Incredible Edible and other readings on biodiversity and more...

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This strikingly simple image below draws immediate attention to the seeds contained within the pear. Seeds are easily un-noticed in daily life ... unless we somehow work with seeds we may give little thought to them. This images curiously brings the seeds to the fore...

Mary Woodman: Nature in its simplicity. Image found here from artists website.

This morning I found a couple of books through twitter that caught my eye. One non-fiction, the other a novel.

• Paperback

• ISBN:9780521170871

• 630pages

• 111 b/w illus. 10 colour illus. 34 tables

• Dimensions: 247 x 174 mm

• Weight: 1.24kg

• Not yet published - available from February 2012
• £45.00

View other formats: 

• Hardback

The introduction of plant and animal agriculture represents one of the most important milestones in human evolution. It contributed to the development of cities, alphabets, new technologies, and ultimately to civilizations, but it has also presented a threat to both human health and the environment. Bringing together research from a range of fields including anthropology, archaeology, ecology, economics, entomology, ethnobiology, genetics and geography, this book addresses key questions relating to agriculture. Why did agriculture develop and where did it originate? What are the patterns of domestication for plants and animals? How did agroecosystems originate and spread from their locations of origin? Exploring the cultural aspects of the development of agricultural ecosystems, the book also highlights how these topics can be applied to our understanding of contemporary agriculture, its long-term sustainability, the co-existence of agriculture and the environment, and the development of new crops and varieties.

Features

• A synthesis of the most recent research results and implications for the origin of crops and domesticated animals • Provides examples of how crop and animal genetic diversity contributes to sustainability of agriculture, enabling a better understanding of the value of genetic diversity • Explores the cultural aspects of the development of agriculture ecosystems, highlighting the wider context

Table of Contents

List of contributors
Foreword Bruce D. Smith
Acknowledgments
Introduction. The domestication of plants and animals: ten unanswered questions Paul Gepts, Robert Bettinger, Stephen Brush, Ardeshir Damania, Thomas Famula, Patrick McGuire and Calvin Qualset
1. The local origins of domestication Jared Diamond
Part I. Early Steps in Agricultural Domestication: 2. Evolution of agro-ecosystems: biodiversity, origins and differential development David R. Harris
3. From foraging to farming in western and eastern Asia Ofer Bar-Yosef
4. Predomestic cultivation during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene in the Northern Levant George Willcox
5. New archaeobotanical information on plant domestication from macro-remains: tracking the evolution of domestication syndrome traits Dorian Q. Fuller
6. New archaeobotanical information on early cultivation and plant domestication involving microplant remains Dolores R. Piperno
7. How and why did agriculture spread? Peter Bellwood
8. California Indian proto-agriculture: its characterization and legacy M. Kat Anderson and Eric Wohlgemuth
Part II. Domestication of Animals and Impacts on Humans: 9. Pathways to animal domestication Melinda A. Zeder
10. Genetics of animal domestication Leif Andersson
11. Genome-wide approaches for the study of dog domestication Bridgett M. vonHoldt, Melissa M. Gray and Robert K. Wayne
12. Malaria and rickets represent selective forces for the convergent evolution of adult lactase persistence Loren Cordain, Mathew S. Hickley and Kami Kim
Part III. Issues in Plant Domestication: 13. The dynamics of rice domestication: a balance between gene flow and genetic isolation Susan R. McCouch, Michael J. Kovach, Megan Sweeney, Hui Jiang and Mande Semon
14. Domestication of lima beans: a new look at an old problem M. I. Chacón S., J. R. Motta-Aldana, M. L. Serrano S. and D. G. Debouck
15. Genetic characterization of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and yam (Dioscorea trifida L.) landraces in swidden agriculture systems in Brazil Elizabeth A. Veasey, Eduardo A. Bressan, Marcos V. B. M. Siqueira, Aline Borges, Jurema R. Queiroz-Silva, Kayo J. C. Pereira, Gustavo H. Recchia and Lin Chau Ming
16. Pigeonpea – from an orphan to a leader in food legumes C. L. Laxmipathi Gowda, K. B. Saxena, R. K. Srivastava, H. D. Upadhyaya and S. N. Silim
Part IV. Traditional Management of Biodiversity: 17. Ecological approaches to crop domestication D. B. McKey, M. Elias, B. Pujol and A. Duputié
18. Agrobiodiversity shifts on three continents since Vavilov and Harlan: assessing causes, processes and implications for food security Gary Paul Nabhan, Ken Wilson, Ogonazar Aknazarov, Karim-Aly Kassam, Laurie Monti, David Cavagnaro, Shawn Kelly, Tai Johnson and Ferrell Sekacucu
19. Indigenous peoples conserving, managing, and creating biodiversity Jan Salick
20. Land architecture in the Maya lowlands: implications for sustainability B. L. Turner II and Deborah Lawrence
21. Agrobiodiversity and water resources in agricultural landscape evolution (Andean Valley irrigation, Bolivia, 1986 to 2008) Karl S. Zimmerer
Part V. Uses of Biodiversity and New and Future Domestications: 22. Participatory domestication of indigenous fruit and nut trees: new crops for sustainable agriculture in developing countries Roger R. B. Leakey
23. The introduction and dispersal of Vitis vinifera into California: a case study of the interaction of man, plants, economics, and environment James Lapsley
24. Genetic resources of yeast and other micro-organisms Charles W. Bamforth
25. Biodiversity of native bees and crop pollination with emphasis on California Robbin W. Thorp
26. Aquaculture, the next wave of domestication Dennis Hedgecock
27. Genetic sustainability and biodiversity: challenges to the California dairy industry Juan F. Medrano
Index.

