- The most beautiful rice farm in the world. No, wait.
- Jasmine tea gets protection. But does it need it? Let’s ask the South Africans what they’re doing with their tea.
- Today’s funny fruit picture. Think it’s one of these Cuban mutants?
- How many micronutrients in a Mexican Christmas dinner? And how many in a British one, featuring parsnips of course.
- People’s University has online Appreciation Programme on Sustainable Management of Biodiversity starting January 2013.
- First farmers were first carpenters.
- And today’s genome story is very seasonally appropriate. Oh no, here’s another one!
- Malaysia implements the ITPGRFA. Cool, but why is that even news?
- School sends okra seeds to Haiti. But… No, I’m not playing the Grinch on this one, it’s too sweet.
Brainfood: Core collections, Romanian pigs, Commons, Valuation, Biofortification, Yam characterization, Pompeii diet, Rice grain genetics
- Maximizing genetic differentiation in core collections by PCA-based clustering of molecular marker data. It works. In simulations, to be fair.
- Study of rare traditional pork breeds concerning the aspect of biodiversity conservation. Mangalitsa is what you want, apparently.
- Open Variety Rights: Rethinking the Commodification of Plants. A “protected commons”? Sounds a bit like the ITPGRFA to me.
- Natural and cultural heritage in mountain landscapes: towards an integrated valuation. Yeah, but does your cultural heritage include things like agricultural biodiversity?
- Fortifying plants with the essential amino acids lysine and methionine to improve nutritional quality. Conventional breeding hasn’t worked. But has it been for want of trying? Just askin’.
- Genetic and phenotypic diversity in a germplasm working collection of cultivated tropical yams (Dioscorea spp.). Relationships among species, synonyms, duplicates, yada yada.
- Roman food refuse: urban archaeobotany in Pompeii, Regio VI, Insula 1. Romans ate a Mediterranean diet. Still no cure for cancer.
- Genetic bases of rice grain shape: so many genes, so little known. Why bother? Just askin’.
Nibbles: Survival seeds, Turkish agrobiodiversity, Mainstreaming nutrition, Hot times for conservation, Ethiopian sesame, Conserved DNA
- Survival seed bank in the news again. Must be Christmas.
- Turkish nibbles: wine, pictachios. That wine one will no doubt run and run.
- How to make sure nutrition gets a seat at the agricultural development table. And Danny breaks it down for ya.
- What leads to spurts in conservation effort? In situ only, but instructive.
- Sesame is big business in Ethiopia.
- Boffins find yet another bit of DNA that will save the world.
Nibbles: School genetics, Sigrid Heuer, Fungal sex, Rubber, Wine, James Scott, Sustainable diets meet, Food exhibit, EU and climate change
- Much may be made of a wheat gene-jockey, if he be caught young.
- Or rice gene-jockeys, for that matter.
- Lots of naughtiness going on in blue cheese.
- Hope those reprobate fungi are using sustainable Amazonian rubbers.
- Some wine with that naughty cheese?
- Learning Burmese, researching the deep history of crops. Meah.
- Start planning for the next sustainable diets symposium. Symposium is quite apt, isn’t it.
- Feast your eyes on Feast Your Eyes.
- European agriculture is totally prepared for this climate change whatsit.
Nibbles: Desert afforestation, Breadfruit, Sustainable tea, Biofortification, Cassava breeding, Wheat breeding, Ancient microbrewery
- The Sahara Forest Project: what could possibly go wrong?
- Maybe they should try breadfruit. Or avocados. Or ask this guy for advice.
- Not for all the sustainable tea in China!
- Or all the high-Fe pearl millet in India.
- Or all the wild chickens in South Asia.
- Cassava gets the genomic selection treatment. Maybe wheat too?
- Did someone mention beer?