We don’t normally go in much for philosophizing here, because by and large that’s something that I, at any rate, feel is best left to those with the time and inclination to think deep thoughts. However, there’s an interesting little spat brewing over in the further reaches of the blogosphere at Y Safle (which labels itself “pretentious waffle from Wales”). At issue is whether environmentalism and international development work against each other. One of the commenters seems to have got hold of completely the wrong end of the stick. I won’t attempt to summarize the arguments, which seem to hinge on exactly how one lets market forces operate, but if you’ve a moment or two, why not take a look?
Climate change and wine
Over at CABI’s blog there’s a great post summarizing some recent research on the possible effects of climate change on the wine industry. The grapevine is very sensitive to temperature and rainfall, making it a useful indicator of environmental change. Predictably, there will be both winners and losers among the traditional wine growing areas. Not quite sure how the average consumer will come out of it, but wine bores will have a whole new area of expertise to get to grips with.
Late blight origins
Ask anyone working in plant genetic resources for an example of the importance of growing genetically diverse crops and chances are that sooner or later they’ll mention the Irish potato famine, caused by the late blight fungus Phytophtora infestans in the 1840s. But for such an important – and iconic – disease, it is amazing how what we think we know about it keeps changing. There’s been a re-think recently about which strain of the fungus actually caused the outbreak in Ireland. And now there’s DNA work to figure out where the pathogen came from. The debate on that point seems now to have been decided in favour of the Andes.
Seeds shared and saved
“When you save your own seeds, you can pick from the best plants and produce varieties that work well on your land,” he says. “You can maintain the background of genetic diversity, while adapting it to what works best for you.”
Own up, you thought that was a quote from an admittedly articulate local farmer sharing indigenous knowledge, didn’t you? Well, it was, except that this farmer has a PhD and farms in North Carolina in the US. Heritage and heirloom seeds are a big and growing deal over there, and this article in The Independent Weekly is a good account of the whys and wherefores of seed saving and sharing in industrialized countries.
Pigs stick it to farmer
Even dedicated diversity seekers need a laugh from time to time — which I got from this blog post detailed the birth of a litter of barbed piglets.