- Boswellia back in the news. Must be Christmas.
- Yesterday was Terra Madre Day; there’s something satisfyingly meta about being a day late with that news.
- The Germans want justice for food from far away.
- Bioversity larges up its Heuristic Framework to boost the conservation and use of crop biodiversity.
- Archaeologist finds ancient Roman grape seeds, prepares to rewrite history of Chianti.
- Oh Boy! Another $25 million to remake photosynthesis. We’re still waiting …
- More please! Another giant talkfest to end hunger. Don’t miss the comments.
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.
Crop Genetic Resources as a Global Commons book in the global commons
Just a very quick note to say that Crop Genetic Resources as a Global Commons: Challenges in International Law is available in Google Books. Edited by Michael Halewood, Isabel Lopez Noriega (both of Bioversity International) and Selim Louafi (formerly of the ITPGRFA), and with dozens of people contributing to 19 chapters ranging over the whole philosophy, history, design and context of the International Treaty, it’s a really important resource.
Endlessly debating agriculture
Don’t get me wrong, I think a robust exchange of views on agricultural development is a good thing, even essential. But when you’ve got “Achieving food and environmental security — new approaches to close the gap” at the Royal Society one week, followed by “The Future of Agriculture: debate the experts” a matter of days thereafter, you begin to wonder whether we are on the receiving end of way too much of a good thing. Having said that, needless to add that we’re incredibly interested in the results of these discussions, and if you take part and would like to summarize them for us here, you’d be more than welcome. To prospective organizers of such things my suggestion is that you stand back a minute and ask: what would be new here?