Nibbles – Page 499 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

Agave paper

There’s a paper out on the diversity of Agave in Mexico, the source of tequila.

Insect diet

A Kenyan researcher tries to get people to eat more insects.

May 30, 2007May 30, 2007

Buzzing wake up call

Jennifer Dotson’s letter to the Washington Post about bee declines refers to “forgotten soldiers of the food supply”. I like that.

May 28, 2007May 28, 2007

Position of the American Dietetic Association

Position of the American Dietetic Association: We can conserve natural resources and support sustainability.

May 28, 2007March 4, 2026

Monsanto buys up seed producers

Monsanto proudly announces the formation of a group to buy up seed companies.

1. In the UK, Herefordshire’s Museum of Cider is picking up national recognition for its genebank of heritage apple trees. The BBC’s canonical autumnal apple story comes a little early this year.
2. Speaking of iconic apples, Kazakhstan is scaling up efforts to bring back the Aport, the giant heirloom that once made Almaty famous. No word of museums, though. Or cider.
3. Over in the Philippines, Department of Environment and Natural Resources is beefing up its rattan genebank to keep pace with demand, with forest stewards in Bukidnon planting seedlings to match. Furniture makers need genebanks as much as cider makers.
4. Sri Lanka’s pre-Green Revolution heirloom rice varieties, purana haal, are being eyed for their resilience and disease-management potential. Good thing they’re in the national genebank.
5. Saudi Arabia’s Jazan terraced coffee farms are turning into rural and ecotourism hotspots, proving not all agrobiodiversity needs to be in a genebank to survive. But it helps.
Published on August 9, 2026