The work at UV Irvine summarized here on the genetic effects of climate change on different kinds of plants is interesting enough. But what particularly intrigued me was the reference to a Project Baseline, “a national effort to collect and preserve seeds from contemporary plant populations.” Unfortunately I was not able to find anything more about this on the internet. Anyway, sounds like they need something similar in Armenia.
Stiffing it to the Maca patent
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is in the news again thanks to a report from Associated Press. (There’s a version here, and many others around the place.) The gist of the article is that a US patent on Maca’s libido-enhancing compounds, granted to PureWorld Botanicals in 2001, is not valid. “Peruvian officials called the patent an ’emblematic case’ of biopiracy and are preparing to challenge it in U.S. courts,” the report says. It goes on to examine other cases of biopiracy and the use by pharmaceutical companies of compounds found in nature.
Information from GFAR
The Global Forum on Agricultural Research has revamped its web site, with the addition of a new Document Repository. The Search facility may not be all that facile, but some readers may find it useful to find an elusive document. A quick look for “diversity” turned up four documents. (Hat tip to IAALD).
Olive oil tourism
National Public Radio has a nice piece on making and tasting olive oil in Italy.
Farming Hoodia
Another example of a wild species being farmed: this article in the San Francisco Chronicle tells the story of Hoodia gordonii cultivation in southern Africa. The species is the source of a hunger suppressant which Unilever has been licensed to commercialize, with a royalty payment going to San tribesmen. Another Hoodia species may have potential as a salad vegetable. Prices are such that there is a thriving smuggling trade in wild-harvested product. Some Namibian farmers are trying to cultivate the plant – organically – but it is not easy.