crop diversity

Raiders Of The Lost Crops: Scientists Race Against Time To Save Genetic Diversity

8:02am December 03, 2019

by Maria Godoy

Elephants, snakes and crocodiles? Researchers around the globe faced risky situations to gather wild relatives of key foods. That genetic pool could be vital to helping crops adapt to climate change.

Queue Listen Now

A mix of barley, peas and flax grows in a field at Casey Bailey's farm near Fort Benton, Mont. Bailey sells this crop to Montana dairy farmer Nate Brown, who has been feeding it to his goats.

Environment

Diversifying Crops Is Good For The Planet. But Can It Be Good For Farmers' Wallets?

1:50pm October 23, 2019

by Rachel Cernansky

Fertilizer runoff is fueling the toxic algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico. Farmers could help by growing crops in rotation to reduce the need for fertilizer. But it's unclear who will buy them.

An engraving dating from the 19th century depicts passenger pigeons, once one of the most common birds in North America but now extinct because of overhunting and deforestation.

Books
Arts

When We Love Our Food So Much That It Goes Extinct

7:38pm September 23, 2019

by Luisa Torres

A new book explores how overhunting and habitat destruction have left us with only a fraction of the foods that existed a century ago, and the changes that are needed to preserve our culinary variety.

While many Americans only know one kind of pomegranate — the ruby red Wonderful — there are actually dozens of varieties with different flavor and heartiness profiles.

Biologist Wants Americans To Taste A Rainbow Of Pomegranates

9:01am September 08, 2018

by April Fulton

As a child, John Chater remembers trying different kinds of pomegranates in his grandfather's yard. It spurred him to pursue a dream of diversifying America's crop beyond the red Wonderful variety.

Primary regions of diversity of major agricultural crops worldwide.

A Map Of Where Your Food Originated May Surprise You

3:18pm June 13, 2016

by Jeremy Cherfas

A new study reveals the full extent of globalization in our food supply. More than two-thirds of the crops that underpin national diets originally came from somewhere else — often far away.