Nibbles – Page 401 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

September 29, 2008September 29, 2008

Nibbles: Tamarind, Fire, Aquaculture

A single tree that is also a genebank? Holy tamarind.
Looking to kangaroo bones for evidence of Aboriginal terraforming.
African fish farming links. Via.

September 26, 2008September 26, 2008

Nibbles: Markets, Edible schoolyard

September 25, 2008September 25, 2008

Nibbles: Hops, Green Revolution, Leeks, Hemp, Ethical eating, Cuba, Farmers’ markets

Brewers vertically integrate themselves. Like Snoopy Miller.
They met, we ate.
Roman garden recreated in Wales, complete with leeks.
“There are around 45,000 different uses for hemp.”
Drawing the ecotarian line.
Cuban urban agriculture sprouts anew after Ike.
List of farmers markets in the US. Luigi asks: where’s the GoogleMaps mashup?

September 23, 2008September 23, 2008

Nibbles: New Agriculturist, Sheep, Jatropha, Carrots

All about potatoes.
Mutant sheep to attack Australia.
An Indian Jatropha genebank in the news. And a study to tell us where to collect more using some really cool software.
The ‘Purple Dragon’ carrots are coming up in a variety of colours but mostly not purple.

September 22, 2008September 23, 2008

Nibbles: Goats, Fowl, Goats & fowl, Bees

Kenyans turn to dairy goats.
Ugandans advised to turn to local chickens.
Kenyans told: “Change your old farming methods or face starvation.” Jeremy says: “I’m confused.”
Irish bees — rescue plan. Thanks Danny.

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