Sisal, Cucurbits, Carnival, Rice blight

Zimbabwean take to wild foods, and not in a good way.
“It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see my sisal flooring.”
Gourds+Halloween=Jawdropping Creativity.
Tangled Bank 117.
“Terror agent” listing for Xanthomanas oryzae blights US rice research.

October 29, 2008October 30, 2008

Nibbles: Big tent, Certification, Macadamia, Wild harvest, Last meals

Biodiversity and ecosystems experts to enter big tent: any room for agriculture?
Japan to recognize sustainable practices that value biological diversity in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries via cute logo.
Saving drought-resistant macadamia.
Free food!
Endangered food.

1. Why the modern food system prizes uniformity even though resilience depends on diversity. Spoiler alert: follow the money.
2. Historic crop varieties are finding renewed relevance as farmers contend with more volatile weather, emerging pests and changing markets. Let’s hope there’s money to conserve them.
3. India’s traditional wheat varieties contain diversity that could help breeders develop crops better able to withstand heat and drought. Let’s hope there’s money to conserve them.
4. India announces significant progress in conserving its wild rice genetic resources. Great that there was money to conserve them.
5. Community seed banks across Kenya are calling for formal recognition and sustained support, arguing that locally managed collections strengthen seed sovereignty, preserve traditional varieties and help farming communities adapt to climate change. Yes, but are they enough without national genebanks?
6. Researchers are racing to conserve wild coffee species whose genetic diversity may provide the resistance and resilience needed to secure tomorrow’s morning cup. Is the industry contributing, though ?
7. New history of the macadamia traces its remarkable journey from Australia’s native forests to a global crop, while underscoring why conserving the remaining wild populations is essential for the crop’s long-term future.
8. Researchers at the University of the South Pacific investigate how taro can withstand climate change, combining research with conservation to help protect one of the region’s most culturally and nutritionally important staple crops.
9. Chester Zoo collects seeds from highly threatened cacti, because why not?
Published on July 14, 2026