Nibbles – Page 432 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

February 4, 2008

Talking Plants

NPR’s Talking Plants blogger is in the Amazon.

February 4, 2008

India slams biopiracy

Indian Council of Agricultural Research wishes to close stable door on “theft” of biological resources: bolted horses unavailable for comment.

February 2, 2008

Reviving a lost agricultural tradition

Armenian silk production tries for a comeback.

February 2, 2008

Farming fish in the open sea

National Geographic video on fish farming and its problems.

February 2, 2008

Plantstress website

All you ever wanted to know about helping plants cope with environmental stresses.

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