02-16-17 Gary Nabhan Convocation

“Conservation You Can Taste: Restoring Biodiversity to the Farm and Table” Over the last three decades, more than one-hundred thousand plant and animal varieties and species have become endangered around the planet, many of which formerly provided humankind with food or beverages. At the same time, a remarkable counter trend has occurred in America’s gardens and orchards, and on its farms and ranch pastures. The market recovery of what are popularly known as heritage foods— including heirloom vegetables, grains and fruit trees as well as historic breeds of livestock and flocks of so-called poultry antiquities— has been nothing short of miraculous. As you will see in this talk, varieties and breeds thought to be close to extinction a half century ago are once again being grown by thousands of small scale farmers, and are back on the tables of fine restaurants, brew pubs and home kitchens in every state in the union.