Search Results for: Frank Morton

Quinoa: The Passion and The Politics

Quinoa, a pseudo-grain closely related to a North American weedy plant, Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album), was first domesticated about 5000 years ago on the high plains surrounding Lake Titicaca. August 12-14, 3102, researchers, seed breeders, and growers from 22 countries, the US, and Canada participated in International Quinoa Research Symposium, a platform for debate over access to seeds and seed genetics and an information exchange about research projects around the world.

Plant Patents on Common Vegetables – What We Are Up Against

A small group of corporations control the largest portion of the world’s utility patents on plants, and there are big misunderstandings between these players and the public about exactly what these patents cover, and to what extent the bewildering flurry of claims are overreaching rather than legitimate.

Organicology: Shades of Portlandia!

Organicology – a “portmanteau word” meaning the study of organics – is the biggest conference/trade show focused entirely on organic seeds and produce in the country. This year more than 700 people attended the three-day conference that included a trilogy of key note speakers, five daylong intensive sessions, 15 workshops, an educational (and practical) “seed swap,” winter vegetable tasting, and a trade event featuring nearly 60 vendors.