So is organic better or what? Not, according to the latest salvo in the debate. Last March a report from the Organic Trade Association in the US said that organic produce had on average a 25% nutritional advantage over the “normal” stuff. But now Prof. Joseph Rosen at Rutgers says in a report for the American Council on Science and Health that the previous study was flawed and the advantage disappears when you compare like with strictly like. That may well be, of course, but a recent paper shows that there are other benefits of going organic. The ecological footprint of organic Tuscan wine was found to be half that of a conventionally-produced tipple. No word on the relative health benefits.
Nibbles: Mongolia, Fruit & veg, Lima bean, Biofuels, Peyote, Permaculture, Extension
- Isgelen tarag. You heard me.
- Eat up all your vegetables, Timmy.
- Breeding a better Lima bean.
- Kenya will regret its failure to protect the environment. Wangari Maathai against (specific) biofuels.
- Lophophora williamsii showing classic signs of overexploitation.
- “I have been trying to be very friendly to soil worms…They are our friends.”
- Using radio soap operas in extension.
Nibbles: Old maize, News, World Bank, Organic, Bees, Breeding, Svalbard, Genebank management, Cattle, Fibre
- Maize in the Dominican Republic 1500 years ago. Luigi comments: I see that and raise you wheat in Turkey 8,500 years ago.
- CTA announces news aggregator service. Yes, we feature. Via.
- World Bank country data mashed up with Google Maps. Not as useful as it might be.
- Organic farming researchers meet in Modena. Not all sweetness and light, though.
- BBC podcast on the troubles affecting bees.
- Breeders told to develop really hairy plants to combat warming.
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault makes list of world’s biggest science projects. No comment.
- CIP documents genebank use cases on youtube.
- The perils of herding zebu in Madagascar.
- Ancient Egyptians made cool ropes, but of what?
Nibbles: Bananas, Wheat, Cameroon, Bees, Eden, Millennium Villages, Organic, Yam, Ag origins, Apricots
- Compare and contrast the banana and the Big Mac. Dan Koeppel takes it to the masses.
- Lamenting the loss of “amber waves of grain”. Ingrate.
- Cameroon’s agriculture vulnerable to climate change. I’ll alert the media.
- Look what I got you for National Pollinator Week next week; a World Checklist of Bees. Neat-o.
- Celebrate food and farmers in Eden.
- “The core of the strategy is a short-term provision of improved seeds suited to the local environment and fertilizers like Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and urea accompanied by advice on how to use them.” Sounds familiar…
- Meanwhile, in non-Millennium Villages: “While his maize cobs were smaller than others, the seed was of a much higher quality; the fibre of his cotton was also much longer.”
- Japanese yam fields in peril. Yams as in Dioscorea or sweet potato or what? So annoying.
- Neolithic myths?
- California apricot grower explores Central Asia, comes up trumps. Jeremy comments: CandyCots? I think I want to be sick.
Nibbles: Medicinal rice, Dairy, Dates, Food, Cuba, Mango
- Red rice extract prevents heart problems.
- Got milk?
- Marrakesh date palms in trouble. But back in 2002 Gary Martin was doing something about it, I thought.
- “Diet for a small planet” revisited.
- Cuba’s urban agriculture revolution.
- “The Mango Mela, an agricultural fair dedicated to the fruit, … featured only 20 varieties, compared with more than 100 last year.”