Nibbles – Page 484 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

July 15, 2007July 15, 2007

Hemp grower persecuted

A farmer who wanted to diversify into hemp is persecuted by authority.

July 13, 2007July 13, 2007

More on bovine belching

BBC News and Der Spiegel both add details to the low-gas bovines story. Still no word from Al.

Equine obesity

Improved forages make horses obese. That and too much TV.

July 12, 2007July 12, 2007

Thai food

BBC photo essay on Thai insect-based street food.

July 12, 2007July 12, 2007

New disease: citrus greening

New disease alert: citrus greening is spreading across the US.

1. Haga Hideo’s 1950s photos of Fukushima farming rituals are now being used to revive them: ex situ conservation, but for culture.
2. Long before photography, or “pre‑breeding” was a buzzword, Belgian pomologist Jean‑Baptiste Van Mons was running massive pear selection trials and gifting us Beurré Bosc and Doyenné Boussock.
3. As Southern Africa’s miombo woodlands shrinks, scientists are cloning wild trees so the fruit — and food security — outlive the forest. Now for the pre-breeding.
4. Greenpeace Africa’s Seed Project makes the case for indigenous seeds as a route to farmer independence. And you can help.
5. And oh so coincidentally, a network of community seed banks in Kenya is rescuing indigenous seeds so the diversity is still around when opportunity (or crisis) knocks.
6. Also in Kenya, the national genebank’s collectors are racing to secure opportunity crops.
7. Nepal’s indigenous crops and landraces are at the same time more needed than ever, and under threat. So, much like in Kenya.
8. The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT says women are at the center of sustainable food systems; the fine print adds: “as they have always been.”
Published on September 30, 2026