If it Wisnae for the Wark o'the Weeders

As I was tucking into a delicious spud-based meal, the other evening, I was thinking about the massive debt we old worldies owe to the agrobiodiversity of the New World.

Avid followers of this blog (if they exist), can't have failed to notice the preponderance of both South and North American roots and tubers featuring in my quixotic search for increased production and underground resilience in our charmingly overcrowded islands.

I seem to remember an old Scottish song titled If It Wisnae For The Wark o' the Weavers. It celebrated the contribution of the weavers to keeping people clothed -

"If it wisnae for the weavers, wa would we do? We wouldna hae clathes made o wool".

Only a brave soul would have tried living in Scotland without their woollen clothes - nae central heating dae ye ken?

Well, if it wisnae for the work of the weeders and breeders who wove the rich cloth of agricultural biodiversity in the Americas we would be without:

Potatoes

Sweetpotatoes

Tomatoes

Runner and French beans

Maize

Squashes

Chillies and sweet peppers

Cassava

Peanuts

That's not an exhaustive list by any means, but I for one feel eternally grateful that I don't have to exist on tough old turnips, mushy peas and gristly field beans, washed down with a little barley gruel as in days of yore.

As terrible as the consequences of the conquest of the Americas were to both the ecology and native peoples, the resulting biological booty has certainly improved our cuisine over here no end. So here's a heartfelt thanks to the untold millions in the western hemisphere whose crop selection, breeding and cultivation efforts have given us such a varied and tasty diet.