October 2025 - Collab - lists.millets2023.space

Holiday recipes with millets?
by Don Osborn 30 Oct '25

30 Oct '25

Holiday season is almost here. With an eye to maybe presenting a few recipes for holiday foods made with any millet, do you have any favorites to share? Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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Edible cups made with kodo millet
by Don Osborn 24 Oct '25

24 Oct '25

Kodo millet - our "millet of the month" in October - has been used as the core material to make edible cups as a replacement for single-use disposable cups. If the idea of edible cups and bowls seems strange, by the way, think of it as an expansion of the idea behind ice cream cones. There are actually edible coffee cups on the market in some countries (see https://ediblecup.coffee/en/ ), but now millets are entering this sector. An early description of the kodo millet cups: "Indian researchers develop nutritious edible cups to replace conventional plastic applications," by Natalie Schwertheim, Packaging Insights, 14 Nov 2023: https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/indian-researchers-develop-nutritiou… The researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee who developed the kodo cups recently published a detailed article describing their work: Bhushan P. Meshram, Prachi Jain, and Kirtiraj K. Gaikwad, "Innovative Development of Kodo Millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum)-Based Functional Edible Cups Modified with Hibiscus Powder and Guar Gum: An Eco-Efficient Resource Utilization," ACS Food Science & Technology, 5(2), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00985 Another article surveys the use of three millets (kodo, little, & barnyard) in edible eatingware: Sukriti Jaspal, Ankur Aggarwal, Tarun Verma, et al. "Development of multi-millet edible bowls using little, kodo & barnyard: a sustainable alternative to plastic cups." Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization 18, 6485–6493 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-024-02664-x I've also seen mention of sorghum and finger millet used for this purpose. The field of edible "eatingware" or "tableware" (cups, bowls & utensils) is receiving more attention as a response to the volume of disposable single-use eatingware that is often made of plastic or paper with plastic coating. Various companies market such edible products in the US and Canada, altho not to our knowledge using millets. Edible eatingware that is disposed of rather than consumed is of course fully biodegradable. Circling back to ice cream cones, what might be the possibility for use of one or another millet to make them in the US? Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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Improvements in labeling of millets from India, since 2015
by Don Osborn 24 Oct '25

24 Oct '25

Here's a shout-out for improvements in labeling by Indian companies packaging millets for sale in the US. Although my personal history with millets goes back over 4 decades,* it was not until 2015 that I started paying attention to the range of millets imported for retail sale in the US, mainly from India, but also from China and to a lesser extent other countries in Asia and Africa. These imports complement the narrower selection of millets grown in the US - namely proso millet, sorghum, and teff. At that time, ten years ago, I found, in exploring a well-stocked South Asian foods market (Indian Spices, Falls Church, VA), that virtually all packages of millets from India had simply "millet" in the ingredients on the package back. On the front would typically be a common name from India, and sometimes, but not always, an English common name as well. A combination of asking store clerks, who often didn't know, and looking up names on my phone to figure out which ones were which: bajra or bajri = pearl millet, ragi = finger millet, etc. Since there's a similar situation with millets from China (with its own aspects, to which I'll return later), and because proso millet in general food markets in the US is also labeled simply "millet," I saw a barrier for consumers who might want to explore the variety of millets. Nowadays, packaged millets and millet products from India typically state which type in the ingredients. This is helpful and appreciated. It's also a lesson for marketers of millets domestically and imported from other countries. Generic use of the term "millet" is inadequate, and non-standard translations can be confusing. Anyway, this is to say thanks to these Indian food companies for taking the lead in clarifying labeling of millets! Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Note: * Mainly as food, although I have worked with pearl millet farmers, and briefly investigated artisanal processing of pearl millet in products made in Mali.

