- Berries as a case study for crop wild relative conservation, use, and public engagement in Canada. Berries could be an agrobiodiversity conservation flagship, at least in Canada. If only other types of crops, and countries, were that easy.
- The king of fruits. There’s a dark side to durian that’s thankfully not there with berries.
- Genome sequencing of up to 6,000-yr-old Citrullus seeds reveals use of a bitter-fleshed species prior to watermelon domestication. Neolithic Libyans used wild watermelons for their seeds, not flesh.
- Comparison of bioactive components and flavor volatiles of diverse cocoa genotypes of Theobroma grandiflorum, Theobroma bicolor, Theobroma subincanum and Theobroma cacao. Could use the wild relatives for tastier chocolate. Another potential flagship, surely.
- Akebia: A Potential New Fruit Crop in China. I’d totally try it. And not just because it’s called both “wild banana” and “chocolate vine.”
- Animal pollination increases stability of crop yield across spatial scales. Not just higher yields, greater yield stability too. Important for some of the above, and many other fruits.
- Estimating the environmental impacts of 57,000 food products. More nutritious foods tend to be more environmentally friendly too. But how many of these products include the above? I mean fruits, not pollinators.
Brainfood: AnGR in the US, Cloning, Reindeer diversity, Lactose persistence evolution, Fish menus, Vanilla agroforestry, Pollinators in India & the US, Dogs & people
- Development and utilization of the United States gene bank collection. Of animals, that is: 1.15 million samples from 59,640 animals, representing 44 species of livestock, aquatic and insect genetic resources, 191 breeds and 369 subpopulations.
- Healthy cloned offspring derived from freeze-dried somatic cells. Another way to conserve in genebanks like the above, at least for mice.
- Genetic differentiation between coexisting wild and domestic Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L. 1758) in Northern Eurasia. Now there’s better information to help decide how to conserve both in genebanks and outside, at least for reindeer.
- Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe. Being able to digest milk didn’t help Neolithic people much. But not being able to digest milk during famines or plagues was really bad for them. Yeah but now we’re stuck with all that livestock.
- Signature of climate-induced changes in seafood species served in restaurants. Since 1880, the mean temperature preference of fish on Vancouver’s menus has increased by 3°C. Soon some will need genebanks, I guess. Or domestication.
- Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry. You don’t necessarily have to pay for higher vanilla yields with lower biodiversity. Good, because you can’t put everything in a genebank, I guess.
- Functional diversity of farmland bees across rural–urban landscapes in a tropical megacity. Oh look, another win-win!
- A review of management actions on insect pollinators on public lands in the United States. As in tropical megacities, removing invasives is an unalloyed good.
- Human Ecology: Special Issue on Dogs. Whether you’re a dog person or not, it’s hard to argue that any domesticated animal has engaged in a more diverse set of interactions with humans. Truly a win-win. But please, let’s not clone Fido.
Brainfood: Insect biodiversity, Pollinator conservation, Sustaining protected areas, Tea gardens, Sustainable meat hunting, Eating weeds in Crete, Organic ag in Sweden, New wine grape varieties, Genomic crop improvement, Anthocyanins in crops, Amaranthus core collection, Bere barley
- Agriculture and climate change are reshaping insect biodiversity worldwide. Does that mean there won’t be enough of them for us to eat? Well, and to pollinate stuff I guess.
- From science to society: implementing effective strategies to improve wild pollinator health. It’s the indirect drivers that will get them in the end.
- Sustainable protected areas: Synergies between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic development. Empower communities and management, you fools!
- Tea–vegetable gardens in Longsheng Nationalities Autonomous County: temporal and spatial distribution, agrobiodiversity and social–ecological values. Communities and management were presumably fully empowered.
- WILDMEAT interventions database: A new database of interventions addressing unsustainable wild meat hunting, consumption and trade. Very empowering, I’m sure. Unclear whether edible insects are included though.
- Chorta (Wild Greens) in Central Crete: The Bio-Cultural Heritage of a Hidden and Resilient Ingredient of the Mediterranean Diet. Well, frankly, who needs insects when you have weeds?
- Relative yield of food and efficiency of land-use in organic agriculture – A regional study. If the best bits of Sweden went fully organic, 130% more land would be needed. Unclear whether eating either weeds or insects was factored into the calculations.
- Advancing designer crops for climate resilience through an integrated genomics approach. Forget eating weeds, protecting pollinators and empowering this or that, thrown everything at crop improvement.
- Developing Germplasm and Promoting Consumption of Anthocyanin-Rich Grains for Health Benefits. Especially crops with coloured grains.
- The World Vegetable Center Amaranthus germplasm collection: Core collection development and evaluation of agronomic and nutritional traits. Well, and vegetables, presumably.
- Consumer acceptance of fungus-resistant grape wines: Evidence from Italy, the UK, and the USA. Ah yes, but whether consumers like the idea of grape vines improved through interspecific hybridization depends on what exactly you tell them. So much for empowerment.
- The evolutionary relationship between bere barley and other types of cultivated barley. Unfortunately this paper did not come out in time for the inclusion of a subplot on the introduction of Viking barley to the Orkneys in the current blockbuster The Northman. But I hear there’s stuff in there about empowerment.
Nibbles: Jordanian seeds, Indian tubers, Himalayan fungi, American bees
- Jordan’s genebank in the news.
- Tuber Man of Kerala’s genebank in the news.
- Pricy Himalayan mushroom in the news, should probably be in a genebank.
- Bee breeders in the news. Probably a first.
Nibbles: Oz genebanks, Turkish heirlooms, Indian heirlooms, Peruvian cryobank, Chinese cryobank, Seeds for farmers, Gamma gardens, Bees, DSI, Seville cathedral, Food & climate change
- Australian politicians promise genebank. World holds its breath.
- Meanwhile, in Turkey…
- … and India…
- …and Peru…
- …and China.
- Another way of getting seeds to farmers.
- What, even irradiated ones?
- But don’t forget the bees.
- Hopefully DIS won’t scupper all this sharing.
- Because although our foods are not set in stone…
- …we’ll need more than changes in habits to adapt agriculture to climate change.