Jennifer’s Reviews > Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them > Status Update

"In the past fifty years, we have lost one-third of the diversity in our gut microbiome..."

"Because of...the absence of seeds, the navel and Valencia varieties also caught the attention of Sicilians." However, based on personal experience, I can say that Valencia oranges do have seeds.

"There's a reason monocultures do not exist in nature." Not quite. They are rare, but they do exist. One example are the stands of old-growth coast redwood in California. The redwoods at a place like Muir Woods aren't mixed in with other tree species, and it's considered a naturally-occurring monoculture.

"The port of Kobe became an entry point for beef imports from America, gaining a reputation for meat that still endures."

"By 25,000 years ago, Homo sapiens were not only catching and eating salmon, they were celebrating them in cave art."

"Of the original 8,000 eggs laid, just two can be expected to live long enough to complete the salmon life cycle."

"The surface of Mars has been more thoroughly mapped than the deepest parts of Earth's oceans."

I disagree with the assessment that the destruction of the bison was the greatest destruction of a wild animal in modern history. I would say that dubious distinction belongs to the destruction of the passenger pigeon, which went from flocks of billions to extinction as hunters thought the supply was endless until it was too late. Living bison still exist; living passenger pigeons do not.

I'm curious as to what happened to Carolina Gold rice, and why. I'm surprised a book about crop diversity that mentioned an old variety of rice didn't say what happened to it.

I'd be interested in learning more about how the Norin 10 strain was discovered and how it got to the US.