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An insider's view of Yolélé's fonio business
by Don Osborn 09 Oct '25

09 Oct '25

Two podcast interviews earlier this year with Philip Teverow, the co-founder with Chef Pierre Thiam of the Yolélé brand line of fonio products, offer insights into their company's vision and operations. Both are good conversations, and altho some information is repeated in different ways, there are other differences. "Founder Feature: Philip Teverow of Yolélé," The Startup CPG Podcast, 28 Feb. 2025 (33:04) https://startupcpg.transistor.fm/episodes/founder-feature-philip-teverow-of… "Discovering Fonio: A Grain of Hope for Sustaining Agriculture," The FoodTalk Show, 21 May 2025 (35:00) https://foodtalk.co.uk/podcasts/discovering-fonio-a-grain-of-hope-for-susta… One interesting thing I learned was that Yolélé's introduction of fonio chips was prompted in large part by the fact that snacks are more suitable for displays than their other products, and displays in stores are a great way to boost brand awareness. In various past posts on this list, podcasts with Pierre Thiam have also been mentioned - https://lists.millets2023.space/archives/search?mlist=collab%40lists.millet… ... and of course he was a guest on our June 2023 Millets Webinar - https://youtu.be/c7pyH6ucN2U Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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IV International Symposium on Underutilized Plant Species, 24-25 Oct. 2025
by Don Osborn 04 Oct '25

04 Oct '25

Of possible interest is the upcoming IV International Symposium on Underutilized Plant Species, 24-25 Oct. 2025 in Fort Myers, Florida. https://underutilizedplants25.org/ Millets are not specifically mentioned on the event website (nor are many other crops), but appear in titles of several papers in the proceedings of the previous edition of the symposium. (See below.) The upcoming conference is "Hosted by ECHO Inc., under the auspices of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS)." Other sponsors include the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF/IFAS) and Cultivate Abundance (a non-profit organization). The previous (3rd) edition of this symposium series was held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India 10 years ago, on 5-8 Aug. 2015: https://www.ishs.org/symposium/365 . Proceedings at https://www.ishs.org/ishs-book/1241 The second was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2011: https://www.ishs.org/symposium/222 . And the first was in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2008: https://www.ishs.org/symposium/36 It will be interesting to learn how millets figure in discussions at this symposium. Thanks to Joanna Kane-Potaka for sharing information about this upcoming event. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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Role of ready-to-eat snacks in growth of markets for millets
by Don Osborn 03 Oct '25

