Bill Gates on fonio (& finger millet & teff)
In his blog, "GatesNotes," Bill Gates recently expressed fascination with millets, and spotlighted fonio, along with mentions of finger millet and teff. This attention to millets as a group (which he associates with the word "magic," twice), and the specificity within it, are appreciated. "Could a grain older than the wheel be the future of food?: Lost crops like fonio could help us fight climate change and malnutrition." by Bill Gates, Gates Notes: The Blog of Bill Gates, 16 April 2024 https://www.gatesnotes.com/Fonio Mr. Gates approaches the subject with a particular interest in smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, reflecting the Gates Foundation's agricultural development focus./1 In much of this piece, Mr. Gates focuses on fonio, including the key problem of dehulling, and how Terra Ingredients (US)/2 partnered with CAA (Senegal) to develop a solution. Bill Gates is an important, if sometimes controversial, figure in agriculture and food, but it does help for millets to have such high profile attention as we seek to build on the momentum of the International Year. Regarding the "ancient" (or "older than the wheel") aspect he mentioned, I thought it would be of interest to note that aside from millets being among our first crops, some of them were among the first globalized crops. One can imagine a vast counterclockwise prehistoric spread of pearl millet, sorghum, and finger millet from Africa east to India and beyond, and of foxtail millet and proso millet from China west across Eurasia. Other millets, such as fonio, teff and several in Asia, remained more regional or local over the ages. From that perspective, one could argue that we're entering into a second great globalization of millets, involving new or expanded trade of some, and spread of cultivation of others. Millets have a legacy of being deeply rooted historically and often culturally, even while they are also readily shared. So as we explore new opportunities with these diverse crops, it is important to respect those roots, as well as their genetic heritage. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 0. Subject article is cited & linked at the beginning of the text, above. 1. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-growth-and-opportun... 2. https://www.terraingredients.com/news/bill-gates-takes-note-of-fonio/
Great email Don, I appreciate these thoughts On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 8:17 PM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
In his blog, "GatesNotes," Bill Gates recently expressed fascination with millets, and spotlighted fonio, along with mentions of finger millet and teff. This attention to millets as a group (which he associates with the word "magic," twice), and the specificity within it, are appreciated.
"Could a grain older than the wheel be the future of food?: Lost crops like fonio could help us fight climate change and malnutrition." by Bill Gates, Gates Notes: The Blog of Bill Gates, 16 April 2024 https://www.gatesnotes.com/Fonio
Mr. Gates approaches the subject with a particular interest in smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, reflecting the Gates Foundation's agricultural development focus./1
In much of this piece, Mr. Gates focuses on fonio, including the key problem of dehulling, and how Terra Ingredients (US)/2 partnered with CAA (Senegal) to develop a solution.
Bill Gates is an important, if sometimes controversial, figure in agriculture and food, but it does help for millets to have such high profile attention as we seek to build on the momentum of the International Year.
Regarding the "ancient" (or "older than the wheel") aspect he mentioned, I thought it would be of interest to note that aside from millets being among our first crops, some of them were among the first globalized crops. One can imagine a vast counterclockwise prehistoric spread of pearl millet, sorghum, and finger millet from Africa east to India and beyond, and of foxtail millet and proso millet from China west across Eurasia. Other millets, such as fonio, teff and several in Asia, remained more regional or local over the ages. From that perspective, one could argue that we're entering into a second great globalization of millets, involving new or expanded trade of some, and spread of cultivation of others.
Millets have a legacy of being deeply rooted historically and often culturally, even while they are also readily shared. So as we explore new opportunities with these diverse crops, it is important to respect those roots, as well as their genetic heritage.
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance
Notes: 0. Subject article is cited & linked at the beginning of the text, above. 1. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-growth-and-opportun... 2. https://www.terraingredients.com/news/bill-gates-takes-note-of-fonio/
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Thanks, Joni. Here, fwiw, are a couple of additional thoughts: * Bill Gates' mention of 3 specific millets is significant in that it opens the door to understanding the diversity of this group of grains just enough for a mass audience. At least that's my thinking at this moment. The mention of a selection of millets is not that unusual, but a lot of non-research writing and publicity about millets tends to treat the generality or totality of millets in a way that I don't think connects with most people. Some writing focuses on one millet, which may be more useful, but lacks context. Our "millet of the month" is a little like that, but I think the systematic nature of the calendar (rotating attention among the various millets thru the year) gives context. Selecting a conceptually easy to manage handful of millets out of the group, based on some criteria, points to the diversity of the larger group and the nature of factors that differentiate among them. Not sure if that makes sense, but it's a dynamic I'm thinking about. I should hasten to add, that this doesn't mean writing about all millets as a group or focusing on only one of them is problematic, just that thoughtful pieces about, say, 2-4 millets out of the larger group may raise interesting questions for readers. Or something like that. * The role of Terra Ingredients (Minneapolis, MN)/1 with regard to fonio - mentioned by Bill Gates - as well as trading companies like Woodland Gourmet (ex-Woodland Foods; Chicago area, IL),/2 in importing "specialty grains" including various millets, is one I hope to return to. I'm interested to understand a bit better how such firms articulate with each other, suppliers overseas, and - critically - companies with roots or ownership in the countries they import from (notably India, but also China). Many questions, but it seems this sector will be increasingly important for those millets that aren't (and in a few cases may never be) grown at scale in this part of the world. All the best, Don DO, EL, MI, US NAMA Notes: 1. https://www.terraingredients.com/ 2. https://www.woodlandgourmet.com/ On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 11:36 PM Joni Kindwall-Moore < joni@snacktivistfoods.com> wrote:
Great email Don, I appreciate these thoughts
On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 8:17 PM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
In his blog, "GatesNotes," Bill Gates recently expressed fascination with millets, and spotlighted fonio, along with mentions of finger millet and teff. This attention to millets as a group (which he associates with the word "magic," twice), and the specificity within it, are appreciated.
"Could a grain older than the wheel be the future of food?: Lost crops like fonio could help us fight climate change and malnutrition." by Bill Gates, Gates Notes: The Blog of Bill Gates, 16 April 2024 https://www.gatesnotes.com/Fonio
Mr. Gates approaches the subject with a particular interest in smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, reflecting the Gates Foundation's agricultural development focus./1
In much of this piece, Mr. Gates focuses on fonio, including the key problem of dehulling, and how Terra Ingredients (US)/2 partnered with CAA (Senegal) to develop a solution.
Bill Gates is an important, if sometimes controversial, figure in agriculture and food, but it does help for millets to have such high profile attention as we seek to build on the momentum of the International Year.
Regarding the "ancient" (or "older than the wheel") aspect he mentioned, I thought it would be of interest to note that aside from millets being among our first crops, some of them were among the first globalized crops. One can imagine a vast counterclockwise prehistoric spread of pearl millet, sorghum, and finger millet from Africa east to India and beyond, and of foxtail millet and proso millet from China west across Eurasia. Other millets, such as fonio, teff and several in Asia, remained more regional or local over the ages. From that perspective, one could argue that we're entering into a second great globalization of millets, involving new or expanded trade of some, and spread of cultivation of others.
Millets have a legacy of being deeply rooted historically and often culturally, even while they are also readily shared. So as we explore new opportunities with these diverse crops, it is important to respect those roots, as well as their genetic heritage.
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance
Notes: 0. Subject article is cited & linked at the beginning of the text, above. 1. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-growth-and-opportun... 2. https://www.terraingredients.com/news/bill-gates-takes-note-of-fonio/
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participants (2)
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Don Osborn -
Joni Kindwall-Moore