- Biodiversity: Concepts, Patterns, Trends, and Perspectives. It may not be the sixth mass extinction, but it’s still bad, and we’re to blame. Interestingly for such a high-level review, genetic diversity of domesticated species is actually mentioned.
- Seeds of knowledge: paving the way to integrated historical and conservation science research. Conserving the genetic diversity of domesticated species needs to combine history and science.
- Maize and precolonial Africa. Maize contributed to slavery. History indeed.
- Agriculture in the Ancient Maya Lowlands (Part 1): Paleoethnobotanical Residues and New Perspectives on Plant Management. There was more diversity than formerly thought, at various levels. So not just history, but archaeology as well?
- Current agricultural diversification strategies are already agroecological. Ancient Maya Lowland agriculture sounds very agroecological.
- Earliest curry in Southeast Asia and the global spice trade 2000 years ago. Yes, definitely archaeology is needed too.
- Co-conserving Indigenous and local knowledge systems with seeds. Conserving the genetic diversity of domesticated species needs to combine traditional knowledge and seeds.
- Culture and agricultural biodiversity conservation. Conserving the genetic diversity of domesticated species needs to combine culture and policy.
- What plant breeding may (and may not) look like in 2050? Using the genetic diversity of domesticated species needs to increase selection intensity. Citizen science to the rescue?
- Conventional breeding of Pacific Island staple crops: A paradox. Using the genetic diversity of domesticated species needs to increase in the Pacific. And fast.
- Unlocking the inherent potential of plant genetic resources: food security and climate adaptation strategy in Fiji and the Pacific. Maybe selection intensity is not the thing in the Pacific.
- What Can Be Learned by a Synoptic Review of Plant Disease Epidemics and Outbreaks Published in 2021? Using the genetic diversity of domesticated species needs to increase. Very fast.
- Apulian Autochthonous Olive Germplasm: A Promising Resource to Restore Cultivation in Xylella fastidiosa-Infected Areas. Using the genetic diversity of domesticated species is increasing.
Brainfood: Nutrition sensitive ag, nLCA, Organic expansion, Cheese value, Ethiopia anemia, Women empowerment, Homegardens, Ultra-processed food industry, Cassava processing
- Comparing delivery channels to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture: A cluster-randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh. When it comes to delivering nutrition info jointly to husbands and wives, female nutrition workers and male extension workers are about equally good. But mothers-in-law don’t help in either case.
- Levelling foods for priority micronutrient value can provide more meaningful environmental footprint comparisons. From a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the environmental impact of different foods to a nutritional Life Cycle Assessment (nLCA). Maybe mothers-in-law should calculate it.
- Policy-induced expansion of organic farmland: implications for food prices and welfare. Raising the organic cropland share in rich countries from 3-15% increases food prices in poor countries by about 2% on average for 4 major grains and oilseeds. No word on what the LCA and nLCA looks like.
- Cheese consumption and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review and updated meta-analysis of prospective studies. Cheese is moderately good for you. I wonder which micronutrients are involved.
- Ownership of small livestock species, but not aggregate livestock, is associated with an increased risk of anemia among children in Ethiopia: A propensity score matching analysis. Poultry was associated with lower anemia risk, sheep and goats with higher risk. No word on whether cheese was involved.
- Women’s empowerment, production choices, and crop diversity in Burkina Faso, India, Malawi, and Tanzania: a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. Women on more diverse farms had more power. No word on how many of them were mothers-in-law.
- The Role of Home Gardens in Promoting Biodiversity and Food Security. Mothers-in-law and homegardens would be one hell of a study.
- The ultra-processed food industry in Africa. It should be treated like the tobacco or alcohol industry. Maybe put mothers-in-law in charge of regulating it?
- Exploring genetic variability, heritability, and trait correlations in gari and eba quality from diverse cassava varieties in Nigeria. Just a reminder that there may be genetic diversity in all the above nutritional type stuff. Which the ultra-processed food industry is probably ignoring, but mothers-in-law are not.
Brainfood: Private finance, Public finance, Land sparing, Land sharing, Trade-offs, Ecological intensification, Metaverse, Crop failure
- Finance for food systems transformation. “Financial institutions with significant portfolio exposure to the agrifood sector” need to step up.
- Heavy reliance on private finance alone will not deliver conservation goals. We can’t trust financial institutions with significant portfolio exposure to the agrifood sector.
- Current conservation policies risk accelerating biodiversity loss. Spare the land for biodiversity, don’t share it. Financial institutions with significant portfolio exposure to the agrifood sector would probably agree. But that’s ok.
- Scientific evidence showing the impacts of nature restoration actions on food productivity. Land sharing isn’t all that bad actually.
- Biodiversity and pollination benefits trade off against profit in an intensive farming system. Land sharing needs financial incentives. Here we go again.
- Ecological intensification of agriculture through biodiversity management: introduction. Yeah but that’s only one example. Check out these 5 reviews and then let’s talk about financial incentives.
- The Meta-universe Platform Roblox for the Conservation of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): The Case of the Floating Garden Agricultural Practices. Can they charge for it though?
- Risks of synchronized low yields are underestimated in climate and crop model projections. Meanwhile, the world burns…
Nibbles: Agroecology, Wheat breeding, NUS in LA, Fonio beer, Herbarium seeds, Ukraine herbarium, Grasspea breeding, Plant Treaty
- You want agroecology? Don’t neglect labour issues.
- You can’t neglect hot dry winds if you want the breed wheat for Kansas these days.
- IFPRI continues to ride the latest neglected crops bandwagon, this time in Latin America.
- In Africa, beer may rescue fonio from neglect.
- Rescuing plants from herbarium sheets.
- Rescuing herbarium sheets in Ukraine.
- Breeding a safe grasspea will definitely save it from neglect.
- Meanwhile, in Rome, negotiations to enhance the Plant Treaty’s multilateral system of access and benefit sharing re-start. I bet a whole bunch of neglected crops are on the agenda.
Nibbles: Milpa revival, Cretan olive, Lost apples, Moche meals, African agroecology, Global Tree Knowledge Platform, Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity
- Marketing the milpa.
- Marketing a traditional Cretan olive variety.
- Finding lost apples in New England. Now to market them.
- Taking new passion fruit varieties to market in Australia.
- Deconstructing Moche history, society and culture through compost and struggle meals. No sign of markets.
- Reviewing the state of agroecology in Africa. Does “economic diversification” count as marketing?
- The Global Tree Knowledge Platform must have stuff on marketing somewhere.
- The books series ISSUES IN AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY, now free to download, has lots on marketing.