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This complete guide to kava describes its centuries-long use in the religious, political, and economic life of the Pacific islands and summarizes the literature and research on a plant that is now considered a comparable or superior alternative to anti-stress prescription drugs.
• The most comprehensive book ever written on nature's most effective stress-relieving plant. • First paperback edition of the classic comprehensive text originally published by Yale University Press. This complete guide to kava summarizes the literature and research on a plant that is now considered comparable or superior to anti-stress prescription drugs, and describes its use in the religious, political, and economic life of the Pacific islands for centuries. Beyond its soporific qualities kava is also used throughout the the Pacific as an analgesic, a diuretic, and an anesthetic. There is even evidence suggesting it is effective in the treatment of asthma, tuberculosis, and venereal disease. Exhaustively researched, Kava: The Pacific Elixir offers an extensive survey of this amazing plant from the perspective of the horticulturist, the ethnobotanist, and the pharmacologist.
In this book, Ron Brunton attempts to explain the strange geographical distribution of kava, a narcotic drink once widely consumed by south-west Pacific islanders.
This book looks at the current state of food security and climate change, discusses the issues that are affecting them, and the actions required to ensure there will be enough food for the future. By casting a much wider net than most previously published books—to include select novel approaches, techniques, genes from crop diverse genetic resources or relatives—it shows how agriculture may still be able to triumph over the very real threat of climate change. Food Security and Climate Change integrates various challenges posed by changing climate, increasing population, sustainability in crop productivity, demand for food grains to sustain food security, and the anticipated future need f...
It is important to include Tuber and Root Crops in the Handbook of Plant Breeding. They include starchy staple crops that are of increasing importance for global food security and relief of poverty, important millennium goals for the United Nations. Indeed, 2008 was the UN International Year of the Potato in recognition of this role of the potato as the world’s third most important food crop after wheat and rice. The other major staples are cassava, sweetpotato and yam. Together they occupy about 50 million hectares, with production at 640 million metric tons, of which 70% is in developing countries. In total there are more than 30 species of Root and Tuber Crops grown in the world today. ...
Essays in this volume focus on Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, and the People's Republic of China as sites rife with discursive complexity. From small to large, young to old, former colony to former colonial power, these six examples do well to represent situated voices and cultural values meted out in a larger "global" space.
First published in 2004. The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences is an annual four volume publication covering Economics, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology. It is compiled by the British Library of Political and Economic Science under the auspices of the International Committee for Social Science Information and Documentation. Some 100,000 articles (from over 2,700 journals) and 20,000 books are scanned each year in the process of compiling the International Bibliography. Coverage is international with publications in over 70 languages from more than 60 countries. All titles are given in their original language and in English translation
At a time when health scares abound, new drugs and medical treatments are continually emerging and we are forced to be ever-more cautious as to the foods we eat, people are increasingly looking for alternative ways of treating and restoring their health. The healing properties of plants has long been recognised, but knowing exactly what we should be giving our families and how this 'alternative' medicine can work safely alongside modern treatments can seem rather less straightforward. David Bellamy - Britain's favourite botanist - here draws on his many years of research and teaching to give us a practical, accessible and comprehensive guide to herbalism, showing how we can all use herbs to strengthen our immune system, boost energy levels and treat conditions ranging from the common cold to digestive disorders, arthritis and heart disease. Bellamy's Herbal is an easy to follow, detailed guide to everything you need to know about herbal remedies and supplements and how they can be used to treat you and your family safely and effectively.
Arising from recent developments at the international level, many developing countries, indigenous peoples and local communities are considering using geographical indications (GIs) to protect traditional knowledge, and to promote trade and overall economic development. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over GIs in diverse quarters, there is an appreciable lack of research on how far and in what context GIs can be used as a protection model for traditional knowledge-based resources. This book critically examines the potential uses of geographical indications as models for protecting traditional knowledge-based products and resources in national and international intellectual property legal...
Is it possible that plants have shaped the very trajectory of human cultures? Using riveting stories of fieldwork in remote villages, two of the world’s leading ethnobotanists argue that our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants. Creating massive sea craft from plants, indigenous shipwrights spurred the navigation of the world’s oceans. Today, indigenous agricultural innovations continue to feed, clothe, and heal the world’s population. One out of four prescription drugs, for example, were discovered from plants used by traditional healers. Objects as common as baskets for winnowing or wooden boxes to store feathers were ornamented with traditional designs demonstratin...