Chopping manioc. (Picasa, John)

After rice and wheat, cassava provides the most calories consumed by humans. Also known as manioc, tapioca, or yuca, cassava is a dietary staple for 800 million people in Africa, Asia, and South America. The New York Times is reporting on a virus called brown streak which is reaching a “pandemic-style spread.” The potential threat has been likened to the potato famine which killed approximately a million people in Ireland in the 1840s. Read more here.