Nibbles – Page 428 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

February 20, 2008February 24, 2008

Nibbles: Honey, seeds, bioprospecting, chocolate

Haagen Dazs understands. No bees = no honey and no fruit.
Over-excited about seeds. Jeremy comments, “It’s that time of the year”.
South Korea bioprospecting in Costa Rica.
A round-up of recent (bad) news on the chocolate front.
Namibia: no country for vegetarians.

February 18, 2008February 19, 2008

Nibbles: Japan, BBC TV, sauce, basmati, banana

Indoor farms in Tokyo, growing a diversity of non-pot crops, to train yoof. Via.
BBC News web site picks up on BBC World TV documentary on neglected species.
The geography of sauce in South Carolina.
India and Pakistan find something to agree on: basmati rice.
Have we already mentioned this new book on bananas?

February 17, 2008

Reflections on dog breeding

Nice pictures of livestock guardian dog breeds. And a plea for lumping.

February 17, 2008February 18, 2008

Calling a spade a spade

An – ahem – unusual view of the Green Revolution. Via 2blowhards.

February 15, 2008

History of lettuce

Romaine, the oldest lettuce…

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