Tag Archives: local variety

Biofortified GM bananas

Posted on June 22, 2014 by argylesock

James Dale is a scientist at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT, Australia). His lab has developed a genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered) banana (Musa × paradisiaca) rich in ‘pro-vitamin A’. Here’s the QUT report. This is the ‘super banana’ … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged Africa, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, America, Asia, banana, banana Cavendish, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, biodiversity, biofortification, biotechnology, breeding, carotenoid, child, conservation, cotton, crop diversity, crop variety, development, East African cooking banana, food security, food sovereignty, fruit, fruit variety, gene, gene gun, genetic modification, iron, land grab, local variety, marker assisted backcrossing, micronutrient, Monsanto, nutrition, patent, plantain, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, poverty, pro-vitamin A, Provit Banana, research, rice, Scuba rice, seed, soya, staple food, super banana, tissue culture, trade, Vitamin A | 2 Comments

The new scramble for Africa (part 1)

Posted on June 20, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on ECO-opia:
. With the African continent home to the majority of the world’s fastest-growing economies, urban consumer markets and a wealth of natural resources, it’s perhaps not surprising that some of the world’s largest corporations, from Monsanto…

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged Africa, aid, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, Asia, breeding, development, DuPont, Europe, farmer, fertiliser, finance, food security, food sovereignty, G8, history, knowledge, local variety, Monsanto, New Alliance, nutrition, pesticide, politics, prosperity, seed, smallholder, Syngenta, trade, tradition, World Development Movement, Yara | Leave a comment

Revisiting the “eat local” Idea

Posted on June 15, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Thought + Food:
I just came across this review of a book called “The Locavore’s Delusion”, and yes, it is a nod to that other book, in case you were wondering! The authors of the book tried to…

Posted in food, knowledge transfer | Tagged access to food, biotechnology, climate-ready crop, flood, food, food availability, food quality, food safety, food security, food sovereignty, genetic modification, grain, grocery, local breed, local community, local variety, marker assisted selection, plant_monocot, Scuba rice, selective breeding, staple food, sustainable, trade, transport | 3 Comments

No seeds, no future

Posted on June 8, 2014 by argylesock

Biowatch South Africa shows us a film about agroecology and food sovereignty. ‘We accept maize seeds from the Department of Agriculture, but we don’t plant those GM seeds. We feed them to chickens.’

Posted in agriculture, food | Tagged Africa, agroecology, biotechnology, bird, chicken, corn, crop, crop variety, development, family farm, feed, food, food sovereignty, genetic modification, grain, livestock, local variety, maize, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, poultry, seed, seedbank, smallholder, subsistence, trade, tradition, vegetable, vegetable variety, vertebrate | 2 Comments

Breast milk, indigenous food: A mother’s recipe for healthy children

Posted on May 12, 2014 by argylesock

Here’s Velvet Escario Roxas, a Filipino mother, telling us that children in the Philippines need breast milk and indigenous foods, not Golden Rice. Mrs Roxas says that Filipino women should breastfeed as she did. After weaning, she says these women … Continue reading →

Posted in food, human health, knowledge transfer | Tagged Asia, biotechnology, child, crop diversity, food availability, food sovereignty, fruit, genetic modification, Golden Rice, grain, leaf, local variety, mango, milk, moringa, nutrition, papaya, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, rice, sweet potato, tradition, vegetable, Vitamin A, woman | 2 Comments

What happens to European seeds now?

Posted on March 11, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Passion in Food and Field:
Today (11th of March) the European Parliament voted for the rejection of the Commission proposal for a Regulation the production and marketing of Plant Reproductive Material. The Commission published the draft of…

Posted in agriculture, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged crop, crop diversity, crop variety, Europe, farmer, fruit, fruit variety, gardener, genetic diversity, grain, law, local variety, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, rare variety, seed, trade, vegetable, vegetable variety | Leave a comment

FAO launches new standards for plant genebanks

Posted on February 2, 2014 by argylesock

Plant diversity is essential in so many ways. So it’s good to learn that the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced ‘voluntary, international standards for the many repositories – or genebanks – around the world that store … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture | Tagged biodiversity, conservation, crop, crop diversity, crop variety, food, food security, fruit variety, gene, genebank, genetic diversity, local variety, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, rare variety, seed, seedbank | Leave a comment

Feeding population vs market integration

Posted on December 30, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on ECO-opia:
Feeding a growing global population and improving the management of natural resources are two of the most urgent challenges mankind is currently facing. Agricultural markets, seed systems and crop genetic resources lie at the heart…

Posted in food, money and trade | Tagged crop diversity, food, food security, food sovereignty, local variety, population, trade | Leave a comment

Agricultural biodiversity and climate change

Posted on November 22, 2013 by argylesock

Smallholders around the world favour diversity as they face changing, unpredictable climates. Bioversity International tells us how smallholders use biodiversity to adapt. ‘Given the prevalence and effectiveness of planting new crops and varieties as a coping mechanism, ensuring access to … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged agroforestry, America, Asia, barley, biodiversity, biotechnology, breeding, cañahua, climate, climate-ready crop, conservation, crop, crop diversity, crop variety, disease, drought, farmer, finger millet, food, fruit, genetic modification, grain, isaño, kodo millet, late blight, legume, local variety, lychee, millet, neglected crop, nut, oca, papalisa, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, potato, potato Double H, potato Luki, pseudocereal, quinoa, rice, rice 1442, selective breeding, small millet, smallholder, spice, staple food, temperature, tradition, tuber, vegetable, water, weather, wheat, wheat NL297 | 9 Comments

Seeds on seeds on seeds: Why more biodiversity means more food security

Posted on November 2, 2013 by argylesock

argylesock says… The United States is home to Monsanto, the biotechnology giant that develops and sells the world’s most popular genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered, GE) crops. I blog about GM often, including reviews of a series of articles by … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged biodiversity, biotechnology, climate, climate-ready crop, crop diversity, crop variety, food, food security, fruit variety, genetic diversity, genetic modification, local variety, Monsanto, rare variety, seed, trade, vegetable variety | Leave a comment