Nibbles

January 29, 2019February 5, 2019

Nibbles: A2S2019, ICRISAT seeds, High protein rice, American grapes, Religion & diet, Australian NUS

Access to Seeds comes out with 2019 edition. Not much change, alas. LATER: Ok, I stand corrected. And spanked.
Maybe this ICRISAT online seed tool will help with that access.
How many people will have access to this high protein rice?
Indigenous American grape species: more than just rootstocks.
The religion of diets.
Bush tucker is a religion for some.

January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

Nibbles: Heirlooms double, Seed huntress, Sequencing, ABS

Oldie but goldie on heirlooms.
And an update.
Someone who’s doing something about collecting heirlooms and suchlike.
What you can do once you have the stuff.
And the rules we all have to follow.

January 24, 2019January 24, 2019

Nibbles: Cherokee genebank, Community genebanks, Fruit genebank, CGIAR genebanks, CWR pre-breeding, Ethiopian sacred groves, UK animal ark

Cherokee Nation seedbank goes online.
Does that mean it is a biodiversity eden?
New Grewia genebank in India. No word on community involvement.
Meanwhile, at the CGIAR genebanks…
Pre-breeding using CWR, some even from genebanks: finger millet, eggplant.
Yeah, yeah, it’s not just about genebanks.
Or maybe it is.

January 21, 2019

Nibbles: Trade wars, Native American seeds & diets, Diversifying staples, Cheese animation, Eggplant breeding

Susan Bragdon and others on what Trump’s agricultural trade war with China really means.
Meanwhile, in Tucson…
What we need is Smart Foods.
The cheese history video we’ve all been waiting for.
Wild eggplants at WorldVeg.

January 17, 2019January 17, 2019

Nibbles: New crops, Coffee threats, Ancient Sagittaria, Forage breeding, Chinese bananas

The future of food is different plants. Can live with that.
Like wapato?
As long as coffee is still in the mix.
That mean we won’t need forages? Surely not.
Maybe we can also grow the same plants, but better.

1. Why the modern food system prizes uniformity even though resilience depends on diversity. Spoiler alert: follow the money.
2. Historic crop varieties are finding renewed relevance as farmers contend with more volatile weather, emerging pests and changing markets. Let’s hope there’s money to conserve them.
3. India’s traditional wheat varieties contain diversity that could help breeders develop crops better able to withstand heat and drought. Let’s hope there’s money to conserve them.
4. India announces significant progress in conserving its wild rice genetic resources. Great that there was money to conserve them.
5. Community seed banks across Kenya are calling for formal recognition and sustained support, arguing that locally managed collections strengthen seed sovereignty, preserve traditional varieties and help farming communities adapt to climate change. Yes, but are they enough without national genebanks?
6. Researchers are racing to conserve wild coffee species whose genetic diversity may provide the resistance and resilience needed to secure tomorrow’s morning cup. Is the industry contributing, though ?
7. New history of the macadamia traces its remarkable journey from Australia’s native forests to a global crop, while underscoring why conserving the remaining wild populations is essential for the crop’s long-term future.
8. Researchers at the University of the South Pacific investigate how taro can withstand climate change, combining research with conservation to help protect one of the region’s most culturally and nutritionally important staple crops.
9. Chester Zoo collects seeds from highly threatened cacti, because why not?
Published on July 14, 2026