03 Oct '25

An interesting article from The Economic Times (India) on the role of snacks in the evolving millets market in India also appeared on the same page as the piece by Dr. Prabhakar in the Global Eye (#66, 24 Sep. 2025) that I previously mentioned (see below for link). See "Millet Mania: ITC, PepsiCo and startups spice up India's snacking game." The Economic Times (updated 22 Sep. 2025) at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/millet-man… This calls attention to how companies in India are shifting focus to snacks in a "sluggish packaged-food market." It also has some relevance to developments in the US market. Here's a quick tour of some examples in the latter: For example, a number of Kind breakfast protein bars "made with 5 super grains" include "millet" (in this context, certainly proso millet). See https://www.kindsnacks.com/products/breakfast-bars (thanks to Gary for bringing this to our attention). Another example is the Good & Gather brand multibran rice crackers, that also have "millet" (again, certainly proso millet). https://www.target.com/p/gluten-free-multi-grain-with-flax-rice-crackers-3-… (again, thanks Gary) A couple of years ago on this list I mentioned the line of "millet & flax" pita chips by Sami's Bakery that is marketed nationally through specialty stores: https://www.samisbakery.com/product/millet-flax-plain-chips/ (once again, the "millet" would be proso). https://www.samisbakery.com/product/millet-flax-plain-chips/ Regarding teff. the Teffola granola company also has a "Teffola Bites" line of sweet snacks. https://eatteffola.com/pages/bites I'll also mention Yolélé's venture into fonio chips - interestingly that seems to have been motivated by the desire to have a product suitable for displays in stores. More on that in one of two podcasts featuring Yolélé co-founder Philip Teverow that I'll post separately. Don DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org> wrote: > Dr. Vijay G. Prabhakar, head of GSA, which held a Global Millets Conclave > last month in Hillside, Illinois, recently published an article entitled > "Growing more ancient grain millet could help American farmers adapt to > climate change" in GSA's online periodical, The Global Eye (#66, page 23) > at https://globaleyedigital.com/Newspaper/2025/66/GE-66.pdf , > > GSA's GlobalEye serves readers in the Indian-American community in the US, > as well as some in India. > > I have a text copy of the article, extracted from the above, that I can > share with any who are interested. > > This is a good article, outlining important points that are familiar to > those of us working on millets (and some of which have been made previously > by readers of this list): > * Significance of the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023) > * Marginalization of millets > * Resilience, diversity, and versatility > * Potential markets > * Lack of crop support in the US > * Importance of research > * Increased awareness and growing popularity of millets > * Economic aspects > > Some specific observations on content of the article. > * The Missouri farmer growing Japanese millet who was mentioned in the > article is probably Linus Rothermich, who was featured in Eva Tesfaye's > 2023 piece on IYM2023 (Harvest Public Media / NPR - audio and print > versions) - see > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > & https://modernfarmer.com/2023/05/millets-midwest-climate-change/ (this > item was mentioned on Collab in Nov. 2023) > * The quote from Makiko Taguchi comes from that same piece > * The item about how an additional $1 million would have a much greater > impact on millets research than it would on corn research is the same as > what Prof. James Schnable is quoted as saying in that same piece > * The annual growth projections in the global millets market may have been > sourced from more than one commodity marketing sites - I have seen similar > figures in headlines, but not these particular ones > > Altogether this is a helpful contribution to the ongoing public discussion > of millets in North America. It is especially important, I think, in > reminding us of the importance of the Indian-American market for millets, > both domestically produced and imported. > > Finally, we note that Dr. Prabhakar in his byline, lists himself as Chair, > GSA Millets Promotion & Research Council of America. We'll share further > information on the latter initiative as we receive it. > > Don Osborn, PhD > (East Lansing, MI, US) > North American Millets Alliance > > >

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GSA "Global Eye" article on millets in the US
by Don Osborn 01 Oct '25

01 Oct '25

Dr. Vijay G. Prabhakar, head of GSA, which held a Global Millets Conclave last month in Hillside, Illinois, recently published an article entitled "Growing more ancient grain millet could help American farmers adapt to climate change" in GSA's online periodical, The Global Eye (#66, page 23) at https://globaleyedigital.com/Newspaper/2025/66/GE-66.pdf , GSA's GlobalEye serves readers in the Indian-American community in the US, as well as some in India. I have a text copy of the article, extracted from the above, that I can share with any who are interested. This is a good article, outlining important points that are familiar to those of us working on millets (and some of which have been made previously by readers of this list): * Significance of the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023) * Marginalization of millets * Resilience, diversity, and versatility * Potential markets * Lack of crop support in the US * Importance of research * Increased awareness and growing popularity of millets * Economic aspects Some specific observations on content of the article. * The Missouri farmer growing Japanese millet who was mentioned in the article is probably Linus Rothermich, who was featured in Eva Tesfaye's 2023 piece on IYM2023 (Harvest Public Media / NPR - audio and print versions) - see https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… & https://modernfarmer.com/2023/05/millets-midwest-climate-change/ (this item was mentioned on Collab in Nov. 2023) * The quote from Makiko Taguchi comes from that same piece * The item about how an additional $1 million would have a much greater impact on millets research than it would on corn research is the same as what Prof. James Schnable is quoted as saying in that same piece * The annual growth projections in the global millets market may have been sourced from more than one commodity marketing sites - I have seen similar figures in headlines, but not these particular ones Altogether this is a helpful contribution to the ongoing public discussion of millets in North America. It is especially important, I think, in reminding us of the importance of the Indian-American market for millets, both domestically produced and imported. Finally, we note that Dr. Prabhakar in his byline, lists himself as Chair, GSA Millets Promotion & Research Council of America. We'll share further information on the latter initiative as we receive it. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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