• © Cambridge University Press 2012.

The other book:

This is the village where much of the action took place.

see more photos 

The novel is selling for US $ 2.99 on kindle and around $14 in hard copy here.

I added it to the homage to the seed page on Facebook this morning:

Homage to the seed

All profits from the sale of this book will be distributed to the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation in Ethiopia.

Amazon.com: Through These Veins (9780983249801): Anne Marie Ruff: Books

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Through These Veins (9780983249801): Anne Marie Ruff: Books

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I hope you noticed that fine print:

All profits from the sale of this book will be distributed to the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation in Ethiopia.

SO where does Incredible  Edoble come into the story? This morning I posted this wonderful story on Tumblr:

Incredible Edible: 'It's not all about free food'

Image found through title link.

In 2008, as the economy was going downhill and fears about climate change were on the rise, Pam Warhurst, a businesswoman and former council leader in Todmorden, Yorkshire, decided to do something positive in her community. Her bright idea involved food and the use of public spaces and it quickly caught her neighbours’ imagination. Now the seed Warhurst planted in Todmorden is not only bearing fruit – it’s taking root in other towns across the UK and as far away as New Zealand.

The idea was beautifully simple. All over town, green areas of public land were going to waste. Even cultivated areas were not being used to their potential. Meanwhile, people were buying their food from far-flung places. Why not put these public spaces to more productive use? Before long, edible things were cropping up all over town in green spaces the organisation refers to as “propaganda gardens”.

“At first, we had trouble getting people to help themselves,” says Mary Clear, “because we’re from a country where people say, ‘Get off my land’, so we had to tell people it was OK.” Now, locals are volunteering as well as picking: there are 273 people on Incredible Edible’s “muck-in” list. Local food shops have come around to the idea and, says Warhurst, “nearly 50% said it had had a positive impact on their income”. “It’s not all about free food,” Clear stresses. The propaganda gardens exist to remind people that food can be grown close to home.

The project has been welcomed by the local authority and has also attracted outside interest. “People came from New Zealand and are now adopting edible spaces in the rebuilding of Christchurch,” says Warhurst. The Incredible Edible movement has now spread to 30 other towns around the UK and beyond.

Click on heading above to go to guardian and see video!

posted from Guardian article by sophie munns

Well.... i hope you are inspired as I was....
Sophie
PS Enjoy you weekend everyone!