First the Seed: The Political Economy of Plant Biotechnology (Science and Technology in Society) [Paperback]

Jack Ralph Kloppenburg Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 029919244X | ISBN-13: 978-0299192440 | Publication Date: March 16, 2005 | Edition: 2

First the Seed spotlights the history of plant breeding and shows how efforts to control the seed have shaped the emergence of the agricultural biotechnology industry. This second edition of a classic work in the political economy of science includes an extensive, new chapter updating the analysis to include the most recent developments in the struggle over the direction of crop genetic engineering.

1988 Cloth, 1990 Paperback, Cambridge University Press
Winner of the Theodore Saloutos Award of the Agricultural History Society
Winner of the Robert K. Merton Award of the American Sociological Association

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kloppenburg is trying to put the thorny questions raised in the biotechnology debate into historical perspective."—Deborah Fitzgerald, ISIS

About the Author

Jack Ralph Kloppenburg Jr. is professor of rural sociology in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Product Details

• Paperback: 468 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 2 edition (March 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029919244X
• ISBN-13: 978-0299192440
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Agronomy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very insightful, May 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: First the Seed: The Political Economy of Plant Biotechnology, 1492-2000 (Hardcover)

"First the Seed" is a wonderfully documented account of the history of agriculture since the "discovery" of America. I found this book when I was doing research on threats to genetic diversity in Mexico under NAFTA and the book gave me an insightful lens to understand the problems that are occuring from the mechenization of agriculture and the patenting of genetic material.

Anyone who is studying food production systems must have this book in their library.