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Rows of potatoes growing in a field, with exposed brown soil between the bushy green plants.

A Historical Perspective on the UK's Precision Breeding Bill by doctoral student Hitesh Pant

9 May 2023

Wondering whether and how "precision breeding" serves food security goals in the United Kingdom and beyond? Team member Hitesh Pant puts that question in historical perspective in a new article in the Cambridge Journal of Science and Policy. As his analysis suggests, "... unless the small farmers at the centre of the food...

Rows of corn growing in an open field, with green leaves and golden tassels. Photo by Fishhawk, courtesy of Oregon State University

Project PI Helen Curry explores the politics of hybrid seed histories

5 April 2023

In an article recently published in the Journal of Peasant Studies , project PI Helen Anne Curry explores the histories of hybrid seeds circulated by scientists and activists and especially the political work these accomplish. As she argues in the paper, the singular history of F1 hybrid corn inflected understandings of...

1935 Map showing the ‘Distribution of the Great Soil Groups’

Postdoc Tad Brown discusses the history and future of soil conservation on The Short Rows

20 January 2023

Can agricultural historians help develop a holistic vision of sustainable land use planning, based on the history of the intended New Deal? In a new analysis , team member Tad Brown and co-author Levi Van Sant suggest that an ambitious but thwarted New Deal soils programs might offer some hope for more effective government...

Mole Tamal made by Doña Inés (© Daniela Sclavo). An opened tamale sits on a floral-patterned plate next to a cup of coffee. These and several pieces of cutlery are photographed from above, with a colorful tablecloth underneath.

Living Biocultural Archives project led by team member Daniela Sclavo wins commission from Imagining Futures

27 November 2022

In summer 2022, the Imagining Futures network selected the project Living Biocultural Archives: “Collective Archivism” as one of its commissioned projects. This is exciting news for the work of Collection to Cultivation, as this ambitious community archiving initiative is part of the work of Cambridge HPS doctoral student...

Cardboard box used to pack cherry tomatoes produced in Minxiong, Southern Taiwan

The Rise and Fall of Processed Tomato in Taiwan by Leo Chu

26 October 2022

The Rise and Fall of Processed Tomato in Taiwan The sixth instalment in our project blog, where From Collection to Cultivation members share research insights, snippets, and ideas. When mentioning my research on the tomato breeding program of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC, today known as the...

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From Collection to Cultivation

A Historical Perspective on the UK's Precision Breeding Bill by doctoral student Hitesh Pant

Project PI Helen Curry explores the politics of hybrid seed histories

Postdoc Tad Brown discusses the history and future of soil conservation on The Short Rows

Living Biocultural Archives project led by team member Daniela Sclavo wins commission from Imagining Futures

The Rise and Fall of Processed Tomato in Taiwan by Leo Chu

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