Agaves and Slow Agriculture in the Laboratory for the Future of Food in a Climate-Changed World
As fresh water has become scarcer than ever in the Arid West, and debt and disparities threaten to dislodge farmers from the land, I have a dream. I have a dream of a sloooow agriculture. By that, I mean one that wisely fosters the careful investment of the patient capital
A Conservation of Generosity & Relationships, Gary Paul Nabhan
Gary Paul Nabhan is a gardener, an agricultural ecologist, an ethnobotanist, and an ecumenical Franciscan brother based in Patagonia, Arizona. He is the author of a host of books covering a diversity of botany-based topics – from pollinators, to food policy, to love letters to his favorite landscapes. The heart
Agave Fest celebrates part of Tucson’s cultural landscape
Drive through any Tucson neighborhood, and you’ll quickly see that the sword-shaped leaves of century plants are among the most common greenery to adorn the front yards of homes and businesses in the Old Pueblo. Their lovely, fragrant blossoms perched high on enormous flower stalks attract bees, hummingbirds and occasional
Mezcal as Food, Beverage, & Heritage | Part 3
Put a little wildness back into your food and drink, and you will likely become healthier for it! Ethnobotanists and archaeologists have uncovered cultural and culinary uses of wild agaves, prickly pears and mesquite that reach back at least 8000 years in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. Just think about that for
Mezcal as Food, Beverage, & Heritage | Part 2
Did you know that extensive prehistoric landscapes of mescal fields underlie much of the Tucson Basin? Archaeologists Suzanne and Paul Fish have also documented that at least one (or perhaps two) species of agave were prehistorically cultivated by the Hohokam in the Tucson Basin. There, agaves covered tens of thousands
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