BBC News had a story on the fiber crop, jute (Corchorus olitorius L.). Jute is grown is an annual grown in warm wet climates, primarily in South Asia. "Jute plants need a temperature ranging from 21 to 38 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 70 to 80 per cent. After sowing, around 2 to 3 inches of rainfall is needed per week" (Jute Knowledge Center). Plants are harvested four months after planting. Jute is also less commonly used as a medicinal plant to treat aches, pains, dysentery, cardiac problems, and other ailments.

 

Bangladesh's 'golden fibre' comes back from the brink

By Anbarasan Ethirajan  

BBC News, Dhaka  

Jute, a vegetable fibre that can be spun into sackcloth, used to be the 'golden fibre' of Bangladesh.

It brought much-needed foreign income to the impoverished nation.

But it lost its lustre in the 1980s after synthetic materials like polythene and plastics were introduced.
Now the natural fibre has made a spectacular comeback.
Exports of jute and jute products from Bangladesh this fiscal year crossed a record billion dollars as demand for the natural fibre is steadily increasing. 

 

An Article about Watermelon Seeds

Some of the different pulp varieties. Source: NCSU

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) originates from southern Africa and is believed to have been domesticated at least 4,000 years ago. In 2009, world production of watermelon totaled about 98 million metric tons (FAOSTAT). "Fruits vary considerably in morphology. Whereas the fruits of the wild Kalahari form are small and round, the cultivated forms are large oblong fruits. In addition, they vary from pale yellow or light green (wild form) to dark green (cultivars), and with or without stripes; the pulp varies from yellow or green (wild forms) to dark red (cultivars) (Jeffrey 1978)."

Diversity in watermelon fruit shape and color. Source: NCSU

The following article, published in Slate, explains why the watermelon variety most commonly eaten in the U.S. has white and black seeds.

What's With White Watermelon Seeds?  

(Read after the break)

 

What is in a name? Yams

There are about 600 different species of yam (Dioscorea species). However, three species (D. alata, D. cayenensis-rotundata, and D. trifida) are considered to be the primary yam species consumed in the Tropics.

Below are some of the common names for the species, Dioscorea alata :

 

Source

Going to the Market with a Dollar in Kenya

When talking about global poverty, it is common to encounter a statistic about how X many people live on less than a dollar a day. The "dollar a day" metric for the international poverty line originated in the World Bank's 1990 World Development Report. In this report, the researchers found that the poverty lines in a few of the developing countries that they examined clustered around a dollar in purchasing power parity. The poverty line was meant to mark the minimum amount needed a person to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for her/himself. Today, the new international poverty line is at $1.25 a day.

Even though this definition of the poverty line has flaws (measuring absolute poverty rather than relative poverty) and these videos have some flaws (no haggling at the market?), I think this series provides an interesting look at food markets in many countries around the world.

For more about the poverty line, I recommend this article from The Economist, On the poverty line.

Going to the Market with a Dollar in Guatemala

For the next several days, I'm going to feature some videos from the World Food Program where one of their employees goes to a market and sees what the equivalent of one U.S. dollar will buy. Although the videos don't seem to show any haggling, I think they are a good illustration of food markets, differing regional cuisines, and difficulties faced the poor in affording nutritionally balanced food.

Today's video is of a market in Guatemala.

According to the FAO, the top 10 crops produced in Guatemala (by quantity) in 2008 were sugar cane, bananas, maize (corn), potatoes, other melons (inc. cantaloupes, but not watermelon), tomatoes, cow milk, coffee, pineapples, and plantains.

Source: FAOSTAT

Crop Diversity

The other day, my super cool friend and future Explorer, Kate and I had a conversation about linguistic diversity and some of the issues related to and benefits of preserving that diversity. Similar to the recent and rapid decline of linguistic diversity, plant diversity (of both domesticated and wild species) is also being threatened.

The July issue of the National Geographic Magazine had an interesting article about the dwindling diversity of many domesticated crop and animal species and efforts being taken to preserve and protect that diversity. Declining diversity among many commonly eaten foods is pictured in the diagram below.

Source: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/07/food-ark/food-variety-graphic

 

 

 

Read part of the article after the break

NYTimes highlights Mango Recipes

Isn't it typical that just days after I profile the mango, the New York Times does the same thing?

Foreign Policy also features an interesting slideshow of street food from various places around the world. To view all the photos click here.

Street Eats

From Cairo to Indonesian volcanoes, the way the world eats out.

APRIL 25, 2011

Enjoying a watermelon at the bazaar in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 400 kilometers east of the capital, Riyadh, on May 16, 2008.

AFP/Getty Images

Even in the midst of violence in Ivory Coast, locals shopped at markets in Abidjan’s Koumassi district on April 12, 2011.

SIA KAMBOU/AFP/Getty Images

A Palestinian youth sells strawberries on Feb. 16 in Jerusalem's Old City Muslim quarter.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images

A Nepalese vendor sells food from a roadside stall in Bhaktapur, some 12 kilometers southeast of Kathmandu on Feb. 16.

PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images

A fruit seller stands by his roadside shop in Mumbai on Sept. 16, 2010.

PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images