- 10MB worth of proceedings of the Barley Genetics Symposium from ICARDA.
- So, what will this CCAFS do anyway?
- Russia offers VIR to the world. Again.
- Adonis, Sappho and lettuce, all in one post.
- Modern science needs traditional knowledge. And a fish needs a bicycle.
- Global Crop Diversity Trust and Latin American genebanks team up to rescue another bunch of crops: coffee, tomatoes, chillies, beans, squash etc.
- The world’s smallest and rarest wild suid is cute enough, not as cute as pocket pigs.
Nibbles: Lupine, Methane, Food crisis, Nutritionists, Carrots, Poi, Barhal, Mung bean, Invasives, European bison, Mango
- Saving the scrub lupine. Well, it’s a crop wild relative of sorts.
- Dietary approaches to reduction of belching. No, not less beer and peanuts in front of the TV.
- “Governments and institutions should strongly promote new agricultural technologies suitable for smallholders through increased investment in crop breeding and livestock research.” That would be IFPRI on the actions needed to prevent recurring food crises. Hope that includes supporting the genebanks.
- “Can’t nutritionists make up their minds? They keep changing things!” Nuff said.
- Carrots are exotic? In Canada? Yes indeedy.
- Rachel dissects the cost of proper poi in Hawaii.
- Behold Barhal, relative of breadfruit.
- High yielding mung-bean repatriated to Somalia. Genebanks protect and serve?
- Do your bit for conservation, eat an invasive. Or, perhaps, a bison?
- Bad news for Indian mangoes. What I want to know is whether there are any varieties that are doing really well.
- Mediterranean forests going up in smoke. Bad for the crop wild relatives in them too, no doubt
Nibbles: Gardening, Seed Swap, Mapping, Animal Genebank, Rice, Seed Treay, Nanocellulose, Camels, Bread, food Security
- Gardening is good for you. It’s official. And they didn’t even measure nutrition.
- European seed swap in Brussels.
- More fun for mappers; Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication. h/t CAPRi
- Australian animal genebank under threat.
- Filipinos ♥ IRRI.
- Big write up of Seed Treaty‘s recent Governing Body meeting in Bali.
- Wired magazine goes nuts for bananas and other fruits as sources of better plastics.
- Camelicious! The worlds first large-scale camel dairy farm.
- Food strikes in ancient Egypt. They’ve been revolting for more than 3000 years.
- Nice round-up of how indigenous communities in Colombia are protecting their food security.
Nibbles: Tomatoes, African rice, Entebbe, Coconuts, Wild relatives, Economic botany
- “On the contrary, ‘doesn’t come true from seed’ is another way of saying ‘has lots of exciting diversity’.” Rebsie rounds up her tomatoes.
- Domestication of African rice explored at the Vaviblog.
- Entebbe Botanical Gardens has a genebank. That’s all I know.
- Roland continues to dream of a South Sea genebank paradise; one island, one coconut variety.
- “Cary Fowler explains the vital importance of crop wild relatives to address the future challenges to agriculture,” it says at the Trust website.
- Let them eat bread. Foreign Affairs on food riots. h/t Rachel, who has some interesting things to say on the subject.
- Fascinating behind the scenes insights into Economic Botany collections at Kew and elsewhere.
Gardens of peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The project isn’t just about food – reconciliation and the regaining of trust are equally important. We’re working with people who suffered a lot during the war and our main goal is to bring conflicting sides together. We’ve tried to make a secure space where thoughts and opinions can be exchanged freely; somewhere people can be useful to both the community and their families.
The secure space is in urban gardens. Great idea.
The link to the Community Gardens Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina is wrong in the article. You can find them at their website and on Facebook. Go support them, even just by making seed donations.