Introduction; Purpose and approach; Nutritional analysis; Consumers perspective; Production aspects; Seed sector; Collections of indigenous vegetable germplasm; Conclusion; Bibliography; Annex; List of tables.

“Nature’s Medicine: A collection of Medicinal Plants from Malaysia’s Rainforest” is an e-book compiling medicinal plants we call weeds. It features the health benefits of medicinal herbs and plants for public use. Most weeds are found in home gardens and are easily accessible. We call them weeds because we do not have to care of these plants. Weeds, in many cases can be used to fight the flu, cough, ease indigestion, threat poison ivy rashes, snake bites, joint pains and even make a tasty meal as a salad. You may be surprised to learn that identifying weeds in your own yard can be beneficial. This e-book is also intended to serve as a reference guide and create interest among students and scientists to study the wonder of the weeds in greater detail. The weeds are picturesquely presented to enable readers to recognise them at a glance. Their medicinal properties and traditional uses are also highlighted.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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This book provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge of the potential and challenges associated with the multiple roles, use, management and livelihood contributions of indigenous vegetables in urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. There has been growing research and policy effort around urban agriculture in the region over the last two decades, but never has it been integrated with work on under-researched crops such as indigenous vegetables. These species have multiple advantages, including low input requirements, adaptability to African environments, high nutritional value and marked biodiversity, cultural and local food security significance. Yet they are overlooked in the modern world, where recent emphasis has been directed to growing a limited range of exotic crops, both for internal markets and for export to developed country markets. This book provides evidence that, in spite of this neglect, in many African cities indigenous vegetables are still widely used, cultivated and marketed. It goes on to consider their potential to contribute to income generation and poverty alleviation of the growing numbers of urban dwellers in sub-Saharan Africa, whilst promoting urban greening and sustainability. Based on critical analysis of the debates it presents a multidisciplinary analysis of the realities and future opportunities.

Currently 868 million people are undernourished and 195 million children under five years of age are stunted. At the same time, over 1 billion people are overweight and obese in both the developed and developing world. Diseases previously associated with affluence, such as cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease, are on the rise. Food system-based approaches to addressing these problems that could enhance food availability and diet quality through local production and agricultural biodiversity often fall outside the traditional scope of nutrition, and have been under-researched. As a consequence, there remains insufficient evidence to support well-defined, scalable agricultural biodiversity interventions that can be linked to improvements in nutrition outcomes. Agricultural biodiversity is important for food and nutritional security, as a safeguard against hunger, a source of nutrients for improved dietary diversity and quality, and strengthening local food systems and environmental sustainability. This book explores the current state of knowledge on the role of agricultural biodiversity in improving diets, nutrition and food security. Using examples and case studies from around the globe, the book explores current strategies for improving nutrition and diets and identifies key research and implementation gaps that need to be addressed to successfully promote the better use of agricultural biodiversity for rural and urban populations and societies in transition.

This report is the second in a series of three evaluating underexploited African plant resources that could help broaden and secure Africa's food supply. The volume describes the characteristics of 18 little-known indigenous African vegetables (including tubers and legumes) that have potential as food- and cash-crops but are typically overlooked by scientists and policymakers and in the world at large. The book assesses the potential of each vegetable to help overcome malnutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and create sustainable landcare in Africa. Each species is described in a separate chapter, based on information gathered from and verified by a pool of experts throughout the world. Volume I describes African grains and Volume III African fruits.

From the Worldwatch Institute, the premier environmental nonprofit, comes an incisive account of the global food crisis and how it can be solved.