Nibbles – Page 457 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

September 23, 2007September 23, 2007

Poisonous agrobiodiversity

UK’s only public garden of “poisonous” plants opens at Alnwick Castle.

September 22, 2007September 22, 2007

Biofuels bad

Rapeseed biofuel “produces more greenhouse gas than oil or petrol”.

September 22, 2007September 22, 2007

National fruit of Cambodia

Chicken egg banana. Not diversity, a variety name.

September 21, 2007September 21, 2007

How domestication happens

Blog commentary on a paper about serendipitous backyard domestication.

September 21, 2007September 21, 2007

Atomic energy for agriculture

Make food not war: FAO head praises International Atomic Energy Agency.

1. The COUSIN project aims to conserve (trans situ, no less) and use crop wild relatives in Europe.
2. That “use” part can be tough.
3. But that doesn’t stop the fine people at Aardaia. At least where aardaker (Lathyrus tuberosus) is concerned.
4. From alternative potatoes in the Netherlands to alternative beans in Indonesia. All in the cause of diversification.
5. No need to find an alternative to amaranth in the American SW. Not with devoted chefs on the job.
6. The Iraqi Seed Collective is taking seeds from American genebanks to that country’s diaspora in the US, and eventually back to Iraq itself. Maybe chefs will help.
7. Good thing there are genebank backups, eh?
Published on July 9, 2025