- “Countries can clear massive amounts of forest and still claim that deforestation had not occurred“. Wha?
- Biodiverse agriculture to meet climate challenge. Really?
- Diversity for Life campaign launches, but Official Site links to wrong Offical Site. This is where it should go.
- Water chestnuts. Fascinating.
- No sign of agricultural biodiversity in agricultural research masterplan.
- Vital Christmas supplies of Crataegus mexicana — aka Tejocote — no longer illegal in the US. h/t Rachel.
Agriculture hits limelight in Copenhagen. Maybe.
Today’s the big day for agriculture in Copenhagen. A lot is riding on it, because there hasn’t been much sign of interest at UNFCCC COP15 up to now in the subject of how agriculture is going to adapt to climate change. You can follow Cary Fowler’s Notes from Copenhagen on Facebook.
Nibbles: Hunger, Stereotypes
- Farm workers most food insecure. For shame.
- Forget the stereotype of the ignorant Farmer John, riding on a tractor spewing black fumes and chewing on a piece of straw. Whose stereotype would that be?
Waste promotes organic food?
David Zetland has an interesting take on that 40% of American food is wasted paper.
[I]t seems possible to switch all production to organics:
- We can have enough, even with 40 percent lower yields.
- Higher prices would reduce demand for food, and thus obesity. (They may cause people to switch to cheaper foods, but those tend to be better for you — rice vs meat — if you ignore the idea that steakhouse diners will switch to McDs.)
Of course, this will not happen through regulation or a wholesale change in people’s demand for food. It could happen if water or carbon use was taxed: that waste uses 25 percent of fresh water and 300 million bbl oil; that’s not even counting methane resulting from rot.
Nibbles: Monsanto, Carnival, Recycling, Kelp, Land lease, Pinole
- Monsanto under anti-trust investigation in US. h/t Our man in the policy maelstrom, Michael.
- Scientia Pro Publica, latest edition.
- From the SPP carnival, a recycled doormat saves edible marine biodiversity.
- Kelp farming in Maine. h/t Sadie Jane.
- “Is there such a thing as Agro-Imperialism?” we’ll let you know when we’ve read this long article. h/t Resilience Science
- This is the jerky of the plant kingdom. For those who don’t know, this is the jerky of the animal kingdom.