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Today is the International Day of Biological Diversity. As it happens, Eat This Podcast today published an episode that raises a question I have seldom seen given any serious discussion. Are rare breeds important for the conservation of genetic diversity? Like all headline questions, the answer is probably “No”. Let me explain.

Accumulating the genetic diversity of birds around the world in a population of truly cosmopolitan chickens

Once upon a time, government made it possible for people to get a good meal at a reasonable price.

One of the nicest things about publishing our recent paper What is Wrong with Biofortification is that it prompted several people to share results and opinions that support our conclusions. Confirmation bias aside, we have not yet had any substantive pushback. This piece was prompted by one of the responses we received. See those beans? […]

Helena Bottemiller Evich had a story in her newsletter last week that left me open mouthed. Whatever bad things you think Big Food might be capable of, this is worse. An allergic reaction to sesame can be fatal, and sesame is currently the 9th most common allergen in the US. Unlike allergens 1–8, until a […]

Yields are generally lower than those of unfortified varieties and there’s little evidence it works. Biofortification is a waste of land and money.

The standard story is that ethnic Chinese don’t eat cheese or drink milk because they are lactose intolerant. They do, but it’s complicated

A chicken has two wings, two legs, two breasts; how does the market cope when all people want is wings?

Patrik Johansson blends ancient knowledge and modern science to craft exquisite butter: hand-made, intensely flavourful and scarce.

The price of subsidised bread in Egypt has not changed in decades, though the bread shrunk. That remains a huge challenge to security, for the government and the people.