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Books : Lords Of The Harvest: Biotech, Big Money, And The Future Of FoodIn association with Amazon.comby: Dan Charles  List Price: $17.50 Amazon.com's Price: $13.19 You Save: $4.31 (25%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 631.5 EAN: 9780738207735 ISBN: 073820773X Label: Basic Books Manufacturer: Basic Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: December 17, 2002 Publisher: Basic Books Release Date: December 17, 2002 Studio: Basic Books Sales Rank: 259903 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: A riveting tale of the battle over genetically engineered foods, and an inside look at a biotech food empire. Ultimately a story of idealism, and conflicting dreams about the shape of a better world. Softcover. Amazon.com Review: Just as science learned to decode DNA through reverse genetics, a little bit of reverse reading might help explain why NPR correspondent Daniel Charles set out to write the agrobiotech equivalent of fly-on-the-wall industry epics like World War 3.0, Liar's Poker, and Hit Men. Read the epilogue first--here's where he most eloquently explains the dueling American myths (of both scientific progress and the sanctity of the land as God-given gifts) that have fueled the recent battle of biotechnology against environmentalism and consumer advocacy over genetically modified crops. It's a necessarily stirring justification for a story that, however well told, may lack for a general audience some of the pathos or glamour of similar tussles within such fields as medicine or entertainment. This is really the story of one company--American chemical giant Monsanto, which, some 20 years ago, pushed forward the technology of injecting different plants such as corn and soybeans with genes that would make them able to act as their own insecticides (insects would simply die upon eating them). From there, Monsanto went on to orchestrate a stunning takeover of much of the seed business, but its plans for what seemed like world agricultural domination were trounced when first European, then U.S. activists sparked a massive backlash against GMOs ("genetically modified organisms") pumped up with the company's patented genes--even absent substantive scientific evidence that genetically modified crops were any more harmful (or, for that matter, more modified) to people or the environment than those without designer genes. Given the recent explosion of genetic research, it's fascinating to see the relatively primitive origins of this field in the early 1980s, and to discover the inner workings of world agribusiness, especially (as the farm-bred Charles rightly points out) in a society where most people have no idea where their food comes from, or what happens to it along the way. It's just that Charles's valiant attempt to make a bunch of nerdy, competitive scientists and soulless, profit-grubbing Monsanto execs interesting is mostly in vain. Still, you have to love the early '90s comedy of errors that was the grandiose launch and swift demise of the superengineered tomato--especially when an old-school tomato breeder tries to tell her boss, a biotech exec and agricultural illiterate, that nature's breeding process can't be accelerated to meet production goals. His curt response? "Think out of the box." (Or crate, as it were.) --Timothy Murphy Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Good bookThis book provides a good and balanced background into how Monsanto changed the face of commercial agriculture. The author manages to stay relatively neutral in the battle between the opposing biotech proponents and "GMO free" activists. The only "slightly" negative point is that the book is now about 8 years old and an update would be most appreciated! Rating:  - The History of BiotechnologyI had to read this book for a class at Cornell (life science entrepreneurship), and have to say I really enjoyed it. You must be into biology to get the beginning of the book, however, or it would appear pretty dry. The end is where most of the business insight comes into play. Overall, the book uses research, interviews, and analysis to paint an impressive picture of the emergence of biotechnology, using both scientific and economic points of view. If you are interested in where your food comes ... Read More Rating: - EXCELLENT Survey of Plant BiotechDaniel Charles crafts an incredibly well-balanced and thoughtful account of plant biotechnology from inception to near-present. With evenhanded treatment of both sides of the debate, Charles weaves a fascinating and informative narrative. Rating: - Historical Biotech storiesI worked at Monsanto (Immunology Dept.) in the early 80's when all of the plant biotech stuff was going on, so it was fun to read about the guys I knew there and their collaborations. Some photos and extras. A little bit dramatic, but fun to read. Funny to think that this is now biotech history! Rating: - A very good brief history on the biotech agriculture trend....This book was just a very pleasant historical overview of the biotechnology growth in agriculture. This presented the various companies that were in competition in the new industry: Monsanto, Dupont and some of the European companies. This was told in a very good story approach, giving different perspectives from different times and from different people (including scientists and protesters). The most interesting part is Monsanto's comparison as the "Microsoft of biotechnology" due to its predator ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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